5. Next steps

As the panel began its deliberations about ICT literacy and how should it be defined and operationalized, we soon recognized that many of our discussions focused around the issue of the digital divide. This divide is commonly defined in terms of connectivity and the inequalities of access that exist both within and across countries. The more important issue the panel recognized was that the true potential of ICT-that is, the ability to transform individuals and societies-came not just from being wired together but also from having the knowledge and skills to use technology and to understand the roles it can play in our lives. As the president of Morris Brown College recently stated, "Merely having access to a box-an information box-does not necessarily mean that you have improved, or that you're more literate, or that you're better able to solve problems in the community" (Young, 2001).

This perspective led the panel to determine what they saw as the important issue facing us as society continues to invest in technologies and as technology continues to alter the way we work and live our lives. Then we wanted to use this storyline as a lead in to the definition of ICT literacy and how it should be operationalized into a framework. This report has taken the initial steps in building a framework by providing a consensus definition of ICT literacy and a model that can be used to further operationalize this construct for a variety of purposes.

The next steps will involve defining the kinds of evidence that should be gathered with respect to each level of the model-ICT, cognitive and technical proficiencies-and the kinds of activities that would elicit that evidence. This evidence and related activities will vary depending on the purpose of the planned assessment or test.

The framework begun with this paper, along with a prototype of online tasks, will allow ETS to discuss the potential for large-scale assessments or individualized tests with potential sponsors. The major stakeholders who will be interested in this framework and its resulting assessments are international and diverse, and therefore create a unique challenge as well as opportunity. They include government policy makers, corporate leaders, industry associations, unions, workforce groups, educators (K-12, higher education, national educational associations, researchers), consumer and public interest groups, and relevant international associations. The buy-in, cooperation, and support of these groups will be essential in the achievement of global ICT literacy.

ICT has become a permanent part of everyday life. It fundamentally changes how we live, learn, and work. Because ICT is considered an emerging and fundamental literacy, significant attention must be paid to insuring that all citizens have access and opportunity to gain the needed skills to function effectively in a knowledge society.