ICT Literacy: What do businesses expect?

By Michael Hilkemeijer

 

 

 

Bridging the Gap Between Education and Workforce Demands for ICT Literacy

 

What Is ICT Literacy and Why Is It Essential?

In today's digital world, ICT literacy refers to the ability to use digital tools and information resources effectively to manage, analyze, and create knowledge. It goes beyond basic skills, such as operating a computer or navigating the internet, and includes the ability to critically evaluate, create, and communicate information using a variety of ICT tools.

 

As the Educational Testing Service (ETS) explains, ICT literacy encompasses seven essential areas: define, access, manage, integrate, evaluate, create, and communicate information using technologySucceeding in the 21st …. These skills are crucial not only for students but are indispensable in the workforce, where digital fluency is becoming a core competency for all industries.

 

 

Why Do Businesses Expect Strong ICT Literacy?

In today’s global economy, businesses are increasingly looking for employees with high ICT proficiency. With the constant flow of information, businesses want employees who can not only use technology but also think critically, collaborate, and solve problems effectively using digital tools.

 

As highlighted in ICT Literacy Equipping Students, businesses now expect employees to apply ICT skills across various work contexts, from using collaborative tools for teamwork to making data-driven decisions and communicating findings effectivelyICT Literacy Equipping …. These expectations emphasize the growing importance of ICT literacy as a foundation for career success.

 

In fact, according to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, employers are looking for individuals who can use technology to analyze information, adapt to new tools, and communicate solutions clearly, skills that are integral to being workplace-readyICT Literacy Equipping ….

 

 

 

The Role of Educators in Developing ICT Literacy

Educators play a vital role in ensuring that students develop the necessary ICT literacy to succeed in both their academic and professional lives. As the Australian educational frameworks outline, preparing students for a technology-driven world is now a fundamental objective of educationNotions of ICT literacy….

 

For educators, ICT literacy is just as crucial. Teachers need to not only master technology themselves but also develop strategies to teach students how to use and critically analyze information. This dual responsibility ensures that students are not just consumers of technology, but creators and evaluators, equipped with the skills required in today's fast-paced, information-rich world.

 

 

Key Elements of ICT Literacy for Students

To fully prepare students for the demands of the modern workforce, educators should focus on developing the following ICT competencies in their students:

 

ICT Skill	What It Involves	Why It’s Valuable
Define	Using ICT tools to identify and articulate an information need.	Enables students to effectively research and solve problems.
Access	Collecting and retrieving relevant information from digital sources.	Prepares students to find, analyze, and evaluate digital content.
Manage	Organizing information using appropriate tools and systems.	Facilitates information sorting and decision-making.
Integrate	Using ICT tools to synthesize and summarize data from multiple sources.	Promotes critical thinking and understanding across disciplines.
Evaluate	Assessing the relevance, quality, and timeliness of information.	Cultivates informed decision-making and effective research.
Create	Generating new knowledge and ideas using digital tools.	Fosters creativity and innovation through technology.
Communicate	Effectively conveying information to various audiences.	Essential for collaboration and sharing ideas in professional settings.

 

 

 

How the ICT in Education Teacher Academy Supports Educators

The ICT in Education Teacher Academy offers a comprehensive suite of tools, resources, and support designed to help educators enhance their own ICT literacy and foster these skills in their students. By becoming a member, educators gain access to:

Academy Resource	How It Supports Educators	Impact on Educator ICT Literacy
Lesson Planning Templates	Structured guides for incorporating ICT into lessons.	Helps educators integrate technology into their pedagogical practices.
Professional Development Modules	In-depth courses on using technology creatively in the classroom.	Builds educator confidence and pedagogical understanding of digital tools.
Community Forums	Platform for educators to share ICT teaching strategies and seek advice.	Fosters collaboration and learning from peers.
Reflective Practice Tools	Tools for self-assessment of ICT integration in teaching.	Supports ongoing improvement in the use of digital tools for teaching.
Digital Storytelling Resources	Resources for incorporating storytelling through digital tools.	Encourages creativity and helps educators use ICT to engage students.
Coding and Programming Resources	Guides for introducing coding and digital creation to students.	Empowers educators to teach coding and computational thinking effectively.

 

These resources help educators not only develop their own ICT proficiency but also equip them to incorporate technology into their teaching practices in ways that enhance student learning outcomes.

 

 

Developing ICT Literacy for a Technologically-Driven Future

As the Educational Testing Service (ETS) points out, the demand for ICT fluency is critical in today’s workplace and will continue to grow in the coming yearsSucceeding in the 21st …ICT Literacy Equipping …. The ability to use digital technologies to organize, analyze, and create information is not just a skill for the future; it’s a skill that businesses require today.

 

By ensuring that students develop ICT literacy, educators are not only preparing them for future careers but also enabling them to be active contributors to an increasingly digital world. Teachers who embrace ICT tools will help their students become confident, capable, and adaptable professionals, ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

 

 

Conclusion: Meeting the Expectations of the Workforce

As technology continues to shape every aspect of life, ICT literacy has become a fundamental skill in both education and employment. Businesses are demanding more from employees in terms of ICT fluency, and educators must rise to the challenge by equipping students with the necessary skills to thrive in the digital workforce.

 

By joining the ICT in Education Teacher Academy, educators can access professional development opportunities, lesson planning tools, and community support to enhance their own ICT skills and better support their students. The Academy offers a path forward for educators to bridge the gap between traditional education and the digital demands of the workforce.

 

Are you ready to equip your students with the ICT skills they need to succeed in the digital workforce?

Join the ICT in Education Teacher Academy today and gain access to the resources that will transform your teaching and prepare your students for success!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ICT Literate Students for our Future Economy

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is vastly becoming a very important aspect in people’s lives today. The everyday activities such as answering telephone messages and automatic teller machines, for example, has been transformed by ICT. It is now vital for every child, adolescent and adult to have general notion of their technological surroundings.

 

For the future workers of tomorrow, where more and more industrial, professional, and business occupations call for knowledge workers with the ability to use ICT fluently, the skill to be ICT literate is now a necessity as well as a right.

 

 

To be ICT literate means to use “digital technology, communications tools, and/or networks to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge society” (International ICT Literacy Panel, 2002).

 

Individuals in a knowledge society require knowledge and skills to search for information, to analyse, synthesize, evaluate, channel, and present it to others, and to exercise judgement in order to predict, plan and control fast changing events (Semenov, 2005).

 

ICT literacy is a critical skill that cannot be defined primarily as the mastery of technical skills. It is important to understand that it must be combined with critical cognitive skills as well. The effect of being ICT literate not only impacts the individual that has acquired these skills, but also society as a whole.

 

 

 

With the latest NAPLAN ICT literacy results indicating a decline in our students’ skills, this blog should stand as a reminder to those in doubt of using technology in the classroom how important it is help your students become ICT literate. They are, after all, the knowledge workers of tomorrow.

 

In 2010, a report was written by the Kennesaw State University on the ICT literacy skills that business desire today. It emphasises the significance of not only being competitive but having the right skills for students to have in order to thrive and survive in a digital economy.

 

Skills such as navigating information effectively and using technology efficiently were mentioned in addition to understanding issues such as information security, confidentiality and ethical concerns.

 

Businesses are searching for people with high level thinking skills such as decision-making and questioning as these have become the norm today. An intern’s ability to be able to use technology to solve an organisation’s problem is vital for the prosperity of its business. This also comes along with being able to use technology in a socially responsible manner. Other skills included:

• Professionalism/work ethic;
• Oral and written communication;
• Teamwork/collaboration;
• Critical thinking/problem solving skills.

 

 

 

To add further emphasis in relation to the significance of these skills for businesses today, two online surveys were conducted. One to human resources consultants where they were asked “do employers believe that ICT literacy skills are important qualities for new hire”. 

 

Of all the emails that were sent out 88% submitted a fully completed survey. Results indicated that more than 50% of respondents rated all the elements of the ICT Literacy Framework as either Important or Essential. It clearly demonstrates that ICT literacy skills are of strategic importance to businesses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ICT Literacy for the Economy

 

1- The benefits of business technology literacy.

Communication is within a process that is interactive through which different messages are being transmitted between various people.

A person who is dedicated to communicating must be very effective to have the ultimate goal of transmitting the message so that it is received as clearly as possible by other people. The communication is very good and is judged due to the understanding of the recipient himself so that it can match the sender's intention.

The digital age allows us to speak, learn or share in a very efficient way and provides us with all kinds of means to do so. All business, government or academic institutions and others will depend on new digital technologies to be able to manage all the data, along with the information available.

Therefore, business technology literacy has become much more than a luxury for all those who will have enough means to be able to acquire a computer or any device with Internet access and pay the corresponding fees; All this has become a very important part of the population throughout the world. We usually use our smartphones to do everything, such as buying movie tickets or reading, going through the possibility of calling a taxi or paying for any item or service.

 

 

2- How to understand this digital literacy.

Digital literacy has to do with the ability to use certain information and communication technologies to create, find, evaluate and, of course, communicate all that information and it will require all kinds of cognitive and technical skills.

All of this is accepted as a tool that is very valuable as can be the growing importance of new technologies around the world. So if you are a very efficient communicator, it goes much further than transmitting and you can try to summarize, or even repeat. All this has to be based on the use of technological tools and pieces to improve the efficiency in the delivery of the information and greater productivity.

Many of the companies improve these promises thanks to digital technology. So understanding all of this will help us be more productive

 

 

 

3- How to use digital technologies to benefit the business?

We are going to name some ways to use business technology literacy and to achieve the best versatility and business efficiency.

• While we market: here you can use video marketing, to promote the business through your website, with the choice of a program that will help share, edit and update the plan, use email, promote products and services using different social networks such as Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, creating a content blog.
• Productivity: using a tool to keep track of the time and money you are up to. With this analysis, we will have productivity at hand and the possibility of improving processes if necessary. For this, it is possible to create all kinds of digital files to have all the documents quickly and easily. With digital dictation, all work processes will be streamlined. You can even develop a good management process with an email to follow up and respond to messages accordingly. Also, we can use the administration of tasks and projects to help us with daily activities.
• Customer service: we can install programs to schedule online appointments that are always necessary. The use of social networks for these customer services. It is possible to use surveys or questionnaires to obtain all kinds of customer feedback. It is possible to set up an online ticketing system or a service for technical assistance that will address all customer concerns. It is possible to put online support in chat for those clients.
• Money: there is a program to follow the budgets on the Internet to know and reduce expenses. You can file taxes online, which is very efficient. It is possible to share all types of digital files with the account or accountant to make this process better. Besides, there is a billing service that will reduce the amount that is spent on collecting payments from customers. When we sell the products and services, it will be possible to create a source of income. You can even replace certain alternatives to explore open source applications.
• Telecommuting and mobile work: you can use your smartphone to select all kinds of applications in the cloud to be able to stay connected. It is possible to create a mobile office that will allow you to work productively. It is even possible to save capital spent on paper and storage. It is possible to use a remote desktop application that will allow access to the files on the computer. It is possible to use an email address and a specific phone number.
• Learning and collaboration: it is possible to empower the team and expand knowledge thanks to business training. Data and files can be shared from the cloud. Scheduling and making video calls and making sure all those very different teams are on one page. It is possible to use the different messaging application to be able to communicate in the fastest way. It is impossible to have a face-to-face meeting if you are not travelling, but it is possible to keep everyone informed by web conferences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equipping students with Skills for the 21st century workforce

In an ever-increasing online and digital world, where the use of Information and Communication Technology continues to permeate our lives, being ICT literate is of great importance to the 21^st century learner. Students need to learn ICT literacy skills that will set them up for a future dominated with technology.

 

Another term for this is also ‘technology literacy’ or being ‘technology literate’, however, technology covers a very broad area technological devices. Yet it can be a more user-friendly term for many.

 

For the sake of this blog though, you will need to gain knowledge in relation to the importance of ICT literacy and the types of ICT literacy skills. So let’s begin by understanding the foundations of what this all means.

 

 

So what is ICT literacy? To fully understand the ICT literacy definition, it is important for you to comprehend the significance of not defining it by just looking at the technical skills, but encompassing the critical cognitive skills that accompany these technical skills.

 

For example, examine the following ICT literacy definition:

ICT literacy is using digital technology, communications tools, and/or networks to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge society.

(International ICT Literacy Panel, 2002, p. 2)

 

The above example lists the cognitive processes involved in ICT literacy such as creating, accessing, managing, evaluating, and integrating ICT. This is an important feature of this type of meaning. The statement by the International ICT Literacy Panel (2002) has since been the foundation of others over the years.

 

When this meaning is broken down it becomes easier to understand what it means to be ICT literate.

• Access - knowing about and knowing how to collect and/or retrieve information.
• Manage - applying an existing organisational or classification scheme.
• Integrate - interpreting and representing information. It involves summarizing, comparing, and contrasting.
• Evaluate - making judgements about the quality, relevance, usefulness, or efficiency of information.
• Create - generating information by adapting, applying, designing, inventing, or authoring information.

 

 

Within the classroom, these types of ICT literacy skills can inform the teaching of ICT literacy in the following ways:

Level 1: The NAP-ICT report says students at Level 1 can complete basic file and computer management functions (for instance, open, drag and drop files). They should also be able to click on a hyperlink, use the ‘save as’ and ‘paste’ functions and identify the main parts of a computer, such how to safely turn off a computer.

Level 2: Identifying and selecting relevant files by using metadata (for example, the file’s date) is a skill likely to be evident for students working at Level 2, the report notes, as well as understanding suffixes on a website URL (such as ‘.edu’). They could also explain why ICT and social media use at schools require a policy.

Level 3: The report observes that at this level, students are likely to make recommendations to improve the navigability of a website; understand a paid and non-paid search engine generated result; create an information product which follows an explicit, prescribed structure and recognise potential instances of ICT misuse (for example, computer viruses and plagiarism).

Level 4: Students working at Level 4 likely exhibit the ability to filter search engine parameters in order to improve search results; can edit features such as font, colour and image placement in a consistent manner; and can apply file management functions (for example, sorting files by type and date).

Level 5: Among other tasks such as using font and colour editing to suit a specified audience, the report says students identified to be at Level 5 are usually able to use the history function on a web browser or return to a previously visited site. They can also explain the pros and cons of saving documents as PDFs.

Level 6: At Level 6, students can employ the use of relevant tables and charts to enrich an information product, and explain their purpose and contents. They’re also likely to able to create an information product which flows and has carefully chosen font formats, colour and page transitions.

(Summary by TeacherMagazine, 2019)

 

 

 

ICT Capability or ICT Literacy?

With just over 50% of students reaching proficiency standards in the NAP-ICTL tests (2017), it is crucial that you as a teacher do understand what is ICT literacy is and the best practices to teach it. The Educational Technology Plan for Virginia outlined some key points to consider.

 

In this plan, there were similarities between what is ICT literacy for students and ICT capability. Highly capable students in ICT use were considered to possess and share the following attributes with what the plan discussed what students need to know about ICT literacy.

 

For example, high level ICT capability with students meant that they:

• Use ICT tools to support their learning in all subjects.
• Use common ICT tools.
• Take responsibility for their own learning, developing strategies to help them learn how to use unfamiliar ICT tools.
• Use current hardware and software and understand its potential and limitations.
• Understand that using ICT affects social processes.

 

The following is from Educational Technology Plan for Virginia.

Choose appropriate technologies to complete particular tasks and learn new technologies when needed:

• Become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of various technologies for supporting different tasks (e.g., writing, research, presentations, creating artwork).
• Have a working knowledge of locally available technologies.
• When completing educational tasks, consider which technologies may help and use those that are available.
• Incorporate appropriate new technologies as they become available.

 

Use technologies to develop strong thinking skills and extend capabilities:

• Use built-in assessments, or self-assessment tools, to increase skills and understanding of their learning processes (metacognition).
• Effectively and rapidly evaluate information to make decisions.
• Approach authentic tasks with flexibility and persistence; adapt technologies to make them useful.
• Use technology to seek out diverse perspectives and develop multiple solutions.

 

Use technologies ethically and safely:

• Comply with current copyright laws.
• Use borrowed technology with respect and care.
• Never use technology to bully, coerce, or harass any other person; be accountable for conduct when using technology.
• Be aware of safety issues related to all technologies, but specifically communication technologies.
• Follow the division’s current guidelines for ethics and safety (identified in each division’s acceptable use policy).

 

Understand the nature of information in a global world and the characteristics of various media:

• Become informed about other cultures so all global communication can be made respectfully.
• Recognise when information is needed and determine where to locate the appropriate information.
• Evaluate information based on accuracy, relevance to a task or question, and appropriateness.

 

I hope this has helped you to understand what is ICT literacy and also to determine what it means to be ICT literate today. Acquiring ICT literacy skills is essential for students today and vital for the workforce tomorrow as we continue face more uncertain prospects in our lives and become more reliant on the use of information and communication technology literacy to survive and thrive in an ICT-dominated society.

 

 

 

 

Literacy development is of prime importance in the primary classroom today. ICT (Information and Communications Technology) stands in interesting relation to literacy, as one of its most important contributions is that of helping teachers provide students with resources that allow them to focus on specific learning objectives.

 

It has the potential to provide effective support to teaching and learning throughout the curriculum. However, without effective in-service training and leadership in ICT the talents of teachers will not be exploited enough and the quality of students’ work when using computers or other ICT will have a negative impact on literacy learning. 

It is of interest for you to know that ICT does open up further dimensions of literacy and that research has proven that there are direct links between the extent of how effective ICT has been used in literacy lessons and the level of teacher’s personal capabilities in ICT.

 

Research (Kennewell et al., 2000) has highlighted that where teachers have felt that their ICT capability was lacking, that in most cases, there was a haphazard development in student ICT skills. 

 

The most important judgement about the worth of your school will be the changes it brings about in its students over time. Therefore, the levels of student attainment in both literacy learning and ICT capability will play a crucial role to your school’s educational offerings. 

 

Primary ICT coordinators, for this reason, are one of the most influential professionals in schools. With the Australian Curriculum emphasising significant progression in student ICT capability occurring within the primary education realm, if their leadership is effective they have a significant opportunity to improve literacy learning in schools.   

 

 

 

ICT is a powerful tool for literacy learning in the classroom and thus enables educational leaders in ICT with a tremendous opportunity to capitalise on the use of ICT by encouraging teachers to teach ICT capability alongside literacy development.

They can work together with other curriculum leaders to ensure that ICT is implemented effectively to continue literacy development throughout the whole school. However, if curriculum leaders themselves are not trained sufficiently enough then they can’t give a positive lead in the use of ICT in their curriculum. 

 

By providing whole-school in-service days in ICT, primary ICT coordinators can steer the school to ICT greatness whilst significantly enhancing the learning of literacy in the classroom. The continuous use of ICT to improve student literacy work by drafting and re-drafting provides excellent opportunities for the development of these 21^st century skills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teacher Capabilities in Literacy Learning

Teaching and learning with ICT in literacy lessons can be very beneficial as its use enhances learning and provides students with resources that allow them to focus on the specific learning objectives for a lesson and avoid getting bogged down in issues.

However, twenty years on and studies are still finding that the successful integration of ICT in English/literacy lessons depends on a large extent on the teacher’s own ICT literacy. The most effective lesson that supported the development of literacy through the use of ICT made effective of the provisionality inherent in ICT.

 

 

There have five different types of teacher challenges identified in studies (Tinio, 2002) that have contributed to the lack of ICT in literacy learning.

1. The teacher’s skills in the actual use of ICT in teaching,
2. The ICT resources,
3. The perceived attitude of the teacher’s towards the use of ICT in teaching,
4. The technical support and needs and;
5. Staff development towards ICT use.

 

Studies have also indicated that the teacher’s lack of expertise in using ICT hinders teacher’s confidence in using it.

 

So what can you do about it? ICT literacy in education is just as important for teachers as it is for students using ICT to achieve other learning outcomes. The key benefits of ICT literacy in education include:

• Improves motivation and engagement in learning.
• Provides tools for all purposes.
• Aids students with special needs.
• Increases economic competitiveness.
• Increases educational attainment levels.
• Increases access to education.
• ICT is a catalyst for educational renewal.

 

Other recommendations also include ICT leaders and school administrators who can incorporate a larger school-wide ICT development plan to ensure the coherence of ICT implementation in the language teaching-learning activities.

Literacy learning and leadership in ICT in school education can play a big role in ensuring ICT literacy in education is achieved, but only if teachers are provided with effective literacy workshops for primary teachers that embody literacy with ICT teaching strategies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Role and the Need for ICT Leadership in School Education

As the integrating of technology in the classroom continues to grip the education sector, ICT leaders in school education like ICT coordinators play a key role in in ensuring that primary teachers in particular, are equipped to develop ICT capable students that prepared for an ICT-integrated society.

 

To be a good ICT coordinator, you need to have such qualities like having credibility as a successful technology integrator in the classroom and exhibit a positive and supportive attitude towards colleagues just to name a few. This is one of the most important factors of their work. The lead by example method is crucial for teachers to be able to understand the impact that technology has on subject learning along with the development of ICT capability. Of course, it could not be possible without having effective personal leadership skills.

 

The role of the primary teacher is at the very heart of the development of ICT capability through the effective integration of technology in the classroom. This is because they need to be covering all aspects of a child’s development and they focus on the child as a whole. Your role as the ICT coordinator, therefore, is vital as primary teachers cannot possibly be an expert in every aspect of the curriculum.

 

Your role as the ICT coordinator is to be there to help them and guide them and it is a unique role too. Most likely, a large part of your role would therefore involve inservice training for teachers in technology integration strategies along with coordinating the teaching and learning with ICT in the classroom.

 

 

 

 

 

Changing Perceptions with PD

Embedding ICT literacy in education and throughout the curriculum is a crucial part of 21^st century learning in the classroom. However, a key part of this solely relies upon that of a teacher’s ability to be ICT literacy or ICT capable.

 

The importance of ICT in education plays to the ability of schools and teachers to prepare students for an ICT integrated society by ensuring that ICT becoming transparent in its use when learning outcomes are being achieved and that student ICT capability is attained and ICT literacy in education is recognised as the key skills for 21^st century learning.

 

There are a range of benefits of embedding ICT literacy in the education that include:

• Providing a wide range of ICT tools to use in the classroom;
• Aiding students with special needs;
• Personalised learning experiences;
• Improves communication between schools and the broader community;
• Promotes active learning
• Develops higher order thinking skills (only when the right software is integrated) and;
• Allows students to collaborate together in learning activities.

 

Your ICT literacy as a teacher enables you to promote ICT literacy in education in a meaningful and context-driven way. It would be affected by key issues such as:

• Operational understanding and application of ICT;
• ICT teaching strategies for primary school and learning environments;
• ICT for professional learning and engagement and;
• The social ecology of living and learning with ICT.

 

Research has also said that the age of a teacher may also have an impact on your ICT literacy. For example, if you are between 35 and 39 you are seen as being more competent than your colleagues.

 

What does this mean?

The need for professional development opportunities for teachers that promote the instructional decision-making related towards employing evidence based ICT teaching strategies is essential in changing the perceptions of teachers when using technology in the classroom.

 

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