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Computer Literacy
News
Virtual Bill
is recognized "down under."
Virtual Bill
and the "Lost Boys of Sudan."
Virtual Bill and CertiPort create quite a stir
when they team up at the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) conference
in Austin, TX to promote computer literacy standards and testing.
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3134 Forrester, Pearland, TX 77584
November
18, 2002
Virtual Bill is recognized "down
under."
The Australian Guide to the Internet recently featured the Virtual Bill web site as it's "Site of the Day." They said:
What does it really mean to be 'computer literate'? If you're not sure, or alternatively, you think that you are, head on over to 'Virtual Bill's Computer Literacy World Headquarters' site. There you can browse through information that's titled 'Computer Literacy Myths and Facts'. You may be surprised by what you read there, for instance, the myth that 'Today's high school kids are up to speed with computer technology'.
June 12,
2002
Virtual Bill and the "Lost Boys
of Sudan"
The incredible journey
The "Lost Boys of Sudan" are a group of young refugees who escaped starvation, brutality and genocide in their war-torn homeland of Sudan by walking thousands of miles across Africa. They eventually found their way to a UN refugee camp in Kenya where they lived for a number of years.
A few years ago the American government became involved and arranged to settle nearly 4,000 of the them in the US. More than 140 are now living in the Houston area. Their amazing story has been in the local and national news a number of times since they began arriving here.
Lending a hand
Interfaith Ministries of Houston and other organizations, including a number of church groups, have been actively involved in helping the boys (now mostly men in their 20's) get established and integrated into a very different way of life from what they have known. They are adapting remarkably well: some are working and living independently, many others are studying and working toward a GED.
In January 2002, Linda Siemers, Social Ministry Chair of Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church contacted Bill Stewart of Virtual Bill, Inc. after the boys expressed an interest in learning about computers. Bill, along with Appropriate Development Technology, Inc., a non-profit organization devoted to providing technology education to the disadvanged, and Leisure Learning Unlimited, where Bill conducts most of his Computer Orientation seminars, arranged to bring Bill's Computer Orientation to the boys. ADT provided the computer facilities and Bill has been working with the boys for several hours each Sunday. They have completed the first part of Computer Orientation and will be attending the rest of the courses (about 24 hours total class time) at both ADT and Leisure Learning Unlimited.
Dula Abdu,
along with four banking associates, founded
Approprate Development Technology, Inc.
Proving a point
Bill welcomed the challenge as way to demonstrate that the basic computer literacy that escapes most computer users can be learned by anyone (and should be learned by everyone). "This has proven to be one of the most gratifying experiences of my career," says Bill. "Many of these guys come from the most primitive and deprived backgrounds imaginable, and even though they are new to many aspects of modern technology, their intelligence and eagerness to learn has overcome all obstacles when it comes to understanding fundamental computer concepts. We have completed the first part of Computer Orientation and at this point I can say with confidence that they are more computer literate, by our strict standards (see computer literacy definition), than most people in this country who work with computers every day. I did not have to adjust my teaching style or the pace of the class to allow for their inexperience in other areas or the language issue (they learned very passable English in the UN camps). Indeed, if anything, they were more attentive and appreciative than many of my American adult students. It has been amost delightful experience with a most delightful group of people."
From left, Simon Wuor, Elias, Gabriel Kuok, Bill Stewart and
Michael Rout
A big advantage
Bill says that without a real understanding of the digital nature of programs and data, bits and bytes, how the various components of a computer system work together, what a file really is in the physical sense, the difference between the "hard disk" and "memory" and other critical and fundamental concepts, computers seem magical and incomprehensible to most people. Bill claims, "If people get started on the right foot when it comes to integrating computers into their lives, it can save years of frustration. Unfortunately this does not happen in general—even most of today's high school graduates, who generally have a degree of functionality, are essentially computer illiterate. This is why so many people struggle for so long and why the computer education the Sudanese guys are getting will give them a tremendous advantage."
As one of the founders of Computer Literacy USA, Bill hopes that the success with the "Lost Boys" will inspire more Americans to reevaluate their computer knowledge and needs and adopt a more realistic standard for computer literacy.
The
Virtual Bill/CertiPort Computer Literacy Quick Test
Used at the
Texas Computer Educators Association (TCEA) conference in Austin, TX, February
2002
1. Adding more memory
(RAM) to a computer system:
a) will increase the computer's processing speed
b) makes the computer smarter
c) allows more programs to be loaded
d) provides more room for files
2. Two computers are
compatible if they:
a) can use the same data
b) are about the same size
c) have the same keyboard and monitor
d) can use the same programs
3. A hard or floppy
disk drive functions most like a:
a) record player
b) tape recorder
c) wastepaper basket
d) filter
4. The Internet is
a specific example of:
a) a large multi-user program
b) a computer network
c) wireless communication
d) file storage
5. If the power suddenly
goes out while writing a letter with a word processing program:
a) everything in memory (RAM) is erased
b) the letter will definitely not be lost
c) the word processing program will be lost
d) it's a sign that you don't need the letter after all
Double
click the box below
for test answers.
February
2002
Virtual
Bill and CertiPort create quite a stir when they team up at the Texas Computer
Education Association (TCEA) conference in Austin, TX to promote computer
literacy standards and testing.
Upon the recommendation of Ed Socha of TekStrategies, Inc., an associate of Bill Stewart, CertiPort attended the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) conference in Austin to promote their IC3 test for basic computer literacy.
The TCEA is made up of middle and high school technology teachers and administrators from across the state of Texas. There were nearly 7,000 in attendence.
From left: Bill Stewart
of Vritual Bill, Inc.; Trent Howell, Sales Manager, CertiPort; Ed Socha
of TekStrategies; Bev McIntyre,CEO, BKM of Canada; Ryan Grant of BKM;
David Saedi, Exec. VP, CertiPort.
Bill Stewart recommended creating a simple, basic computer literacy test to give to the convention attendees. Five questions from the Virtual Bill computer literacy test were choosen by CertiPort (see the panel to the right). The test proved irresistable and many teachers took the challenge. Fewer than 10% were able to answer all five questions correctly. The majority readily acknowledged that they felt wholly unprepared and illequipped to be teaching computer technology. They are asked to begin teaching topics they are unfamiliar with but are not provided with any helpful guidelines to follow. Often they are told they must fend for themselves.
It was not hard to get
attendees to take the test
It has always been Bill Stewart's contention that public school systems are not producing computer literate high school graduates. Most of today's graduates have grown up with computers and more comfortable with them than most teachers and many parents, but their knowledge is very limited and superficial. This test, and the reactions of the teachers who participated, showed how profound this problem is.
Many teachers were happy
to know that someone understands their plight
November 2001
CertiPort releases IC3,
their new standard for computer literacy and testing
Success with MOUS
Probably not many people know of CertiPort. But their online tests for MOUS (Microsoft Office User Specialist) certification are known worldwide. Microsoft set the certification standards for programs like Word, Excel, Access, etc. and CertiPort creates and sells the tests over the web in an interactive format that simulates the actual program environment. Those who take the tests are asked to perform tasks in one of the MS-Office programs. It appears to the users that they are actually working with the program. They have a limited amount of time to complete each task and may be able to use more than one method, such as a keyboard equivalent instead of a menu selection. This kind of testing really demonstrates a person's ability to use a program.
Using programs does not mean understanding computers
CertiPort has had great success with MOUS testing and certification, but they soon realized that people could pass the MOUS tests and yet not be considered computer literate. Thus a person could be very good using Word but unclear on how to copy a file successfully. This is what lead to the development of IC3 (where there are three C's; Communicating, Calculating and Computing—a compliment to the traditional three R's).
IC3 testing is now available
After a great deal of research, CertiPort launched IC3 at the NSBA (National School Boards Association) convention in Atlanta in November of 2001. Many of CertiPort's authorized testing centers for MOUS certification now have the IC3 exams available. For more about IC3 visit the CertiPort web site at www.certiport.com. You can also read CertiPort's IC3 press release (which contains a quote from Bill Stewart). For more IC3 news visit CertiPort's news site.
Virtual Bill was there
Bill Stewart's involvement with computer literacy issues reached CertiPort just prior to the release of IC3 in November. At the time Bill was working on a similar on-line testing and standards project. After several discussions, Bill, along with Ed Socha of TekStrategies, was invited to meet with representatives of CertiPort in Atlanta, including David Saedi, Executive VP who heads up the IC3 project and Jon Haber, President of SkillCheck, which did the research and created the IC3 test. Bill was able to explain how his experiences lead him to his views of what computer literacy is and how it should be addressed. A number of key issues were discussed and there was plenty of common ground and a desire on both sides to see a realistic and successful method for getting computer literacy defined and available to everyone. While CertiPort and Virtual Bill continue to develop their respective testing and certification strategies, they remain in communication.
