What every citizen should know about information technology—and putting it to use in daily life

Comprehensive online course offered tuition-free for the BENEFIT of everyone

• A free, comprehensive, online independent study course on using IT in daily life.
• Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation
• Developed by University of Washington Information School and Computer Science and Engineering Department in partnership with University of Washington Educational Outreach.
• Teaches both tech skills and IT concepts to help you adapt to ever-changing technology.
• Much more than open source material placed on the web-this course was designed for online learning.
• BENEFIT joins 11 additional free courses in OpenUW
• Lighthearted "Test Your IT IQ" test available for reprint.

Have you ever felt more than a few steps behind the current technology trends? Are you unsure of what Information Technology is, and how it can benefit you in both your personal and professional life? If so, there's a free online course that will help you move into the information age.

BENEFIT is designed for people who may have relatively few computer skills other than surfing the Web a little or sending email. Yet by course end, students have not only mastered the most important tech skills used in daily life, but understand IT concepts that will help them grow and adapt along with the rapid technology changes of the future. BENEFIT offers great flexibility; you can start the self-study course at any time, skip around, and work at your own pace. It has an impeccable pedigree: Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, and adapted from a 5-credit college classroom course, BENEFIT was developed by University of Washington Information School and Computer Science and Engineering department in partnership with University of Washington Educational Outreach. All you need to do is to register at FluencyWithInformationTechnology.org and decide whether you want to complete the course in three months, six months, a year, or on a schedule of your own choosing (ten lessons representing an estimated 130-180 hours total time commitment). BENEFIT is designed to keep you engaged, with interactive, hands-on assignments and features including video, animation, and student online forums.

Teaches practical skills for today
You'll learn skills from browsing the Web with Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox to effectively using search engines. You'll learn how to develop your own Web pages, build spreadsheets with Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Spreadsheets, determine the authenticity of a Web site, design a database with Microsoft Access, understand database and online privacy issues, protect your computer from security threats, and more. BENEFIT presents readings, exercises, and labs with sample solutions provided throughout the course.

Prepares you for rapid change of tomorrow
Technical literacy meets the immediate needs of today. But BENEFIT takes you beyond technical literacy to reach an understanding of the foundations on which IT is built. "IT evolves so rapidly that current skills become obsolete over shorter and shorter time spans," says course developer D.A. Clements. "Successful completion of this course will give you an understanding of IT capabilities and concepts that will allow you to keep pace with inevitable advances in IT." You'll learn about critical IT concepts including information systems, networks, modeling and abstraction, algorithmic thinking, digital representations such as MP3, ASCII, and JPG, and limitations and societal impacts of IT. You'll achieve true fluency in information technology, the "FIT" in BENEFIT.

Special course features add value to online learning
The special features of BENEFIT are many.

• It's easy to use and easy to navigate the course-video demonstrations help you get started.
• BENEFIT harnesses the advantages of online course design to enhance learning and retention of material. Much of the instruction is hands-on training. Flash videos and animations highlight key concepts and online quizzes provide immediate feedback.
• Quizzes provide immediate feedback and self-assessment; sample solutions to exercises and labs are provided throughout the course.
• Enhanced Flash videos and animations highlight key concepts.
• Improved course navigation makes it easy to find your way through these rich course materials.
• For help in meeting goals while studying independently online: You can use "My Progress Page" to create a schedule for course completion in three months, six months, or a year—and BENEFIT will structure your study at the appropriate pace. You can create a custom schedule of your own, as well. My Progress Page will then help you set a goal, track your progress and help you stay on track through due-date reminders, study prompts, a progress bar, and more.
• For elements of the traditional classroom experience: visit the online Discussion Forum for each lesson to post questions for other students and read previous entries. BENEFIT also provides tips on study strategies such as forming your own group of co-workers or friends to go through the course together.

Required texts for BENEFIT
Two textbooks form the foundation of the required reading material for the course: Fluency with Information Technology: Skills, Concepts, & Capabilities, 2nd Edition, by Lawrence Snyder (Addison Wesley, 2006; $85.00) and QuickStart to JavaScript (Addison Wesley, 2004; $17.60). The two textbooks, workbook, and JavaScript reference card are available as a package for $92.40 from Addison-Wesley.

Computer requirements
The course is best utilized with a Windows PC although alternatives are listed throughout for Mac and Linux users. Whichever type of computer is used, it must be capable of running a recent Web browser (Internet Explorer 6, Firefox 1.5, or Safari 1.0) and an office suite, such as Microsoft Office or OpenOffice. A modem is essential for reading online lessons and speakers are needed for listening to the demo and NetPoint videos.

History of BENEFIT

Origin of BENEFIT
The need for a BENEFIT course came directly from a National Research Council report, "Being Fluent with Information Technology." It answered the question, "What should every citizen know about Information Technology?" BENEFIT was developed in response to that report to help teach people what they should know about IT in order to use it effectively.

Debut in 1999 as classroom course
In autumn 1999 Lawrence Snyder, University of Washington Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, acting as chair for the National Science Foundation on FIT, developed and began teaching a five-credit course to be taught in the University system. Grace Whiteaker, MLIS, taught the course for two years. The course was very successful and continues to be offered every quarter at the University of Washington.

National Science Foundation Grant
Working on a grant from the National Science Foundation, Lawrence Snyder, principal investigator, Mike Eisenberg, co-principal investigator, and John Stephens, program manager, created and revised the free online BENEFIT. Lawrence Snyder is Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Mike Eisenberg is Professor and Dean Emeritus of the Information School, and John Stephens is Director of Academic Programs for Educational Outreach at the University of Washington.

Adapted in 2003 as online course
Grace Whitaker, developer, and Linda Baker, instructional designer, modified the classroom materials to bring them online. Several thousand students from 52 countries including the US have taken the course in this previous release.

Revised in 2007
D.A. Clements, developer, and Christi Ruscigno, instructional designer, extensively revised, restructured, and updated the course for the 2007 release as well as providing additional tools for students. The major revision of the course was implemented in 2007, including major restructuring and organization efforts and improved navigation. All of the course content-lessons, labs, projects, and assignments-were updated, and many new activities were added.

About OpenUW

OpenUW is a series of free online courses presented by University of Washington Educational Outreach. In addition to the newly released course, BENEFIT, offerings include The American Civil War; Energy, Diet, and Weight; Greek Mythology; Gulliver's Travels; Hamlet; HTML Basics; History of Jazz: New Orleans; The American Revolution; Shakespeare's Comedies; Heroic Fantasy: Tolkien; and World War II. (more information at www.outreach.washington.edu/openuw)