Digital Literacy Instructor Resources

CTCs may use the Unlimited Potential Curriculum or the Digital Literacy Curriculum, or both. The Digital Literacy Curriculum is best for absolute beginners, while the Unlimited Potential Curriculum works well for learners with some prior computing experience.

Institutions may use the curriculum for as long as it is relevant to their programs. This supports the goal of Digital Literacy, which is to help create barrier-free learning of ICT skills so that learning centers can be self-sustaining.

Send a note to dlhelp@microsoft.com and include top level details about your learning center’s audience, curriculum goals, reach figures, and contact information, and we will verify that it aligns to the use purposes of Digital Literacy and will contact you if additional details are needed.

The Digital Literacy Curriculum differs from the UP Curriculum in content, format, assessments, and the Certificate Test.

•	Content: The Digital Literacy Curriculum is best for beginners, while the UP Curriculum works well for those with some prior computing experience.
•	Format: Digital Literacy learning content is available as hosted online e-learning and assessment, as downloadable offline e-learning, or as downloadable Microsoft Word 2003 files. The UP Curriculum is available as downloadable Microsoft Word 2003 files, or in some cases on CD.
•	Assessments: There are no assessments for the UP Curriculum. The Digital Literacy Curriculum includes a 30-question multiple-choice assessment for each course that provides students with a personalized Learning Plan. The Learning Plan outlines e-learning courses and lessons that the student should review to ensure mastery of the course content.
•	Certificate Test: The UP Curriculum does not provide a certificate test; however, instructors can issue students a certificate of completion that does not rely on a test. The Digital Literacy Curriculum offers a Certificate Test similar to the course assessments. This Certificate Test includes questions on content from all five Digital Literacy courses and generates a Learning Plan that outlines lessons that students should review to ensure mastery of the material. Students who correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions can print a personalized Digital Literacy Certificate. It is important to note that the Digital Literacy Certificate should not be used as a validation of skills for recruiting or employment, but rather as a milestone for personal learning development. The certificate validates skills each student has learned; it does not provide a formal proof of skills for others.

There is currently no train-the-trainer program for this curriculum. If you have ideas about what a train-the-trainer program should include, please send an e-mail message to dlhelp@microsoft.com.

There are no specific requirements for Digital Literacy trainers. Trainer success often depends upon the needs of the students. The Digital Literacy Curriculum is not highly technical, so trainers should be successful if they have basic computing skills, are familiar with the students and their learning goals, and are enthusiastic about the course content.

There are no specific requirements for Digital Literacy trainers. However, it is important that trainers be familiar with the topics covered in the curriculum. To prepare for a course, instructors may find it useful to try the course on their own, keeping in mind the needs of their particular students.

No. Students who are already familiar with the topics covered in all five courses may take the Certificate Test without completing all of the courses. The Certificate Test requires mastery of topics covered in all the courses, so students who think that they are ready to take the Certificate Test can use the individual course assessments to validate their knowledge of all the course objectives.

The Digital Literacy Curriculum is adaptable to different student levels. The assessments enable students to evaluate their mastery of course material and focus their learning on new material. Students can take the assessment before taking a course if they believe they have already mastered some or all of the course objectives. Upon completing the assessment, students receive a personalized Learning Plan that outlines any topics they might need to review to master the course content. The Learning Plan directs students to the specific lessons within a course that should be reviewed, so students don't need to take the whole course. Students who have mastered the objectives of a course can skip that course and spend more time on courses with which they are less familiar.

The Assessment Results page provides students with a number and a percentage of correct items on the assessment. Only the Digital Literacy test provides a pass/fail notification. As a general guideline, 80% may be considered as a passing score, although you may use different guidelines as appropriate to your overall curriculum.

If a student passes the Digital Literacy test, and the certificate fails to print properly, instructors can create a certificate from the PowerPoint template included in the Test Item File.

Download the Test Item File

Many of the topics covered in the IC³ and ECDL/ICDL programs are similar to those covered in the Digital Literacy Curriculum, but each program has a unique focus and value. The Digital Literacy Curriculum offers learning, assessment, and a certificate test in one experience, with the learning outcome specifically focused on basic computing awareness and skills. IC³ and ECDL/ICDL are certification programs in which candidates take a proctored certification exam in an official testing center. In contrast, the Digital Literacy Certificate Test is based on honor. There is no proctor to verify the identity of candidates and no testing center to ensure that candidates rely only on their own knowledge to complete the test. The value of the certificate is for the individual learner; it does not provide formal proof of skills for others.