MISSISSIPPI STATE - Today’s K-12 students are surrounded by communications technology both in and out of the classroom; and technology literacy is essential as students learn to assess information, collaborate, innovate and solve problems.

In meeting this need, educators face the challenges of both teaching technology skills and measuring students’ technology literacy levels.

Propulse Software developed by Mississippi State University’s Center for Educational and Training Technology is available to help schools assess the technology literacy of students, said center director Dan Brook.

“Propulse Software has been designed by educators for schools. It is performance-based, easy to use, economical and time-efficient, and it requires low bandwidth,” he said. “Propulse offers schools ‘one-stop shopping’ for technology literacy by providing an assessment of students’ technology literacy and a plan for enhancing those skills.”           

Its use of a transfer-of-learning-based model is one of Propulse’s strengths, said Sheila Lucas, president and CFO of Convergent Solution Inc.

“This model is the most efficient platform for enhancing students’ ability to stay current with new technology developments,” she said. “Propulse also presents prescriptive recommendations to teachers to improve the technology skills of students.”

Schools can purchase Propulse at a flat rate, which allows an unlimited number of assessments per school building for up to two years.

Additional information on Propulse is available at http://www.propulseplatform.com.