Members of the Global Digital Literacy Council 2008
Delegate Representation & Participation
The council members have been carefullyselected to represent key stakeholders andindustry representatives, including corporateexecutives, government officials, academicians and industry luminaries.
To ensure global representation, delegates have been invited from each region—the Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA), Japan and China. The council is comprised of approximately 19 delegates.
Council members’ participation is a function of the value they, and the organizations they represent, perceive they will receive. Certiport believes that each delegate will both receive and provide the following benefits to the organizations they represent:
- Peer Association: Delegates will establish relationships, interact and network with influential leaders in the computing literacy market.
- Computer Literacy Standard: Delegates will shape and define an emerging, vendor-independent, global standard for Internet and computer literacy.
- Global Perspective: Delegates will share realities, insights and trends from the regions they represent that will influence one another’s worldview.
- Professional Credential: Delegates will benefit professionally from the status and recognition that will accompany being a member of the global digital literacy council.
- Market Insight/Perspective: Delegates will benefit from being exposed to the results of the market research as well as the collective expertise represented in other delegates and in the validation process.
Jon Haber
Senior Vice President, First
Advantage Assessment Solution (formerly Skillcheck, Inc.), USA
Summit Facilitator
Serves as senior vice president of company focused on providing employers and educators with valid performance-based assessment tools for testing job candidates and student in technology literacy and other subjects. Expertise includes: lead developer of the Internet and Computing Core Certification standard and exams, and co-author of National Educational Technology Standards for Students: Resources for Assessment.
Anuja Dharkar
Worldwide Education Senior Manager,
Curriculum Solutions,
Adobe Systems Incorporated, USA
Manages curriculum, professional development, and associate certification programs for the worldwideeducation team at Adobe. Expertise includes: design and development of Macromedia education curriculum and training materials; design and facilitation of educator training workshops on Macromedia products to help them better integrate technology into their curriculum and teach digital communication skills.
“A global literacy standard can play an important role in helping educators benchmark student learning. Additionally, it serves as a tie between industry and education for defining the basic requirements for individuals to successfully function and navigate in an increasingly digital world.”
Guizhi Ding
Professor, Tianjin Professional
College, China
Serves as full professor and Dean of School of Electronic and Information Engineering. Also a member of Steering Committee on Computer Education, Ministry of Education of China, and Director of the College Professional IT Education Association of China. Expertise includes: more than twenty years of experience in education, and a thorough understanding of computer education in China, especially vocational education.
“Top employees and students of the 21st century will be the ones who are familiar with computer skills and able to derive information quickly with the help of these skills. IC³ is an effective method to promote the effectiveness of IT education and training in university and companies, and improve the completeness of the international certification system.”
Richard Edwards
President, Edwards Training
& Consulting, USA
Consults and trains for the oil and gas industry, and teaches classes for a local computer training center. Speaks to schools, parent groups and businesses about the need for digital literacy. Expertise includes: understanding of how business applies digital technology to their work, and the need for updating of knowledge and skills. Also insight into the essential levels of digital literacy required for workers to be successful in today’s workplace.
“It’s been predicted that 80% of the workforce in the United States will be considered ‘information workers’ by the 2015. Efforts are underway, because of a shortfall of workers, to delay retirement for the ‘baby-boomer’ generation and to keep them in the workforce. However, as business takes advantage of the advances, many of these workers don’t have skills to remain in their current positions. Nor do many younger people who will replace them have knowledge of the practical application of the technology as it relates to business.”
Michael Evans
Managing Director, Itcert Solutions Limited and MEA Partnership, UK
Undertakes high profile assignments for government-sponsored organizations, including project lead on the development of the UK National Occupational Standards for ICT. Expertise includes: qualified System Engineer, developed and reviewed office application and technical qualifications at all levels for both national and international government agencies; technical background and wide experience across all levels of industry and academia; delivery of qualifications and certifications.
“ICT changes by the hour! The use of ICT is now an essential skill both in business and social engagement. It is absolutely vital that a wide base of digital literacy is established. This provides the driving force for progress and acts as the launch pad for innovation.”
Julia Fallon
Technology Integration Program, Manager, Educational Technology, Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, USA
Actively explores how learning technologies make it possible for educators to reinvent the classroom as a dynamic 21st century learning experience that prepares students for the world they will enter at graduation. Expertise includes: experience in IT career preparation and technology integration in both higher education and secondary education. Current research focused on today’s digital students, how they learn, and how schools can support communities of learners and thinkers to interact, share and collaborate.
“Today, everyone—regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, and geographical location—needs a strong foundation of core technology skills to live, learn, and work as a productive citizen of the world. By having a global digital literacy standard, we are able to assess and validate the fundamental technology skills and knowledge one needs to be successful in the 21st Century.”
Anne Hamilton
Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Learning, Microsoft Corporation, USA
Defines the instructional design, objective domain,business model, and marketing strategy for Microsoft’s core training solution for adults new to computing. Expertise includes: academic publishing, instructional design, field experience; work with NGOs, standards bodies, and ministries of education in dozens of geographies; work with the European Community Expert Group on Digital Literacy; collaborations with UNIDO, UNESCO, and UNHCR on Digital Literacy.
“Clear definition of a skills standard enables skills recognition and transferability, which is increasingly important in the 21st century knowledge economy. Having a shared understanding of skills knowledge will enable employers to recognize qualified candidates, and provide learners with a clear and rationalized learning progression.”
Professor Tan Haoqiang
Chairman of Association of Computer Fundamentals China on Higher Education, China
Develops and updates curriculums for China Digital Literacy, including new curriculum for China based on Global Digital Literacy standard. Expertise includes: A leader in the funding and development of curriculum and other important ICT programs for Digital Literacy for MOE in China. These programs benefit more than 500 colleges and 10 million students. Also has written over 100 ICT books in China, and set a world record for sales of an IT book with over 10 million sold.
“I recommend the Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³) program as the first ICT course in colleges throughout China due to it being a global ICT standard.”
Dr. Don Knezek
CEO, International Society for Technology Education, USA
Serves as global leader for ISTE, internationally recognized for innovation and policy in education through use of technology in learning, teaching and education leadership. Expertise includes: development and refresh of ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards in the U.S.; global consultant for development of technology standards, frameworks and guidelines at the regional, national and international levels.
“As our world economy and society at large become increasingly global and digital, it is important to define a global digital literacy standard to ensure citizens in this century can be full contributors and participants in their civic and economic endeavors.”
Ben Knight
General Manager for Business, ICT and Employment Skills, City & Guilds, UK
Ensures that City & Guilds offers a range of qualifications and services in the Business, IT and Employment Skills areas that meet the needs of employers, learners and training organizations. Expertise includes: assessment of skills, development of skills among adults with low levels of educational achievement, and eight years of teaching experience in the UK and internationally—in Europe, Africa and Asia.
“Participation in an increasingly globalized society and economy often depends on access to IT-based information and services. Lack of digital literacy threatens to exclude huge numbers of people and we should be working to set publicly-available standards of knowledge and skills which training organizations around the world can use.”
Julian Luke
Independent Consultant, Canada
Involved extensively in workforce development and community-based learning programs to develop digital literacy programs. Expertise includes: development of the test objects for the Office 2007 program; technical editor for two volumes of a Migration to Office 2007 package (Word and Excel); fluent in Certiport products.
“Our world is populated with a global workforce that uses electronic platforms to ‘migrate’ and work in locations anywhere in the world. It is crucial that we use a common currency when evaluating core digital literacy skills.”
Marie Lee
Executive Editor, Course Technology, Cengage Learning, USA
Serves as executive editor at Course Technology, a global leader in digital literacy publishing, and part of Cengage Learning, a major American academic publisher with global reach. Expertise includes: developing texts and courseware on technology and software; directing the marketing efforts of Elsevier’s Technology Books division; publishing of materials for K-12 and higher education to the IC³ standard, NETS, and industry certifications such as MCAS.
“Given the rapid pace of change in technology development, it is difficult for instructors and institutions anywhere to determine where they should focus their teaching time, and more importantly what performance benchmarks and outcomes they should strive to meet. A global digital literacy standard gives their institutions and instructors a benchmark that they can build programs around.”
Joyce Malyn-Smith
Director Strategic Initiatives in Workforce and Human Development, Division of Learning and Teaching, EDC, USA
Leads EDC Workforce and Human Development Initiatives which support ICT fluency for all learners, and nurture the interests and talents of youth users and producers of technology. Expertise includes: designing, developing and implementing education to employment systems; developing national voluntary industry skill standards; incubating new ideas, concepts, grants and partnerships; and designing professional development/competency-based training systems.
“We are only beginning to understand what it means when we say ‘the world is flat’. A global digital literacy standard will help set clear expectations that are visible, concrete and recognized by industries for success in the global knowledge economy and help to assess the levels of ICT fluency among current and future workers supporting national and local economies.”
Duke Mossman
Executive Director, Northeastern Utah
Educational Services, USA
Serves as executive director for the Northeastern Utah Educational Services, one of Utah’s four regional service centers where he directly works with nine rural school districts. Expertise includes: Education Specialist for Information Technology for Utah State Office of Education; involved on national advisory committees for Novell, CompTIA, and Certiport, among others. Also very involved in the legislative process in Utah.
“In today‘s world, it is essential that everyone knows how to access information using the available technology and tools. Having a worldwide digital benchmark creates a framework to measure one‘s abilities.”
Takumi Nakano
Professor at Toyota National College of Technology and Director of General Information Processing, Japan
Teaches at Toyota National College of Technology while continuing studies on hardware design education and hardware design using the C Language. Currently probing effective ways to utilize IC³, a globally recognized e-learning and certification program, in the field of ICT education. Expertise includes: knowledge of current ICT education in high schools, technical colleges and universities in Japan; specialized expertise in computer hardware/software, including Japan’s leading technology of embedded systems.
“By studying in accordance with a digital literacy standard you can be equipped with knowledge and skills that will enable you to keep on catching up with new developments in the rapidly-changing world of ICT in the future.”
Dr. Wail Omar
Acting Dean, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, Sohar University, Oman
Responsible for drawing the pathway for digital literacy in the university. Also chairs the computer fundamental standards committee at Oman Accreditation Board Council. Expertise includes: grid computing, Web services, service-oriented architecture, enterprise applications, health informatics and Web x technology. Written many publications in these fields and reviewed many international conferences and journals.
“Digital literacy can assist in building social awareness towards the digital life. It can improve our way of living. Therefore, digital literacy should be started by our children at an early age in order to build a generation that can receive the maximum benefit of the digital age. But this should not prevent us from covering the digital literacy gap with young and senior people who need digital literacy in daily life in order to enhance the living standards.”
Claudia Toledo
Associate Partner, TechnoSapiens, Costa Rica
Leads a consultancy firm that focuses on how to integrate technology in education. Expertise includes: former Regional Academic Programs Manager for Microsoft in the Caribbean and Central America, led the Partners in Learning programs and all the K-12 education programs in region. Also worked closely with Ministers of Education, Ministers, and their top team, defining national strategies and plans to close the digital gap.
“A global literacy standard enables the sharing of best practices, communities learning from each other, and working towards the reduction of the digital divide by the creation of synergy among the different players and actors.”
Lynedon Van Ness
Technology Specialist/Coordinator, State of Hawaii, Department of Education, USA
Works in a school environment with more than 2,200 local network users and provides technology advice, training, support, and network administration. Expertise includes: taught computer literacy, digital media skills, and high technology on advanced networking and server technologies; developed custom training programs for employees who needed to learn basic computer skills to perform their jobs on new computer systems; ability to evaluate the educational needs of both digital immigrants and digital natives, including non-English speaking students.
“Simple devices, such as cellular phones, have grown beyond a portable phone. Now they are computers, MP3 players, televisions, instant messaging tools, global positioning trackers, chat devices, and more. As services for such simple devices expand on a global scale, the need for global digital literacy standards is increasing to help people learn the basics of surviving in a digital world.”