SU students should be required to take technology literacy courses

During high school, students learn that the most important subjects are reading, writing, mathematics, and science. As we age, it becomes increasingly clear that technology is just as important – if not more so – as our core courses.

One of the best skills employers look for when hiring students outside of college is data literacyAccording to Forbes magazine. To ensure that their students remain competitive in the job application process, SU must require students in all majors to have technology literacy requirements.

Although some people think that technological literacy is limited to coding, which may be intimidating to some, technology literacy is more inclusive. Employers may not expect you to code, but they may require you to sort files, enter data into Microsoft Excel, and look up data in a database—all important skills that many students at SU don’t know how to do efficiently or at all.

Some schools at SU do a good job of ensuring that their students are technologically literate, including the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. the college Microsoft Excel Certificate Program It requires all students to pass a test demonstrating that they are proficient in Excel, which gives Whitman’s students a competitive advantage and sets them apart from their peers, according to the website.

Even if your major seems to have nothing to do with technology, you will still use technology in your profession. Colleges at SU can also incorporate courses that train students in the type of technology they may encounter in their specific industry.

It’s important for college students to be technologically literate after they graduate from college, said Jeffrey Rubin, a professor at iSchool who focuses on technology and sports.

“Digital literacy is not just for IT people, as technology intersects with every industry and every profession,” Rubin said. “Students today need to take courses – a shameless plug for IST 195 – to help them intersect technology with their desired career.”

With this information in mind, SU management should broaden its expectations of students and their technology literacy. Where jobs become more tech DenseSU needs to implement more digital literacy programs that teach SU students such as Excel and Adobe apps to ensure students are qualified for the workforce they enter.

In this day and age, every company is integrating technology into their business, said Monica Jankovic, a sophomore studying Information Technology and Policy Studies.

“Every company is a tech company that ranges from large companies like Nike to small companies like Otto’s Juice Bar. Therefore, it is important for students to be technologically literate so that each company can perform at its best,” Jankovic said.

Junior Mona Pudasaini, who studies information management and technology, said technology literacy is imperative for college students because technology will continue to expand and become more prevalent.

“Technology plays a critical role in each of our lives from the ways we interact with each other to the way we influence the technology around us,” Pudasaini She said. “As a college student, it is critical that we are technologically literate because the impact of technology in our lives now will continue to grow.”

Obviously, understanding technology is very important for SU students entering the work industry, so SU should require classes or certificates to teach technology literacy. These changes can increase a student’s ability to understand key concepts required in the workplace, increasing the likelihood that students will get competitive jobs.

Melanie Wilder is a sophomore majoring in Policy Studies and Information Management. Her column appears every two weeks. It can be accessed at [email protected].