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Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)
education is basically our society’s efforts to teach its current and
emerging citizens valuable knowledge and skills around computing and
communications devices, software that operates them, applications that run on
them and systems that are built with them.
ICT is complex and quickly changing, and it is confusing for many people. It
is so pervasive in the modern world that everyone has some understanding of
it, but those understandings are often wildly divergent.
There are many important dimensions to ICT education, including:
- ICT/Digital Literacy – Today, everyone needs a basic understanding
of ICT and how to make productive use of it, just to be good students,
workers and citizens. Teaching people how to be competent basic users of
ICT technologies is an important role of ICT education, so they will be
successful in their academic and work careers, and so they can
efficiently participate in modern technical society. As part of its
study validating U.S. Department of Labor IT Competency model content in
California, MPICT determined with 99% confidence California employer
agreement with the following statements regarding Digital Literacy:
- “Information and communication technologies
(ICT) competencies are increasingly important for most of our
employers, regardless of role. If there was an agreed-upon standard for
"digital literacy", or ICT competencies expected of all
workers, regardless of workplace role, my organization would value a
credential based on that standard as a way of validating ICT skills for
non-ICT workers.” (70.5% agree or very much agree)
- “In the 21st century, an ability to work with
information and communication technologies is becoming as essential to
education, life and workplace success as "reading, writing and
arithmetic".” ICT Digital Literacy should be considered a basic
skill by educational systems, something taught to and assessed for all
students. (85.2% agree or very much agree)
- This study details 49 competencies for ICT
User level knowledge and skills, as an actionable, teachable and
assessable definition of what people need to know and be able to do to
be “digitally literate.”
- ICT Infrastructure and Support Applied
Technologists – Beyond a basic user competency, our society
also needs more knowledgeable and capable technical people to deploy,
manage and maintain ICT equipment, software and systems, so they work
well for users. In all industries, these people manage computer and communications
hardware, software and applications; networked systems; online
information sharing, communication and commerce systems; business
processes making use of these systems; and user support.
- Specialized Business and Industry Uses of ICT – As enabling technologies, ICT is used
strategically in almost all businesses and industries. Many have
developed specialized systems and uses of ICT, and many have specialized
legal and regulatory requirements; quality control systems; integrations
with production and research equipment and systems; security
requirements; and software applications. For example:
- Bioscience industries rely on specialized ICT
systems and applications to conduct research, analyze organic
materials, produce biotech products and do required reporting;
- Financial services industries rely on ICT to
maintain customer records, do business, conduct trades, do financial
reporting, secure proprietary information and comply with regulations;
- Manufacturing industries use specialized
computer controlled systems and robotics to design, produce and test
products.
- Property management operations use ICT to
network and control heating and cooling, lighting and building access
systems.
- Electric utilities use ICT to monitor and
manage electricity distribution, customer billing and smart metering
systems.
- Telecommunications, cable TV and other
entertainment industries use ICT to store content, manage customers and
deliver their services.
We need to develop a competent workforce that understands not only
relevant technologies, but also specialized business and industry
environments and operations, to meet these specialized needs.
- ICT Research and Development Scientists – ICT fields themselves are under constant
pressure to evolve and improve. We need people who deeply understand the
science and technologies underlying ICT and who can work to advance the
fields.
In virtually all modern businesses and industries,
and in modern society in general, ICT has key strategic roles. It is
strategically important to develop citizens and workers who can competently
and efficiently operate and add value in these systems and environments,
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