El amor custodia la ley y la ley custodia el amor.

Computer experience 8.0 ±3.0 7.6% 13.1 ±3.2 13.0% Home usage 1.5 ±0.5 2.2 ±0.5 School usage 1.1 ±1.0 0.7 ±0.7 Attitudes to computers 13.1 ±4.6 6.4 ±4.4

Block 3 Jurisdiction (compared to Queensland students)

New South Wales 28.5 ±14.5 1.6% 22.4 ±14.9 1.3% Victoria 39.6 ±14.9 26.3 ±13.8 South Australia 27.3 ±14.8 9.5 ±14.2 Western Australia 4.7 ±10.9 -9.6 ±13.0 Tasmania 35.6 ±19.5 15.3 ±15.9 Northern Territory 13.6 ±20.3 -3.2 ±28.9 Australian Capital Territory 34.4 ±21.8 34.5 ±19.6 Full model 21.7% 21.7% Notes:

Regression coefficients in bold are significant (a< .05).

When categorical variables involving more than two categories are included in a regression analysis it is necessary to designate one category as the reference category and exclude that from the analysis so that results are relative to the reference category. In these analyses the reference category for socioeconomic group was unskilled labourers, office, sales and service staff, for location the reference category was “metropolitan” and for jurisdiction the reference category was Queensland.

It is interesting that the various aspects of computer familiarity had such an influence on ICT literacy. On the basis of the data in Table 5.12 the net difference (meaning other aspects being the same) between a person having used a computer for “one to three years” and having used a computer for “three to five years”(i.e. one point on the scale) is between eight (Year 6) and 13 scale points (Year 10). For every five additional days on which a computer is used per month there is a net effect on ICT literacy of between seven (Year 6) and 11 (Year 10) scale points. Days of school use have less of an impact being less than six points in Year 6 and less than four points in Year 10 (which is not statistically significant). Attitudes to computers have a stronger impact on ICT literacy at Year 6 than at Year 10 but the magnitude is harder to interpret in concrete terms.

Table 5.12 also displays the net effects for jurisdictions. Overall, it can be seen that the net differences among jurisdictions in this table are smaller than in the corresponding Table 4.18. This is because some of the differences among jurisdictions are a consequence of differences in computer familiarity. The analyses reported in Table 5.12 make allowance for differences in computer familiarity. This does not mean that the originally reported differences are not real but simply that they can be interpreted as partly reflecting differences in familiarity with computers.

In Year 6 the jurisdiction that is most different from the reference jurisdiction (Queensland) is Victoria, followed by Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia. However the net effect for Victoria in Table 5.12 is 40 points compared to 50 points in the results in Table 4.18 where no allowance is made for computer familiarity. Victorian students have greater access to computers at home and school than their peers in Queensland and hence the adjustment has narrowed the gap.

In Year 10 the jurisdiction that is most different from Queensland is the Australian Capital Territory, followed by Victoria, and then New South Wales. The net effect for the Australian Capital Territory is 34 points compared to the effect of 38 points when no adjustment for computer familiarity is made.

Concluding Comments

There are differences in the extent to which students in Years 6 and 10 have the opportunity to become familiar with computers. These differences are most evident in the differences in home computer usage between socioeconomic groups and in school computer usage among Year 10 students. Furthermore these differences appear to impact on ICT literacy scores and contribute to part, but not all of, the variations in ICT literacy among students. There is an argument that can be sustained by the results of the analyses of data in this chapter that reducing the variations in ICT literacy among school students will require some attention to differences in familiarity and therefore in access to

computers. It is also evident that students vary considerably in the computer applications that they use. Those patterns of use differ between Year 6 and Year 10, and between males and females. Communication is a frequent use at both Year 6 and Year 10 and using the internet to look up information is also a frequent application at both Year levels. However, there was much less frequent use of applications that involved creating, analysing or transforming information. The lack of use of these types of application appears to be reflected in the aspects of ICT literacy that are less evident in the responses of students to the tasks that they were asked to complete.

Chapter 6

Conclusion

Over a short period of time ICT has become a pervasive part of society that has changed the ways in which people communicate, altered the ways in which data are accessed and processed, and redefined the bases of many occupations. Proficiency in ICT has become important for life in modern society and developing ICT literacy has become an important goal of many school systems. In Australia the national goals for schooling include the goal that when students leave school they should be: confident, creative and productive users of new technologies, particularly information and communication technologies, and understand the impact of those technologies on society (MCEETYA, 1999: Goal 1.6).

Sometimes the view is expressed that young people use ICT frequently and with such facility that their development of ICT literacy takes place through the regular activities in which they engage. Overall, young people are frequent users of ICT and adults who have not grown up with contemporary ICT tend to assume that young people understand a great deal about how, when and why to apply those technologies. The results of this assessment survey indicate that ICT literacy is not developed to a uniformly high level among school students. For that reason they also suggest that monitoring ICT literacy should continue to be an important element of a National Assessment Program. Although there is evidence from this survey and other sources that indicates a high level of use of ICT by school students, it appears that there are aspects of using ICT for communicating, creating and sharing information that are learned through systematic teaching rather than incidental use.