ICT Literacy Training Requirements and Tools: Towards an Inclusive Definition of Literacy

Package for Re: Source - Deliverable 2

Date: 10/04/2001

1. Introduction and Background

1.1 In 1999-2000 humanITy wrote a number of Deliverables on access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the public library sector with specific reference to disabled people, with a strong emphasis on visual impairment. In 2000-2001 we have so far delivered two packages:

Deliverable 1: The Accessible Information Matrix and the Design of an Accessibility Toolkit
Deliverable 3: Designing Tests for the Power of Nine.

1.2 This Deliverable builds on the work of Deliverable 1, concentrating in particular on Models of Literacy (2.1) and the List of Tools (2.3), in order to make proposals about the link between tools and ICT training.

2. Models of Literacy and Library Services

2.1 Carey and Gracia-Luque (2001, in press)[1] have shown that literacy is not a concept which readily reduces to a fixed, consensual set of skills. Its definitions run from the extremely narrow, concerned exclusively with symbolic language and calculation, to defini8tions so broad that they could encompass manual labour.

They go on to point out in work summarised in Deliverable 1 of this package, that there are broadly two models for understanding literacy, regardless of the concept. These might broadly be described as the exclusive, traditional or autonomous definition and the inclusive, contemporary and collaborative definition.

The exclusive definition states that:

The more elements there are in an information system, the fewer the people who can operate it at any given level.

The inclusive definition states that:

The more complex a system the greater the number of those who can operate within it at some level of competence.

"Complexity", defined as the number of task elements or strands within a system, is not to be confused with "Difficulty", the level of skill required for each strand.

Here is a simple example of the contrast between the two systems. Parties J and K are faced with the task of reading a novel and writing a précis of it. Party J understands the whole novel and writes a précis. Party K reads the novel more slowly but can only verbally describe it and the account is disorganised and disproportionate, putting emphasis on some trivialities, notably nearer the end of the novel, and omitting some vital details, mostly near the beginning. The two parties are then required to draw a family tree of the main protagonists. Party J cannot see the family in a two-dimensional flow-chart model but Party K finds this simple. After review it is decided to put the précis and the family tree onto a Web site where some further design elements are required. Party J finds the site taxonomy quite simple but neither party has any sense of colour or line so they bring in Party H who admits to be very poor at reading and writing skills but is very good with line, contrast and collage. By this time the team is becoming quite excited by what they are producing together. Although K is fairly good at reading and research she does not think she has a 'feel' for the social history which the novel encompasses so the three, who now regard themselves as a team, bring in G who is a good social historian who does not write passages for the Web site but provides a series of links to other sources. In the course of this work G mentions the rich variety of folk music referred to in the novel and suggests that F might be brought in to put some of this onto the site, as none of the team is good in this area.

Clearly, there is no member of the team who could undertake all these skills so under the exclusive model the product would never have been made but some of the parties are only good at one of the required skills so as the project requires an increasing variety of skills the more potential contributors there are.

2.2 This example simply deals with the use of different skills; it says nothing about the level of competence required for each skill. However, as Carey and Gracia-Luque point out (op cit), in digital production the outcome is simultaneously provisional and potentially timeless. The cost of correcting errors in adding information is much lower than in analogue media. This enables people of different skills levels within any skill to work together. The decreasing cost of error adds a very different dimension to priorities in education and training.

Party P may be very good at generating ideas which are roughly jotted down while party Q may be excellent at putting them into a sequence and expressing them clearly.

Party R may persuade them that the information would be better in a table than in simple Alphanumeric order because, in essence, P's points amount to two lists which should be arranged on a horizontal and vertical axis to produce a matrix.

2.3 Just as there is an inclusive model of literacy for creation, there is, at a much deeper social level, an inclusive model for understanding information. There are limits to the old model both of the examination hall and the solitary exploration of the library stacks. Libraries have steadily improved such activities as reading circles and this needs to be extended into such areas as reference, navigation and taxonomy. This has implications for the relationship between libraries, schools and the further and higher education sectors which will be considered in Section 4. below.

2.4 An added consideration is that in traditional education and training regimes the process is as important as the output. So, for example, children are expected to learn how to multiply two 4-figure numbers using a pencil and paper rather than a calculator and they are expected to write examinations using a pen rather than a computer.

2.5 While policy makers may feel that there is justification in emphasising process equally with output, this cannot be true for a public information system which deals with adults who are, through the tax system, paying customers. Unless the individual wishes to place emphasis on process in accessing a library service, the obligation is on the system to produce an output as the result of optimal effort. This is why the library sector should be acutely aware of tools in the ICT environment.

3. Tools and Training

3.1 In Deliverable 1 of this package we list 27 ICT skills that are shown at Annexe I. The initial inclination might be to concentrate on the two sets of individual skills but one of the major arguments of this Deliverable is that socio-economic conditions indicate increased importance for collaborative skills. However, the most cursory glance at Figure 3 in Deliverable 1 of this package shows an impressive array of tools for solo interaction with ICT but none for collaborative work. Much more work needs to be undertaken to find and/or build collaborative ICT tools.

3.2 There is a dispute about the potential effectiveness of on-line collaboration largely around the concept of synchronicity and asynchronicity. Some advocates say that real collaboration can only be effected in a synchronous environment but that would limit collaboration in a large number of ways, not the least of which is the potential exclusion of people with poor attention spans, information handling difficulties or simply an inability to lead an organised life. The very people who might most benefit from a less formal work environment would be excluded if asynchronous collaboration is not effective. It is precisely and fundamentally our case, based on the inclusive model of literacy, that multimedia allows people with narrow skills bases to collaborate to understand and create content and the conditions under which such people often operate makes synchronicity an unrealistic working method.

3.3 It is our central contention that asynchronous collaboration is possible but that it requires an array of prompt tools to be effective. The range of such tools is enormous but here are 15 basic sets:

Fig. 1 Prompt tools: 15 Basic sets (Process/Content)

3.3.1 Process	Comments
a. Collaborative etiquette prompts	You might think this is funny but might it not be rude as well? Cultural baggage warning; have you quoted a colleague accurately and acknowledged?
b. Levels of privacy tool	If you send message from here it will reach whole group/one member of group/team leader/be confined to your own device
c. Self Check	Read again, check requirements; commit
d. Go to	Latest project contribution; your last intervention point
e. Précis/Storyboard tools	This is a summary of what we have done; this is an outline of what we still need to do
f. Requirements list with deadlines	Somebody needs to do this/Party K has agreed to do this/we need a volunteer to do this by xx.xx.xx
g. Resources tool	You have xx time on the Internet and you have spent Y with Z remaining
h. Routing/Navigation	My contribution/our strand/ all
i. Procedure tool	Rules of engagement, conflict resolution

3.3.2 Content	Comments
a. Jargon unscrambler	Relates to intra-language engineering tools
b. Language engineering tools	For ethnic minorities
c. Filters	Delete/transfer to project archive
d. Scoping tool	Team has agreed that project has limits and has established 'virtual' boundaries
e. Read/Write tool	You can change this page, there is an archive copy; this is a read only page
f. Spontaneity tool	Is there something you want to say about the project which doesn't fit inside the agreed scope?

3.4 There are clearly some major procedural issues in respect of collaboration but most projects will require a team leader who will have her/his own 'professional' tool-kit for such aspects of the project as:

Fig 2. Team Leader’s ‘Professional’ Tool-kit

Scope
Budget
Schedule
Allocate
Monitor
Focus
Summarise
Moderate
Steer
Resolve
Generate
Validate/compare
Evaluate
Publish
Market

3.5 It might be argued that without most of these skills nobody should be a team leader but a tool kit for leadership in e-content creation is a vital part of building new capacity.

4. Libraries, Education and Training

4.1 As Carey points out (2001)[2], the necessary emphasis in education on inclusive literacy and the expectation by employers that training will focus almost entirely on the exclusive model indicates that there needs to be a fundamental re-balancing of the roles of the two sectors. Broadly, this means that education should focus on the inclusive model and training on the exclusive model but that the two should be run in parallel rather than being seen as conflicting, with the emphasis changing according to the individual’s stage of development, aptitude and preference.

4.2 The library sector, however, is in a unique position to provide its own major contribution to education and training because of its unique characteristics; it is:

Neutral and regarded as such
Trusted
Non-threatening
Non-judgmental.

4.3 It can therefore:

Become much more involved in outcomes than processes

Set outcome standards independent of process

Use tools freely without being bounded by the requirements of tests and examinations

Move rapidly as technologies change

Provide an overall 'look and feel' with variants for nations/regions/ethnic minorities

Guarantee availability and accessibility.

4.4 The MIT precedent demonstrates the fragility of commercial distance learning models and with the forthcoming challenge of digital television it is doubly important to develop materials and tools for providing education, training and cultural enhancement in the domestic environment in a way which blurs the boundary between these and entertainment. Again, this is an area where the library sector can be particularly valuable.

4.5 An essential precondition for change is a cultural adjustment towards content creation as an equal partner with content acquisition. This is important because of the interactive potential of the Internet but also because the basic economic commodity of the information age will be information; if we become simply content consumers we will be a third rate economy with all that that implies for the disadvantaged. To that extent the library sector should not see itself as a peripheral cultural supplier but as an engine for economic growth. Just as Ghandi called for every Indian home to have a spinning wheel, our new age will require every home to e connected but the product of that connection will largely be collaborative rather than autonomous.

ANNEXE I

ICT Skills: Basic, Simple and Advanced; Collaborative, Simple and Advanced.

	Individual	Collaborative
A. Basic	Self tuition Comprehension of symbolic language; expression in symbolic language Arithmetic and calculation in tabular format and in spatial formal Visual discrimination, design and drawing Taxonomy Navigation Content discrimination	Submitting a required response Appending simple, relevant, proportionate, non-integrated content Signposting other relevant sources Understanding narrative/shape Identifying gaps/creative opportunities Suggesting options/elements Adding synchronous/asynchronous content Integrating new content into structure
B. Advanced	Tact and elegance in e-mail writing, Rapid decision-making in network consultation, Restraint in e-group transactions, Clarity in Web page design, Simplicity without condescension in public information The omission of gratuitous ornamentation in all on-screen design Suggesting enhancements outside current structure	Creating the structure Co-ordinating a team Editing product from team Ending/beginning projects Marketing/promoting.

[1] Carey, K. and Gracia-Luque, R. (2001) Cyber-literacies. In Press

[2] Carey, K. (2001) The Big Match. West London Tec (In Press)

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