Technology Literacy
Technology literacy refers to the ability to understand, use, manage and access technology. It also refers to as digital literacy in which the users require the skills to use digital devices such as computers or smartphones to access the internet and digital media. The user can use the internet to create, discover, review, manage and evaluate data using a set of digital platforms, such as web pages, e-books, websites, social media platforms, among others.
An individual can use these digital platforms to solve
all types of problems: both academic problems and non-academic problems. This
literacy also refers to the familiarity of an individual with digital devices
and their usage, which has proven to be an essential skill in modern times.
As per the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the
technology literacy, information literacy and media literacy should be included
the school curriculum. It is compulsory for all boards. Thus, all the
publishers are including these literacies in their textbooks.
Here, a few examples of technology literacy are given
that can be included in the school curriculum and textbooks to make the
learners literate about technology.
Technology Literacy Example 1
Activity: Cost price, Selling price, Profit and Loss
If you buy a product for Rs 100
and sell it for Rs 110, you make a profit of Rs 10. As the original cost of the
product is Rs 100, this will be a 10% profit.
However, if you sell the same
product for Rs 90, you incur a loss of Rs 10. This means you are losing 10% on
this transaction.
If I tell you the cost price and
selling price of a product, can you give me a simple colour indicator that
tells me if that transaction is a profit or a loss?
Steps:
1. Open a spreadsheet application of your choice (Example:
Microsoft Excel).
2. Type the cost price in one cell, for example, “A1”. Type
the selling price in another cell, for example, “B1”.
3. Calculate the difference between these two in the next
cell, for example, “C1”.
4. Use the “Conditional Formatting” option in the
spreadsheet application to write a rule like this:
a. If Cost Price > Selling Price, fill the cell in Red
colour (Loss).
b. If Cost Price < Selling Price, fill the cell in Green
colour (Profit).
c. If Cost Price = Selling Price, fill the cell in Yellow
colour (No Loss, No Profit).
5. Play with different cost prices and selling prices to see
if the conditional formatting rules are working.
6. Bonus point: Can you change the rules to fill the cell in
Purple colour when the profit is greater than 25%?
Technology Literacy Example 2
Activity: The Dynamic Triangle
A triangle has three sides and
three angles. Depending on how these sides and angles measure, a triangle
belongs to one of these categories: Scalene, Isosceles, Equilateral,
Acute-Angled, Right-Angled, Obtuse-Angled. We can observe these in our
environment every day because triangles are one of the common shapes in this
world.
Drawing triangles on a computer
is really easy. You can start with some random triangle and then drag its
corners to the exact type we desire. That’s exactly what we are going to do in
this fun activity.
Steps:
1. Open your favourite drawing application on the computer (Example: Microsoft Excel). Check its “Shapes” toolbox and ensure it allows you to draw a triangle.
2. Drag-drop the triangle shape in your drawing. It will
have three corners which we can call A, B and C.
3. Click on any of the corners and move it in such a way
that the three sides of the triangle are not equal. This will be a scalene
triangle.
4. Repeat step 3 and change this triangle to an isosceles
triangle first, and then make it an equilateral triangle.
5. Now, this equilateral triangle falls into which of these
categories: acute-angled, right-angled or obtuse-angled.
6. Bonus points: Draw a square using the same application.
Connect its two opposite ends. Do you get two right-angled isosceles triangles?
Technology Literacy Example 3
Activity: Percentage
and Its Applications
You are working in a factory which
produces 100 washing machines per month. As you produce more and more washing
machines, you become better at it and improve your capability by 6% per month.
This means, in the second month you produce 100 + 6% = 106 washing machines.
At this rate, find out when you will
double your capacity. That is, in which month you will produce 200 washing
machines or more?
Steps:
1. Open a Spreadsheet application of
your choice (Example: Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets)
2. Type 100 in one cell. This is the
first month’s capacity
3. In the next cell, write a formula
that calculates the second month’s capacity (first month’s capacity + 6%)
4. Repeat step 3 in other cells until
the capacity reaches 200 or more (double the original capacity)
5. State your answer to the teacher
6. Bonus points: What will be the answer if your capacity increases by 8% every month?
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