Myth that the IT generation teaches itself

It is no longer possible to live by the myth that children and young people acquire digital skills on their own.

– Pupils need to receive more instruction in computer and information skills – and more tests, says IEA director Dirk Hastedt.

The IEA is the international research organization that just released the results of Icils, a measurement of eighth graders’ digital skills. The Swedish results showed that four out of ten students do not reach a basic level.

– That’s too high a percentage, a result you can’t be satisfied with, states Dirk Hastedt from the office in Amsterdam.

Not too difficult

But Sweden is not the worst. Internationally, five out of ten students have weak or very weak IT skills. Dirk Hastedt has been asked if the test was too difficult. His answer is no, and shows one of the more difficult tasks – an advertisement about the excellence of a product, with reference to a marketing department. Only 16 percent of all students, 27 percent of the Swedish, could justify why the information must be taken with a grain of salt.

– It is perfectly reasonable that students in the eighth grade can sift through credible information online. Gone are the days when the teacher sent the students to the library and asked them to look up information in an encyclopedia, says Dirk Hastedt.

Advantages of samples

The IEA director also hopes that the myth that the IT generation automatically becomes IT competent just because they spend a lot of time with digital tools dies.

– My opinion is that students must receive more instruction in computer and information skills. Digital skills are mentioned in curricula, but tests or exams are very rare. And the absence of samples may be a partial explanation for the weak results. For teachers, they teach what is to be tested. And the students, they learn what they know in a test, says Dirk Hastedt.

FACTS

Read more