1. Dimensions of learning
ICT Literacy
Dimensions of learning

2. ICT Literacy What is understood by computer literacy?
very misunderstood and debated
What is the content of a computer literacy programme?
Essential programme dimensions and principles
context
just-in-time learning
learner support
method
focus
task-centred integration of ICT skills
outcomes-based
One of the biggest sources of confusion about an ICT Literacy programme is that we ask the wrong questions when we design it. If we start off by asking what the content of the programme should be we are actually designing an ICT curriculum and not a ICT literacy programme.
The most essential dimension in any ICT Literacy programme is the context. Any activity that is designed should be defined by what the learner is going to consider a relevant and interesting use of ICT within the school and community context. This is most likely going to involve the production of some form of document or information.
The skills that are required to produce this end-result will define the content of the programme. These skills, if they are new to the learner, will be taught just-in-time. This is made possible by careful facilitation or the use of learner support documents such as tip sheets.
Most ICT Literacy programmes consist mostly of content and some form of testing. This is meaningless without context. It is therefore the method of the facilitator that adds real value to the programme, and context is the first thing that the facilitator will do is to find meaningful contexts.
Inevitably, in the classroom the context is the curriculum, so the focus of an ICT Literacy lesson should be the curriculum. What learners learn about iCT should be integrated with tasks on which they are working. An example of such a task would be writing an essay in a language lesson. The use of the word processor will be appropriate in this situation and the necessary word processing skills, such as spell checking, would be introduced at the appropriate moments as they are required.

3. Dimensions of ICT Integration
ICT integration has many dimensions and stands the risk of being misunderstood on the same colossal scale that “computer literacy” is. Let us examine teacher development in ICT integration in 2 dimensions. The first dimension is the extent to which ICT skills are being taught as opposed to being used.
The second dimension is the extent to which the focus on the planned activity IN THE CLASSROOM is focused on the ICT outcomes as opposed to the curriculum outcomes.
In the resulting grid we can distinguish between activities that focus on how ICT is used in various situations (on the right hand side) and activities that focus on meaningful learning contexts (in the bottom half).

4. Dimensions of ICT Integration
ICT Literacy focusing on context ?
Microsoft have a set of ICT literacy scenarios for teachers in which teachers can explore ICT skills in meaningful contexts ( On the other hand the Educators Network and Intel Teach to the Future (both offered in South Africa) focus on what teachers can do with ICT WITHIN the curriculum. Advanced courses in Microsoft Partners in Learning programme will also explore ways in which teachers can integrate the use of ICT to enhance learning. These would be activities with CURRICULUM FOCUS.
The poor cousin is the top left-hand corner. Those activities are one dimensional in that they focus only on how to use ICT. These activities should be avoided. Can you think why? It ignores the basic principle of learning in meaningful contexts. Because teachers are often trained in contextless courses such as ICDL, they often model that kind of training when asked to teach “computer literacy”. Planners worldwide typically make the error of considering teaching ICT skills sufficient for teachers to be able to use ICT in the classroom.
ICT Literacy with curriculum focus

5. The third dimension Curriculum Integration of ICT
Because of its complexity, one should look at ICT integration in three dimensions. The first dimension is the pedagogical component. This refers to the the kind of teaching and learning taking place in the classroom. It has been shown that ICT can more effectively support more learner-centred approaches. I use the word “constructive” very broadly.
The second dimension is the extent to which ICT sklls are integrated. Learner-centred lessons that integrate ICT will therefore be in the top right-hand corner of this chart. One dimensional courses will be in the bottom right-hand corner. The all-important third dimension is meaningful context. Learning theories strongly support the importance of authentic context in learning situations. ICT Literacy skills training is much more effective if the learners learn the skills in contexts which are important to them. Often ICT integration training only addresses two dimensions at a time, but context should always be one of those dimensions.
As a result of these three dimensions one is able to plot a 3-dimensional framework in which various ICT professoinal development activities can be visually placed.
ICT skills with context
ICT skills – no context – drill and practice