Abstract:

The importance of digital literacy has increased considerably in recent years. Personal smart devices not only provide access to a vast amount of information via the internet but are increasingly able to interact with electronic devices at home and in other daily life situations. The changes brought by modern digital technology make it essential to prepare all people to best take advantage of their new possibilities. Educational systems have a role to play in shaping the digital literacy of young people. However, in order to monitor and support the development of students’ digital literacy, it is best to measure digital literacy using authentic tasks because they can ensure a more a reliable and valid measurement is obtained.

This paper presents the development and testing of two interactive computer-based tasks for assessing aspects of students’ digital literacy. The tasks were created using Google Apps Script in order to allow students to work with authentic digital productivity tools. Results from 245 university students indicate that the task requiring analysis of data in a spreadsheet application was significantly more difficult than the task requiring information literacy to make edits in a word processor application. These types of tasks offer more authentic ways for students to engage with digital technology during the assessment of their digital literacy. This study highlights the potential of Google Apps Scripts for developing and delivering tasks in performance-based assessments of digital literacy.

Keywords:

E-assessment, digital literacy, digital competence, ICT-skills.