Preparing For Life In A Digital Age

Ability to use information and communication technologies (ICT) is an imperative for effective participation in today’s digital age. Schools worldwide are responding to the need to provide young people with that ability. But how effective are they in this regard? The IEA International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) responded to this question by studying the extent to which young people have developed computer and information literacy (CIL), which is defined as the ability to use computers to investigate, create and communicate with others at home, school, the workplace and in society. The study was conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and builds on a series of earlier IEA studies focusing on ICT in education. Data were gathered from almost 60,000 Grade 8 students in more than 3,300 schools from 21 education systems. This information was augmented by data from almost 35,000 teachers in those schools and by contextual data collected from school ICT-coordinators, school principals and the ICILS national research centers. The IEA ICILS team systematically investigated differences among the participating countries in students’ CIL outcomes, how participating countries were providing CIL-related education and how confident teachers were in using ICT in their pedagogical practice. The team also explored differences within and across countries with respect to relationships between CIL education outcomes and student characteristics and school contexts. In general, the study findings presented in this international report challenge the notion of young people as “digital natives” with a self-developed capacity to use digital technology. The large variations in CIL proficiency within and across the ICILS countries suggest it is naive to expect young people to develop CIL in the absence of coherent learning programs. Findings also indicate that system- and school-level planning needs to focus on increasing teacher expertise in using ICT for pedagogical purposes if such programs are to have the desired effect. The report furthermore presents an empirically derived scale and description of CIL learning that educational stakeholders can reference when deliberating about CIL education and use to monitor change in CIL over time.

This Open Access book summarizes the key findings from the second cycle of IEA’s International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), conducted in 2018. ICILS seeks to establish how well schools around the globe are responding to the need to provide young people with the necessary digital participatory competencies. Effective use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is an imperative for successful participation in an increasingly digital world. ICILS 2018 explores international differences in students’ computer and information literacy (CIL), namely their ability to use computers to investigate, create, and communicate at home, at school, in the workplace, and in the community. Participating countries also had an option to administer an assessment of students’ computational thinking (CT), focused on their ability to recognize aspects of real-world problems appropriate for computational formulation, and to evaluate and develop algorithmic solutions to those problems, so that the solutions could be operationalized with a computer. The data collected by ICILS 2018 show how digital competencies can be assessed using instruments representing authentic contexts for ICT use, and how students’ CIL and CT skills relate to school learning experiences, out-of-school contexts, and student characteristics. Those data also show how learning technologies are used in classrooms around the world. Background questionnaires asked students about their use of ICT, and collected information from teachers, schools, and national education systems about the resourcing and teaching of CIL (and CT) within their countries. The results of ICILS 2018 will enable policymakers and education systems to develop a better understanding of the contexts and outcomes of CIL (and CT) education programs.

Report of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), that studied the extent to which young people have developed computer and information literacy (CIL) to support their capacity to participate in the digital age. The study focused on: variations in CIL within and across countries; aspects of schools, education systems and teaching associated with student achievement in CIL; the extent to which students' access to, familiarity with, and self-reported proficiency in using computers is associated with student achievement in CIL; and aspects of students' personal and social backgrounds associated with CIL. [p.15, ed].

This Open Access book summarizes the key findings from the second cycle of IEA’s International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), conducted in 2018. ICILS seeks to establish how well schools around the globe are responding to the need to provide young people with the necessary digital participatory competencies. Effective use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is an imperative for successful participation in an increasingly digital world. ICILS 2018 explores international differences in students’ computer and information literacy (CIL), namely their ability to use computers to investigate, create, and communicate at home, at school, in the workplace, and in the community. Participating countries also had an option to administer an assessment of students’ computational thinking (CT), focused on their ability to recognize aspects of real-world problems appropriate for computational formulation, and to evaluate and develop algorithmic solutions to those problems, so that the solutions could be operationalized with a computer. The data collected by ICILS 2018 show how digital competencies can be assessed using instruments representing authentic contexts for ICT use, and how students’ CIL and CT skills relate to school learning experiences, out-of-school contexts, and student characteristics. Those data also show how learning technologies are used in classrooms around the world. Background questionnaires asked students about their use of ICT, and collected information from teachers, schools, and national education systems about the resourcing and teaching of CIL (and CT) within their countries. The results of ICILS 2018 will enable policymakers and education systems to develop a better understanding of the contexts and outcomes of CIL (and CT) education programs.

Report of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), that studied the extent to which young people have developed computer and information literacy (CIL) to support their capacity to participate in the digital age. The study focused on: variations in CIL within and across countries; aspects of schools, education systems and teaching associated with student achievement in CIL; the extent to which students' access to, familiarity with, and self-reported proficiency in using computers is associated with student achievement in CIL; and aspects of students' personal and social backgrounds associated with CIL. [p.15, ed]

Digitalisation is transforming education as well as social and economic life, with implications for childhood. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), with its immense potential to shape children’s early development, learning and well-being, can play a major role in addressing the opportunities and risks that digitalisation brings to young children.

We are currently witnessing a significant transformation in the development of education on all levels and especially in post-secondary education. To face these challenges, higher education must find innovative ways to quickly respond to these new needs. These were the aims connected with the 25th International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL2022), which was held in Vienna, Austria, from September 27 to 30, 2022. Since its beginning in 1998, this conference is devoted to new approaches in learning with a focus on collaborative learning in higher education. This book contains papers in the fields of: • Collaborative Learning• Digital Transition in Education• Technology Enhanced Learning• Advances in Machine and Technology Enhanced Learning• Educational Virtual Environments• Flipped Classrooms• Games in Engineering Education• Entrepreneurship in Engineering Education Interested readership includes policymakers, academics, educators, researchers in pedagogy and learning theory, school teachers, the learning industry, further and continuing education lecturers, etc.