First Administration of ETS Core ITC Literacy Assessment

ETS announced that 7,000+ students at more than 38 four-year institutions, community colleges, and high schools across the U.S. are taking the first administration of the new Core version of its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Literacy Assessment. The first administration of the new Core version is being offered free of charge to qualified institutions through May 5. The simulation-based test focuses on first-year college students, as well as college-bound high school seniors, and can measure a student’s ability to use critical thinking with key information literacy skills in a technological environment. Measurements are taken in the performance of 15 information management tasks, incorporating tools like spreadsheets, databases, or e-mail.

Sue McCrory, coordinator of Missouri State University’s Computers for Learning course, explains why her institution is administering the test to 1,500 students: “There is an assumption that because students have grown up with computers, they are ICT proficient. Yes, they can instant message and buy things online, but many of them have never used a spreadsheet and don’t know whether the information they are finding on the Internet is from an authoritative source. This assessment can help us validate areas in which our ICT curriculum is successful, and point out some areas where we may need to make changes to ensure that we are preparing our students to be successful in college and in life.” More information and a demo link are available at http://www.ets.org/ictliteracy

John Webster’s BI Blog from Solutions 2006 Conference

During this week’s Solutions 2006 conference in Las Vegas, Dakota State University (SD) Professor John Webster will be blogging his “Business School Perspectives” and reflections about the conference, including his thoughts about how Business Intelligence (BI) and Business Performance Management (BPM) can be incorporated in the business and technology classroom.

Solutions 2006 is Hyperion’s global user conference, with some 5,000 attendees from all markets. A higher education track is featured as part of a program of more than 250 sessions targeting Hyperion’s customer base.