Curriculum Analysis



Curriculum Analysis

New CLAIT Curriculum

To me, information Technology deals with an understanding of the technology infrastructure that underpins much of today's life; an understanding of the tools technology provides and their interaction with this infrastructure; and an understanding of the legal, social, economic and public policy issues that shape the development of the infrastructure and the applications and use of the technologies.

Computer Literacy & Information Technology Curriculum, on the other hand, deals with content and communication: it encompasses authoring, information finding and organization, the research process, and information analysis, assessment and evaluation. The content in question here can take many forms: text, images, video, computer simulations, and multi-media interactive works. Content can also serve many purposes: news, art, entertainment, education, research and scholarship, advertising, politics, commerce, and documents and records that structure activities of everyday business and personal life. CLIAT as I view it subsumes but goes far beyond traditional the textual literacy that has been considered part of a basic education (the ability to read, write, and critically analyze various forms of primarily textual literary works or personal and business documents).

Both forms of literacy are essential for individuals to function and succeed in today's society; they are distinct but inter-related. In an increasingly technological society, the means of authoring, information finding and organization and research, and even information use are increasingly mediated by information technology. And information technology shapes the channels of publication, access and dissemination of information; the influence, and the intrinsic nature of digital documents, raises new issues in the activities and practices of analysis, assessment, evaluation and criticism. And much of today's information technology and supporting infrastructure is intended to enable communication, information finding, and information access and information delivery. Teaching of the two sets of literacy skills thus need to be closely coordinated. The use of software tools to communicate information is a particularly important area for Computer Literacy & Information Technology Curriculum.

In CLIAT Curriculum there are two general perspectives on information Technology. The first emphasizes skills in the use of tools: word processing, spreadsheets, basic operation of computers (for example, managing computer files and launching programs); and now use of basic internet tools such as web browsers and electronic mail systems. Sometimes, this is also expanded to include a superficial knowledge of a programming language. The second perspective focuses on understanding how technologies, systems, and infrastructure work -- first at a more superficial descriptive level, and later, for those who are interested, at a much more detailed analytic or engineering level.

In CLIAT Curriculum the body of knowledge related to text -- authoring and critical and analytic reading (including the assessment of purpose, bias, accuracy and quality) -- needs to be extended to the full range of visual (image and video) and multimedia communication genres. This includes an appreciation of interactive media, and also a recognition of the fluid nature of many digital forms, plus an understanding of the computer's growing ability to edit or even fabricate what have traditionally been viewed as factual ...