UWeek Vol.17, No.1 September 30,1999

It’s an hour before a major presenation and your computer isn’t cooperating. The work is done, but the documents won’t print. Would you know what steps to take to fix the problem in time to save your job?

Or suppose you’re trying to meet a deadline and need information from a Web site. When you try the address you’ve been given, you discover that there’s no such page. Would you have the cyber smarts to find the correct address on your own?

A large portion of the computer-using population wouldn’t, according to Larry Snyder, professor of computer science at the University of Washington and chairman of a national committee that recently studied the issue. That’s worrisome in an age when people increasingly rely on information know-how, Snyder said. This fall, he hopes to change that by teaching a new undergraduate course—apparently the first of its kind in the nation—that helps nonexperts increase their fluency in information technology.

“Most people who use computers have the skills to be able to work various applications, such as word processing and e-mail, or to be able to use the Web,” Snyder said. “What they generally lack is a real understanding of the deeper concepts beyond that, which would give them the ability to cope when things go wrong and to adapt as the technology changes rapidly, which it will continue to do.”

The class, CSE 100, is the result of recommendations from a 112-page report issued by a National Research Council committee. The council was asked by the National Science Foundation to explore the question of what people should know in order to participate in the information age in a meaningful way. Three key areas listed by Snyder’s committee are:

Skills, or the ability to use today’s computer applications.

An understanding of the basic concepts behind computers, networks and other technologies.

The capability to apply information technology in complex situations and manipulate it to achieve their goals.

For most people, the skills area is their strongest, according to Snyder. That’s what people usually mean when they talk about computer literacy. But that’s also the area that changes as technologies change. Concepts and capabilities, on the other hand, don’t change with time, so people fluent in the second two categories can troubleshoot when something goes wrong and adapt for tomorrow’s skills.

Snyder taught a pilot for the course last spring and student feedback was positive, he said, adding that it doesn’t look like he will have trouble filling the first official offering this fall—a joint venture by the departments of computer science and engineering and library information science

And there are ongoing plans to expand the course to the K-12 level. Snyder said he’s excited about those possibilities because they would allow students to be firmly grounded in information fluency before they get to college.

“The computer science people traditionally study the more fundamental content of fluency, but that’s where it stops and it’s something everyone needs today,” Snyder said. “A class like this just isn’t being offered anywhere else in the country—yet.” ¶

Rob Harrill, News & Information

University Week
The faculty and staff publication of the University of Washington
uweek@u.washington.edu
September 30,1999