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Information and Technology Literacy
Time to Get Serious at the University of Washington, in Seattle, and Beyond


There's widespread agreement that:
  • we live in an increasingly complex information world
  • information anxiety is the norm
  • success today requires a new set of basic skills - skills associated with information and technology for a range of uses.
These realizations are not unique to the University of Washington. We read and hear about these concerns in the press, from government leaders, on campuses, in K-12 schools, and in business and industry. People are concerned about how to cope in our rapidly changing information society.

What is unique at the UW is that a number of folks on campus from a range of different departments, schools, and units have decided that it is time to do something about it. Faculty and staff from Computer Science and Engineering, UWired, Undergraduate Education, University Libraries, Health Sciences, Educational Assessment, Library and Information Science, and other academic programs recognize that we need to do a better job to help our students develop essential knowledge and skills associated with information and technology. We also recognize that needs and our responsibilities extend well beyond the campus into K-12 education and throughout our communities.

All this requires change - in the way we go about our business, in what we hope and expect to achieve. Our job is to put our students in a position to succeed. To give students the skills and knowledge they need to live in an increasingly complex world. At the UW, we are ready to determine what this really means and to establish a plan to make it happen.

As a first effort to start, we convened the "Information and Technology Literacy Summit" on February 8, 1999. The goals were to discuss the nature and scope of the topic, raise key issues, and begin to discuss ways of addressing needs.

The meeting was attended by over 100 persons from the campus and the community. Mike Eisenberg, Director of the School of Library and Information Science, kicked off the one-half day event with a short presentation on the problem and opportunities. Ed Lazowska, Chair of Computer Science and Engineering, gave his take on the problem and then introduced Larry Snyder, professor of computer science and engineering and chair of a prestigious National Research Council group looking at essential information and technology skills. Dr. Snyder presented a first glimpse of his group's report on information technology fluency-outlining key skills, concepts, and capabilities for every college-level citizen. Betty Bengtson, Director of the University Library, offered insights into what is already taking place on campus and how we might proceed.

The presentations were followed by small group and an open panel discussion of the issues and possible next steps. This web site is one such follow-up effort, but we can also look to Larry Snyder's CSE 100 course - Fluency in Information Technology (FITness) - in the Spring and future collaborative efforts involving Computer Science and Engineering, Library and Information Science, University Libraries, UWired, and others.

We welcome your thoughts and contributions to this important effort.


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