> -----Original Message----- > From: Kirby Urner [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > But understanding that files are the basic unit on a computer is > important, > and is better appreciated through hands-on exposure, vs. just some teacher > saying "files are the basic unit... blah blah". The distinction between > human-readable e.g. text, and binary formats, the whole idea of "formats" > is > something to get into (segue to music below).
You got me going. Not unconnected to Lee's point: "Files" aren't real, they don't exist, it is a paradigm stolen from the business office and has nothing to do with 5th graders, and by the time they are in 11th grade the paradigm, most likely, will have changed dramatically. The paradigm you are accepting, and teaching uncritically, is the interface fiction as something approaching a reality. If business offices put their papers in smoogies, we would be accessing smoogies from our hard drives. When of course we are doing neither of accessing files, nor smoogies. Art _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list [email protected] http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
