The Myth about Student Competency - Unit 7

This article addresses the misconception that today’s college students are sufficiently competent in instructional technology. This myth stems from confusion between competency and confidence. Because the latest generation has been raised in a world of technological advancement, the assumption is made that all Gen NeXters are completely competent with IT use. In reality, many students are simply confident. Students can access the web and use a search engine, but can they use the information they find in a competent manner? The ability to use technology is not the same as the ability to analyze and interpret what that technology delivers. This article claims that the majority of students today may have confidence with IT (that is, they can click and search) but lack what the authors refer to as information literacy, or “the ability to recognize when information is needed and the ability to locate, evaluate, and use that information effectively”(Oblinger and Hawkins, 2006). It is the responsibility of educators to recognize that students may not be information literate, despite the apparent competency. With more and more students turning to independent research and relying less on the knowledge of librarians and the reliable sources found in libraries, it is more crucial than ever that students learn to become information literate. This skill will not only be essential to future employment, but will also be essential to further education within specific career fields that require a constant re-educating to keep up with modern theories.

Oblinger, D.G. and Hawkins, B.L. (2006). The myth about student compentency. EDUCAUSE Review, March/April, 12-13.

This article clearly captures a problem that exists with Generation NeXt and is likely to exist with future generations. Because students today have been raised using modern technology, older generations jump to the conclusion that all students know how to use technology effectively. This is far from true, and makes more than one assumption. First, older generations are assuming that all youth have had equal and constant access to technology. In reality, only students from specific socio-cultural backgrounds have had such access, while other students may have been aware of technology but rarely given opportunities to access it. Second, it is assumed that students are competent with all forms of technology, when in reality many students lack competency and even confidence in their abilities to use many forms of technology, including presentation, spreadsheet, editing, and web design programs that are not used on a daily basis like search engines and word processing programs usually are. Lastly, the fact that students know how to find information easily and quickly does not guarantee that this information is reliable. Many students have failed to learn about what it means to be information literate- this idea has been assumed and never addressed properly. In order for technology to create the opportunities claimed by society for students who are savvy, they must first and foremost know how to evaluate and interpret the information that technology brings to the table.