Should schools have a tech-literacy course?

[aimeeandbeatles]

From elementry school upwards, would you? If so, what would your curriculum be? Would it be compulsory?

I think it's a good idea. I'd have stuff on using more than one OS, and some internet safety (not the "OMG AVOID SOCIAL NETWORKS, THEY'RE ALL PERVS!!!!" panic stuff, I mean on how to avoid malware) and maybe some hardware stuff in the upper grades.

 

[GVBN]

The only things students need to know are Microsoft Office and using a search engine, because those are useful in future studies. Stuff like Linux or computer hardware have no place in compulsory education

 

[dwaxe]

There should be mandatory courses for Internet culture (vastly superior to any country cultures), 1337 5P33K, and typing.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Id have courses that teach the structure of a computer, structure of an OS and structure of programs. People should at least know the basics of how their computer works, especially when its so pervasive in near every aspect of our lives.

 

[Zelig]

No, kids have more pressing needs, mathematics and basic financial skills come to mind.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

No, kids have more pressing needs, mathematics and basic financial skills come to mind.

So you dont agree that some level of tech literacy is becoming required in the modern world?

I agree that kids need math and basic financial skills, but most of the time these are already offered.

 

[Perfection]

kids need to be able to work a computer, but in all but the poorest families in first world countries they'll get the opportunity at home. I see no need to teach them something they'll learn on their own.

 

[Zelig]

So you dont agree that some level of tech literacy is becoming required in the modern world?

Yes, but there's a limited amount of instruction time, which is better spent teaching things that kids are less likely to do on their own times, of which I believe math is of paramount importance.

Grrrr, double post with perf.

 

[Padma]

I agree with Zelig, that there are other, more pressing needs, like mathematics.

Oh, and, stuff like Microsoft Office has no place in compulsory education.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Oh, and, stuff like Microsoft Office has no place in compulsory education.

Gods no, I wouldnt want my kid to take a course like that. What I meant is something along the lines of:

This is a computer, it has a processor that works like so and so. Its has memory. etc
Stuff like that. Teach them the basics of a computer.

As for focus on other classes, they are already required. I took math every single year of school, this is perhaps the first quarter in 11 years that I do not have a math class.
Same goes for most other subjects, english, history. They are already mandatory in most schools, so its not really an issue of needing to have them, but rather, bettering the actual courses and making students retain something from them. I agree that there should be a compulsory course in financial skills, like the one I had in 9th grade.

Tech literacy courses may not need to be required even, but as long as they are made informative, useful and attractive to students, they will be filled. In essence they would need to be unlike what current classes are like: "Here is MS Word, and here is MS Excel. This is how you use Powerpoint, and this is how you use IE" -- a fairly stupid approach as it stands.

 

[Padma]

The MS-O statement was in response to GVBN:

The only things students need to know are Microsoft Office and using a search engine.... Stuff like Linux or computer hardware have no place in compulsory education

I can't really see any "tech literacy" course being required. Elective [optional] courses would be fine, if they were truly informative tech courses, and not just the current MS training classes.

For example, I am the Computer Merit Badge Counselor for a local Boy Scout Troop. Each year, I spend an hour up front with the boys who want to earn the badge, going over what the parts of a computer are, how it all works, etc. I bring along one of my "parts machines" so they canphysically see what I'm talking about. I also include a mandatory internet/social group safety lecture - not to say "don't go outside these boundaries!", but rather, "It's a jungle out there. Here's some of what you might see, and what you should do in these situations." Finally, for the individual portions, I let them know I will help them use any combination of OS and software they wnto to work with.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

In my elementry school (well, 4th grade and up) the only thing they taught us was how to type. In junior high, how to use Microsoft Office. It was high school where I actually learned stuff I didn't know.

In 10th grade course called Exploring Tech we were supposed to take apart a computer but 1) they didn't have enough computers and 2) there wasn't enough time. However, we did get to build stuff. I remember one time I couldn't finish a project because all the rubber bands kept breaking, and I burned myself on the hot-glue gun. We also did a little bit of soldering, but I found that tricky. Oh, and it was fun chasing the teacher with the little remote-control robot.

 

[Fetus4188]

I think it should receive more attention as an optional elective. Computer programming is an excellent way to strengthen mathematical and logic skills, and is useful in itself. Typing/word/excel/etc are usually picked up along with other classes and don't need specific classes of their own.

 

[dwaxe]

I think it should receive more attention as an optional elective. Computer programming is an excellent way to strengthen mathematical and logic skills, and is useful in itself. Typing/word/excel/etc are usually picked up along with other classes and don't need specific classes of their own.

I took a computer programming course and was sorely disappointed. The sheer weight of idiots in the class (1/3 of the class got Fs, the rest got As) slowed down the material so much that was able to sleep through half of the classes.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

I took a computer programming course and was sorely disappointed. The sheer weight of idiots in the class (1/3 of the class got Fs, the rest got As) slowed down the material so much that was able to sleep through half of the classes.

If you didnt make use of that down time to learn to program or to learn about CS, then the class wasnt for you, or rather, you should have looked into other subjects.

 

[mdwh]

I think it would be bizarre not to teach anything about computers. Is this really how it is in the US?

I'm in the UK. I believe that now there are dedicated "IT" lessons. In my day (14+ years ago), we didn't, but using computers was still integrated into lessons. E.g., in English we learned about DTP, in Maths we did spreadsheets and Logo programming.

Even in the 1980s, my primary school had BBC computers which were occasionally used.

Yes, but there's a limited amount of instruction time, which is better spent teaching things that kids are less likely to do on their own times, of which I believe math is of paramount importance.

Grrrr, double post with perf.

I agree with Zelig, that there are other, more pressing needs, like mathematics.

Oh, and, stuff like Microsoft Office has no place in compulsory education.

Is maths the only thing they teach in schools these days?

Surely there is room for more than one subject. You have to argue not that it's less important than maths, but it's less important than _all_ subjects that school time is given to.

 

[Zelig]

You have to argue not that it's less important than maths, but it's less important than _all_ subjects that school time is given to.

No I don't, just assume that if there's anything other than math that I think IT stuff could replace, it would be better to replace it with math instead.

 

[Quackers]

I think it would be bizarre not to teach anything about computers. Is this really how it is in the US?

I'm in the UK. I believe that now there are dedicated "IT" lessons. In my day (14+ years ago), we didn't, but using computers was still integrated into lessons. E.g., in English we learned about DTP, in Maths we did spreadsheets and Logo programming.

Even in the 1980s, my primary school had BBC computers which were occasionally used.



Is maths the only thing they teach in schools these days?

Surely there is room for more than one subject. You have to argue not that it's less important than maths, but it's less important than _all_ subjects that school time is given to.

As I was in schooling a mere two years ago I can tell you that IT in British schools is still in a terrible state. Most of my teachers were pretty much all 70 years old and former maths teachers just doing it because no one else wanted to do it. All we learnt for about 5 years of secondary school was powerpoint, word and excel. No real knowledge of computers was needed. I remember one of the quesions on the test was a picture of a desktop computer with a circle around the mouse and the caption "What is highlighted object?". It saddens me because IT is essential nowadays - I still look at my computer specs questioningly the only thing I understand is RAM..

 

[Shadylookin]

Don't most schools already have something along those lines? Even my backwoods elementary school had computers in the early 90s.

 

[mdwh]

No I don't, just assume that if there's anything other than math that I think IT stuff could replace, it would be better to replace it with math instead.

But what's so special about IT? I mean, if we decided that Math was more important than IT, which was sufficiently important to replace with at least some of the Art lessons, and by your reasoning we should therefore replace it with Maths, shouldn't we already be doing so?

Therefore, either:

IT is less important than all other subjects.

Or schools should teach nothing but maths.