Digital Literacy Proficiency Test Study Guide

Digital Literacy Proficiency Test Study Guide The Digital Literacy proficiency test study guide will outline the topic areas that will be covered on the test. The topic areas cover the general components that are taught in the semester class. The test itself is comprised of four areas. Each area is designed to give students a chance to demonstrate their understanding of the topic areas in both an objective, and performance based demonstration of knowledge. Part 1: There is a 40 question objective test that covers the topics of:  Internet safety and etiquette  Effective Internet Searching (Boolean operators, and key terms, limiting searches)  Mathematical calculations (spreadsheet applications, functions, formula’s, graphs, operators)  Communication o Proper use of online presentations (or PowerPoint) o Proper communication form in correspondence o Proper citation using MLA style (and knowledge of other preferred document formatting standards) The above bullets represent the use of technology in a proper and academically acceptable format. Questions are not specifically about programs such as Word, Prezi, etc. but rather how one properly uses those tools.  Learning Styles (knowledge of how a preferred learning style affects a choice in surroundings, and interaction with people). Ex: Students should know how a person who prefers auditory instruction interacts with their surroundings, and what strategies can be employed to maximize the effectiveness of this knowledge regarding their learning environment.  Use of Career Cruising (it’s resources that are available) Part 2: Performance assessment utilizing spreadsheets Students will utilize a spreadsheet program (Excel 2013) to produce a document that contains some or all of the following elements:  General formatting  Preferred number style (percent, currency, decimal, etc.)  Alignment, Font (Size, style, effect), Cell merging  Ability to produce an appropriate chart for the types of numbers used. (Ex: When is a pie chart most acceptable, as opposed to a line chart, etc.)  Knowledge of predefined functions (SUM, MAX, MIN, AVERAGE, IF,MEAN, MEDIAN, MODE)  Knowledge of formula entry (General syntax, cell addresses & naming convention, columns and rows)

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Printouts in various formats (formulas, specified cell ranges, charts only, constrained to one page, with gridlines or without, etc.) Sorting and filtering information

Part 3: Document formatting correspondence Students will be given a document to reproduce according to specified guidelines. The guidelines will include elements of using a word processor (margins, tabs, headers/footers, watermarks, paragraph and type formatting, etc.) as well as specifics for the type of correspondence to be typed. An example will be provided with the test, for the specifications to be reproduced. Part 4: Document formatting MLA citations Students will be given information regarding properly formatting a works cited page (and proper citation within the paper). Examples will be provided of formatting specifics for the types of citations to be included (ex. How one cites a web site as opposed to a magazine article). Students will then produce a works cited page and annotate a paper that is provided. Properly following MLA guidelines for text, as well as paper specifics (margins, spacing, etc.). A working and familiarized knowledge of MLA is especially beneficial as this is the format that is used in the English Department in District 228. The Digital Literacy course will teach this as a normal part of the course content.