Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
INTRODUCTION
We are in the midst of a technological revolution that is changing our way of life. The
cornerstone of this revolution, the computer, is transforming the way we communicate, do
business, and learn (Long & Long, 1990). In the mainframe and minicomputer era, computing
was used for transaction processing and related business applications. Given their size and
cost, computers were nearly always kept locked away in safe, separate computer facilities.
Only computer professionals dared enter these secured premises. Computer usages and
learning were limited in certain environments. Computers today are found in millions of homes
and just about in every office. As a matter of fact, most office workers have a computer
connected to a local area network and the Internet. Eventually, all of us will have at least one
computer, and we will use it every day in our work and leisure. Thus, learning computer usages
is not an expensive and special discipline. There are a number of significant changes in
learning about computers today, such as learning styles and age. Many learners and users
start at an early age to use computers. Some elementary schools provide computer labs for
pupils to gain basic computer skills. Most high schools also provide computer application
courses for students, ranging from typing classes to basic software development. Some
students even start to use computers in childhood by using game software for fun. During
the growing process, they learn how to use the system, how to use different inputs and
outputs, how to process data to turn it into information, etc. Furthermore, some students even
have the capability to write their own programs, design their own Web sites, or build their
own computer systems. The students we mentioned here are “a lot of them” or “some of them.”
This implies that not all students have a strong background. Some may do well with hardware,
some may have strong knowledge in software, or some may be comfortable with both. Then
again, some may have limited knowledge in computer information systems. However,
computer literacy courses, in general, are required for college students with different majors.
In other words, computer literacy courses need to be taught to students with a variety of
backgrounds.
Instructional design for a computer literacy course becomes a big challenge to
instructors or course designers. In a computer literacy course, for example, an instructor may
find that some students have not yet mastered the concepts of hardware and software; others
may just be beginning to learn to use the mouse and simple word processing; still others may
be building their own computer and home networking. Obviously, these different sets of
students need to be taught different sets of enabling knowledge and skills. It would
accomplish nothing to present data management to students who are still struggling with the
concept of binary codes. And, it is not likely to be of advantage to those students who already
have written their own computer programs to have to suffer through lessons that require them
to learn how to save and open files. Some instructors implement the cooperative learning style
to have the students with strong computer backgrounds teach those with fewer background
skills. However, from the viewpoint of educational resources, resources for instructors and
learners are wasted. A practical solution is to adopt a modularization
approach to the course.
The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the adaptability of the modularization
approach
to the design of instructional systems. Module instructional design (MID) is examined to
determine the potential utility of this technique in the design and delivery of computer literacy
instructional systems. To examine this potential utility, a demonstration is provided for how
it might be used in a computer literacy course.
