The Fluency Vision

CSE100/INFO100 is an introductory class that implements the recommendations of the National Research Council’s study Being Fluent With Information Technology [National Academy Press, 1999]. The report describes the knowledge and experience a person should possess to be fluent in information technology, where fluency is a more ambitious goal than computer literacy.

Literacy vs. Fluency Computer literacy has traditionally meant proficiency with a few contemporary computer applications such as email, word processing and the like. Though such literacy instruction enables students to use computers directly, it does not have the staying power needed to accommodate the rapid changes in Information Technology.

To use computers effectively over time, people must become lifelong learners, continually expanding their knowledge and upgrading their skills. The NRC report adopts the term "fluency" for this more fundamental understanding of IT. The term connotes the ability to synthesize, to express oneself creatively, and to manipulate the medium to achieve one’s goals.

Components of Fluency

Skills – competence with contemporary computer applications and tools; this component approximates traditional computer literacy. An example is learning to use a word processor, or transfer files across networks.

Concepts – fundamental principles on which information technology is founded, including basic ideas related to computers, networks, etc. An example is the understanding of the digital representation of information, or how networks operate.

Capabilities - the ability to apply information technology in complex and sustained situations, which encapsulate higher-level thinking in the context of information technology. An example is to engage in sustained reasoning.

The report lists the 10 top priority items of each type of knowledge. Notice the three types of knowledge are co-equal and interdependent.