3. ICTs and literacy skills

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An early insight into the relationship between the use of ICTs and skills can be obtained by comparing the literacy skills of ICT users versus non-users (see Box 1 for definitions). From the discussion of computer usage above, those who did express an interest in using a computer over the next year did not differ substantially in their literacy skills from those who indicated no such interest. However, a gap in literacy skills was found between non-users and users in all countries (Chart 7). Not only do non-users face a digital divide, but this is built on top of the gap in literacy skills compared to the rest of the population. Consistent with the literature on the digital divide, the new gaps created from ICTs use accentuate already existing gaps. As has been argued in several studies, the group with the lowest skills continues to lose out, even though it is the group that stands to benefit proportionately more from the opportunities afforded by the new technologies. This is particularly the case with the Internet, where benefits include easier access to government services, lower prices and the like.

Next we investigate in more detail respondent use of ICTs and literacy skills. To do this, three broad measures were obtained to effectively summarize ICT use in three domains:

• perceived usefulness and attitude towards computers;
• diversity and intensity of Internet use, and;
• use of computers for specific task-oriented purposes.

These measures were constructed as index scores, using several variables from the ALL survey (see Box 2). These indices will be used throughout the rest of this paper.

Within the scope of this study, scores for perceived usefulness and attitude toward computers, diversity and intensity of Internet use, and use of computers for task-oriented purposes were relatively comparable within countries - with a few exceptions (Chart 8). As with ICT penetration generally, one would expect measures of ICT use and familiarity to vary by country, though. Bermuda emerged as a leader in all three measures, but it was closely followed by the United States, Canada, Norway and Switzerland. Scores were substantially lower in Italy, particularly for diversity and intensity of Internet use, and use of computers for task-oriented purposes. In Switzerland, scores for the perceived usefulness of computers, and diversity and intensity of Internet use were lower than most other countries, but together with Bermuda it was one of the leading countries for use of computers for task-oriented purposes.

Within Canada, attitudes and intensity of ICT use varied by province and territory (Chart 9). The Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories, Alberta and British Columbia were all above the national mean in all three indices. These provinces and territories had the most intensive ICT users in the country. In fact, in the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories, scores were above the international mean (obtained from all 6 countries in this study) in all three ICT measures. Residents of Ontario were also intensive computer and Internet users. Individuals in the Yukon Territory and Quebec had the highest perceived usefulness of computers, however those in Quebec scored lower in terms of their actual ICT use. Similarly, in Nunavut perceived usefulness and attitude toward computers scored the highest of the three measures, but actual use of ICTs scored lower. Overall, Nunavut and Newfoundland and Labrador were the areas with the least intensive ICT users. In most of the other provinces, scores mirrored those at the national level.

A key question emerging from the earlier International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS 1994) was the relationship between basic literacy skills and other skills thought to be important to workplace productivity and labour market success (OECD and Statistics Canada 2000, McAuley and Lowe 1999). In practice, ICT use is linked to literacy skills in a number of ways. Being skilled with most ICTs requires, to some degree, having literacy skills. By their very nature, ICTs both depend on and enhance communication abilities. Literacy skills are therefore essential to the development of digital literacy (Massé et al. 1998). One of the reasons is that ICT literacy includes not only technological proficiency, but also requires cognitive skills, such as those underlying reading and problem solving, which are critical to using ICTs effectively (International ICT Literacy Panel 2002). Much of the content of ICTs, notably of the Internet, remains text-based (Stewart 2000), and the format and content of web pages sometimes demands skills similar to those of document literacy. Further, it is likely that basic reading and writing literacy become more important as more information is transmitted and shared through ICTs than ever before (Leu Jr. 2000).

In general, the prose, document, numeracy and problem-solving skills of respondents increased as their perceived usefulness and attitude toward computers, diversity and intensity of Internet use, and use of computers for task-oriented purposes increased (see Chart 10 for an example of the association between prose literacy skills and computer use for task-oriented purposes). As literacy skills increased, the increases in diversity and intensity of Internet use and use of computers for task-oriented purposes were substantial; increases in perceived usefulness and attitude toward computers were moderate. These patterns generally held for all countries, with no exceptions. They also held true for other available measures of literacy (document literacy, numeracy and problem-solving) and, overall, concurred with those of another study where the more literate and numerate the respondent, the more likely they were to perform at high levels in an assessment of ICT skills (DfES 2003). Although aimed at a different age group, another study has found a positive relationship between access to home computers and reading skills among 15-year-old students (Bussière and Gluszynski 2004).