Mobile Devices Causing a Drop in Student ICT Literacy

A report on the ICT Literacy of Australian Year 6 and 10 concludes that this has decreased between 2011 and 2014, possibly due to the use of mobile technology (2014 NAP ICTL public report and 2014 NAP ICTL technical report).

"The assessment in 2014 has revealed that although the mean performance of students in Year 6 increased steadily from 2005 to 2011, it decreased between 2011 and 2014. The performance of Year 10 students had not changed across the three previous NAP – ICT Literacy cycles from 2005 to 2011, though it declined substantially between 2011 and 2014. Most of the relationships between ICT literacy and student characteristics have remained similar over time, so it does not appear that the overall decline is associated with particular groups of students. The decreases also appear to be similar in each of the jurisdictions.

The decline does not appear to be a result of changes in the test content, in the way the test was administered or sample obtained. One of the possible interpretations of the decline in ICT literacy is that the increased use of mobile technology devices has resulted in less emphasis on skills associated with information management and processing but more emphasis on communication applications. It is also possible that there has been less emphasis placed in schools on the teaching of skills associated with ICT literacy, with the development of young people’s ICT literacy competencies increasingly being taken for granted. Such a shift in emphasis may have contributed to changes in ICT literacy
achievement between 2011 and 2014. The reasons for the decrease in Year 6 and Year 10 students’ ICT literacy levels remain issues for further investigation." From NationalAssessment Program – ICT Literacy Years 6 & 10, Report 2014, p. xxvi, 2015.