Matthias Johnson wrote:
I don't think I have had the pleasure of seeing such a thing.
Agreed. I don't think most school systems have thought through what they
want to use computers in the school for. I have seen all sorts of bad
reasons over two or three decades. Some have wanted to turn every
student into a programmer who can make six figures upon graduation from
high school. Some have thought it necessary to have every student fluent
in the latest version of Orifice and Windblows, so they'll be employable
upon graduation (forget about anything not adhering to the Gospel of
Bill). Of course, whatever they learn will be largely obsolete by the
time they hit the job market. Some think that they can teach more kids
without expensive additional teachers (PCs don't do a very good job of
that). Some think they should spend time showing kids how to access AOL
and compose an email (most kids already know more than the teacher in
that area). Some actually waste good money on laptops for students --
machines which suffer a huge rate of loss due to theft and damage from
drops. What the hell do K-12 students need a laptop for? Sometimes there
seems to be a frantic belief in throwing money at our schools' problems,
and that computers will be a magic pill that will make everything all
better.
What are computers in K-12 useful for? Considering that most students
have a computer at home, it might be useful to level the playing field
by giving poor students with no home computer to access the Web, a way
to get online for research purposes and giving them some one-on-one
instruction and supervision on Web browsers. For some students,
computers might be good for repetitive drills (math, spelling, typing,
perhaps some writing). Advanced chemistry and physics students could
design and run experiments that are too costly or hazardous to do in a
real school lab. Students who are really interested in the subject could
dabble in software design and programming in an elective course.
Finally, some basic instruction in generic word processors and
spreadsheets would be good for getting most students going with whatever
software they end up using at home, school, or their first employer
(learn principles, rather than how to use Word and Excel by rote).
All students need training in ethics -- why it's bad to pirate software,
music, and video, or to plagiarize material they find online, or to go
online and simply ask for the answer without trying to look for it. (If
you want some fun, go on LinkedIn and read all the homework assignments
that Indian college students post, just asking for the answer that they
can print out and hand in to the prof.) Most also need training in how
to think critically, and not swallow whole everything they read online.
It's unfortunate that their slacker parents didn't give them a good
foundation in ethics or how to think, and it falls to the school system
to take over yet another aspect of parenting.
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