ITR/PE:Digital Citizenship: Expanding Information Technology Literacy with a Service-Learning Approach

这是一项拨款建议，旨在促进服务性学习，将其作为传播信息技术扫盲的模式。服务学习促进学术机构和社区之间的互利伙伴关系。一个目标是使社区能够确定学生可以满足的ITL需求，作为他们教育的一部分。这笔赠款将使两所爱荷华州中心大学--德雷克大学和爱荷华州立大学--能够接触到需要国际交易日学习培训的社区，并评估服务学习干预措施的效果。人们越来越多地期望公民使用IT与政府进行交互(例如Firstgov.gov)。一些研究发现，国际交易日志水平不平等是公民身份平等的一个重大障碍。在互联网接入稳步扩大的同时，能否利用越来越多的接入机会取决于公民的国际交易日志水平。社区成员，特别是在某些较脆弱的群体中，往往缺乏在与政府进行不断扩大的电子接口时所需的基本技能和概念。虽然IT应该会让所有公民更容易与政府进行日常事务，但事实上，它似乎正在拉大懂IT的人和没有基本导航技能的人之间的差距。这项研究项目的主要目标是测试寻求普及数字公民身份的服务学习计划的有效性。三个相关目标是：使用广泛和系统的标准定义信息技术扫盲(ITL)。制定、实施和评估在国际交易日志传播中使用服务学习的“最佳做法”。检验服务性学习缩小数字鸿沟的假设。所提出的方法使用了代表不同城市化程度的实验组和控制组。服务学习型ITL班和实地调查实验室将在本科生和实验组之间建立联系。研究人员、学生和服务社区将开发和完善ITL技能的分类。实验组将接受服务学习治疗。将使用结构化的公民调查和焦点小组来分析有关计划影响的数据。对特定点的协方差和随时间变化的方差的统计分析将被用于为预测性因果模型奠定基础。作为这项研究的结果，预计还会有几个额外的结果。首先，这项研究将建立一种新的教学干预模式，将研究、教育和社区参与联系起来，努力缩小数字鸿沟。其次，它使服务的接受者成为学术研究的焦点。这一领域的大多数研究关注的是学生的结果，而不是接受者的结果。第三，它将注意力集中在IT准入和IT素养之间的重要区别上。第四，它促进跨学科研究和培训，以及寻求将信息技术纳入校园课程的公共和私人机构之间的合作。最后，它促进了政治学和教育学科的创新，有可能对公民身份的基本定义产生深远影响。

This is a proposal for a grant to promote service-learning as a model for the dissemination of Information Technology Literacy (ITL). Service-learning promotes mutually beneficial partnerships between academic institutions and communities. One goal is to empower communities to identify ITL needs that students can fulfill as part of their education. This grant would enable two central Iowa universities--Drake and Iowa State--to reach out to communities in need of ITL training and to assess the efficacy of service-learning interventions. Citizens are increasingly expected to interface with government using IT (ex. firstgov.gov). A number of studies have identified unequal levels of ITL as a significant barrier to equity in citizenship. While access to the Internet steadily expands, the ability to take advantage of increasing access hinges on the level of ITL among citizens. Community members, particularly in certain more vulnerable groups, often lack basic skills and concepts required when navigating an expanding electronic interface with government. Whereas IT should make it easier for all citizens to conduct their routine business with the government, in fact, it appears to be widening the gap between the IT literate and those without basic navigational skills. The primary objective of this research project is to test the efficacy of service-learning programs that seek to universalize digital citizenship. Three related objectives are to: Define Information Technology Literacy (ITL) using broad and systematic criteria. Develop, implement, and evaluate "best practices" for using service-learning in the dissemination of ITL. Test the hypothesis that service-learning lessens the digital divide.The proposed methodology uses experimental and control groups representing varyingdegrees of urbanization. A service-learning ITL class and fieldwork laboratory will establish links between undergraduates and the experimental groups. Researchers, students, and the serviced communities will develop and refine taxonomy of ITL skills. Experimental groups will be exposed to the service-learning treatment. Structured citizen surveys and focus groups will be used to analyze the data on program impact. Statistical analysis of covariance at specific points and variance over time will be employed to lay the groundwork for a predictive causal model. Several additional outcomes are expected as a result of this research. First, the study will model a new pedagogical intervention that links research, education, and community involvement in an effort to lessen the digital divide. Second, it makes the recipients of service the focus of scholarship. Most studies in this area focus on outcomes for the students rather than the recipients. Third, it focuses attention on the important distinction between IT access and IT literacy. Fourth, it promotes interdisciplinary research and training, as well as collaboration between public and private institutions seeking to incorporate IT into the campus curricula. Finally, it promotes innovation in the political science and education disciplines with the potential for a far-reaching impact on the basic definition of citizenship.