Earlier this month, I wrote "10 Important Skills Students Need for the Future." After reading a few articles about specific tech skills, I thought I write what I think are the 10 Important Tech Skills Students Need.
1. Internet Search - students need to know how to do a proper internet search, using search terms and modifiers. This skill is needed for school, work and life in general.
Tips on Better Searches (from Google)
Infographic on Better Searches
Common Craft Video on Web Search Strategies
2. Office Suite Skills - students need to now how to create, edit, and modify documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. Businesses still use MS Office for the most part, but iWorks, OpenOffice / LibreOffice, and Google Docs are all getting more popular. They all work similarly so the learning curve when switching isn't that big.
Alternatives to MS Office
Free Alternatives to Paid Software
3. Self learning of tech and where to go for help - knowing how to search a help menu on software or hardware, where to go to find user forums for help, and where to find the manual for technology is a huge skill that many do not know about.
Free Tech Tips and Help
TechEase - technology tips
Online Tech Tips - hardware, software, and more
Tech Support help
4. Typing - yes, typing. I can get much more work done since I know how to type, than people who don't. It's a skill that is necessary for any kind of writing.
Learn to Type
5. Social Media - how to properly use social media for school and work, how to protect yourself on it, the issues of cyberbullying, connecting with others in your profession (PLN).
Twitter, Google+, Facebook comparison
Twitter, Facebook, RSS, Email, Google+ - tips on use
Facebook and Google+ security and privacy
Common Craft Video on Social Media
Create a Personal Learning Network
6. Netiquette - Internet/Email/Social Media etiquette - proper way to use the internet, write professional emails, use social media in relation to your job (not complaining about the boss).
Netiquette - Wikipedia
7. Security and Safety - antivirus, spam, phishing, too much personal information sharing, stalkers, and more are all issues they need to know about.
Internet Safety Resources
Google Family Safety Center
Google Good to Know online safety and internet data
Common Craft Video on Secure Passwords
8. Hardware basics and troubleshooting - knowing what different parts of technology are called, how to make minor fixes, and how to do basic troubleshooting for WiFi, networks, OS won't load, etc.
Free Tech Tips and Help
TechEase - technology tips
Online Tech Tips - hardware, software, and more
Tech Support help
9. Backup data - with all of the data that students create for school and work, it is important to back it up and have access to it at any time.
Backup your Data - tools and resources
Google Takeout - export your Google data
10. Finding apps and software - how to find, evaluate, and use apps for school and business. Also, how to find quality, free alternatives to paid software, apps and services.
Quixey - Search engine for apps
Free Alternatives to Paid Software
Google Apps Resources
Free Apps
On device apps/software vs. web apps
SmartPhone Experts - apps, reviews, tech tips, and more for all smartphones
What do you think are the top tech skills students need to know?
UPDATED:
As "MisterS" pointed out in the comments, I'm missing an important one:
11. Copyright and Citing Sources - students need to understand copyright laws and rules, how to cite a resource, and how to integrate someone else's work into their's properly.
Taking the Mystery out of Copyright
Citation Help
David-
ReplyDelete1) Been following for a while now, and very much appreciate your thoughts and finds. Great work.
2) One thing I think is absent from the list is students need knowledge about citing sources, copyright infringement, fair use, and ethical things along those lines. So often, students live in a copy and paste online world, where little attention is given to the owner of the material.
Keep up the good work!
Mister S,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and the kind words.
I totally agree! Citing sources and copyright should be on there. I'll add a number 11!
Thanks!
Check out www.staffroomhq.com lots of similarities.
ReplyDeleteMr. Levy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that site. While similar, it has some different details and skills. The two complement each other.
This article is brilliantly done! Love reading your stuff!! Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteGreat Article! I struggling with when students have time to develop skills in typing. In an MYP School, as well as others, some teachers assume that it falls under the responsibility of the Technology Curriculum. I can't agree with that. Is typing not a skill that is utilized in every subject area?
ReplyDeleteWe are experimenting with self-taught typing courses that students sign into at home. However, whose responsibility, other than the parents, is it to monitor and assess this skill?
Food for thought...
Check out QuizMEOnline. It's helpful for students.
ReplyDeleteExcellent list. Very much the things I focus on in my 7th gr computer classes. It's amazing the things they don't know, for a generation we assume knows a lot about tech.
ReplyDeleteGreat list! I would also add how to organize and share files in collaborative work spaces. This is a new skill which I think will be essential for sharing, collaborating, and creating. More applicable to Docs than Word, but much in the way we used to teach students (or still do) how to organize in binders, we should teach them about private/shared collections, editing/visibility, hierarchy of organization based on purpose.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was just speaking with a librarian who challenged the common notion that students need to learn how to search properly. She said what we really needed to teach them is where to go for appropriate resources so that their first stop isn't a search engine but rather a specific database. I would say that both are important.
I'm currently working with my students on "Where you go for help." The less I hear "Mrs. A, how do I..." the more successful I feel.
ReplyDeleteJanet | expateducator.com
Great List! You gave me ideas for my student, AND myself! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is good coming from a physics teacher. Who else can know better?
ReplyDeleteWonder how many teachers have these skills?
ReplyDeleteDear ETG,
ReplyDeleteFirst time reader, first time poster! It is a thoughtful list you have comprised and each area is vitally important to student/teacher development. Not for nothing, I would move #3 to #1. Whilst I recognise this not hierarchal, for mine, this is what we are trying to do with technology and our students. Have them not be daunted by the unknown. Feel comfortable with hitting F1, going to Help, googling, finding a solution etc
Keep writing, I for one will now be reading
PS Can we not call them Office Suite skills? We get longevity and less bias referring to the application and not the brand.
Thanks for all the comments!
ReplyDeleteI agree that teachers need these skills too.
As for "office suite", I always thought it was kind of generic. Not sure what else to call them. Ideas?
Thanks again for reading and commenting.
Thanks so much for sharing all this great tech information with us. I believe in teaching my students to work independently on the computer. I spend a great deal of my time trying to teach them to be aware of where they are saving things so they can find them when they look for them.
ReplyDeleteSo I am so tech challenged I can not even thank you for writing this blog. It keeps kicking me out and asking me to log in. I wanted to say that teaching students to save and find documents is really important. Many lower ES teachers just teach their students to use the computer to draw but I spend lots of time teaching them to use menus, key commands and help when available. Also Read, Write and Type are great programs for beginning typers. Thanks again. Jennie
ReplyDeleteMy only problem with this is that you use then instead of than. It irritates me no end when I see professionals and students that don't proofread their work! Spelling errors by my fellow teachers on letters that are going out the community are unacceptable. If teachers want to be seen as professionals, they must be vigilant in making sure that they do not have errors in their correspondence.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
DeleteEveryone makes mistakes. I'm not perfect, I'm not a professional writer, and I missed one typo. Over 8000 people have read this article and missed it. I've had typo's before and a reader would nicely let me know that I missed something.
The tone of your comment, along with being anonymous, is unprofessional. I hope you don't act like this with your students.
Thanks for making me aware of the error. It has been fixed.
Anonymous writes that lack of proofreading irritates him/her "no end", not "to no end". Is this a pot & kettle situation . . . ? Hmmm??
DeleteIsn't it ironic that Vaughn got rid of the computer teacher because she was teaching typing.
ReplyDeleteDavid, thank you for the list, which I believe is good for everyone not just students. Number three, self-learning has taken a new meaning for students. Some generations read a user’s manual before they would even use a device. Now, we use it and look for the help button when needed.
ReplyDeleteNumber 6- netiquette is an important skill. We need to teach students the difference between casual conversation and professional conversation.
Thank you for adding number 11 – copyright and citing sources. Students need to know how to give credit to the original author. As more students each day learn they can publish themselves through the internet, I feel out of respect this will become natural for them.
The big question is whose responsibility is it to teach these important 11 skills every student should know and be able to do – educators, parents, and the media.
Mr. Levy staffroomhq.com is huge. I agree about citing sources. My eng 2 teacher never taught us how to do footnotes properly. Good to see people pointing that out.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas and very well said. I will find a way to use this as a guide with my students. Thanks for taking the time to write the post. I posted this to my blog as well and was sure to give you the credit. I hope you find the time to check out my blog too.
ReplyDeleteReform Education, Change the World
Ideas for progress toward reforming public education, innovative uses of technology in the classroom and making school an authentic and meaningful experience.
http://mrpatnoudes.blogspot.com/
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteWe're talking about your list. http://www.facebook.com/eSkillsWeek
I'd tend to put No.10 with No.1. It's just search, regardless of what for. I like that you call it Internet search and not Web Search (because these two always get conflated). But I doubt if most people need to be knowledgeable about getting into 'closed' databases.
I hate the term "self-learning" as it's meaningless. Some things can't be taught. Perhaps 'Learning to Learn' is the best header (My mum, a teacher, drunmmed it into me). Where to find a user forum is probably the most relevant because it's whener most learning is done, or would be if teachers collaborated and used them a bit more.
'Netiquette' and 'using social media' would seem things I would lump under "Communications". I.e It's learning to use the right language, medium, & 'level' of communication, depending on audience, which is the key (to me). You've already mentioned the security and privacy issues related to online formats in No.7. Your humble servant.
I put finding apps separate as a specific search. It could be argued that it is a sub category of search.
DeleteLearning to learn sounds good. Self-learning. I guess its semantics.
The list could be reorganized a bit with subcategories too.
Thanks for the feedback.