By that you mean playing with hardware? Configuring systems?
Installing software? Making cat5 etc?
Well what was the 'computers-in-society' did this. Teaching kids
how to click file, then open etc.
2u and 3u computers is supposed to be computing theory and logic
the courses didnt have programming components, only psuedo code.
Teachers just graced kids with programming as a practical example
of the use of this material.
Computing studies is now dead though. Its now 3? different subject
one being software, or VB as it should actually be called.
Dean
David Murphy wrote:
> Yeah flow charts and algorithms are great if you want to be a coder but what
> about the rest of us who cant code to save themselves but would have liked
> to have learned a few more practical skills at school? I did computing and
> got nothing out of it......
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dean Hamstead [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2001 2:29 AM
> To: David
> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: [SLUG] Computer Literacy in Schools
>
>
> I think its a very per-school thing.
> Having just finished high school i though comput*ing* studies
> (which is now a string of other subjects) was reasonable.
> The subject studies computing, and as such you learn pseudo-code
> flow charts, you also learn elementry stuff about error checking
> and correction.
>
> in 9 - 10 we "learned" basic then pascal (but who didnt start
> using basic when they were like 7)
>
> i did 3u computers. 3u computers wasnt much of a step from 2u
> just add in railroad charts and the 5 langauge generations and
> your on to your HSC.
>
> My 2u teacher was (is) a Netware nut. He also *loves* HP.
> Fortunately he can back it up with a damn good knowledge of
> computers and yes we did get him to try linux *grin*
> (but when you get netware free anyway....)
>
> My 3u teacher was an AI programmer and wrote M_Bank (something
> like that) which is a add on thingy for ms word. Which makes
> generating exams, and exam result sheets stupidly easy (the
> good bit was the highly accurate diagrams built from the question
> data)
>
> He didnt give a stuff about OS's and stuff. He just *really*
> knew how to program and let us use whaever we wanted for our
> major's.
>
> I used pascal cos im lazy (i thought about perl, in retrospect
> java wouldnt have been a bad option) others used delphi, c (on
> beos) and vb.
>
> My high school was pretty good in the computers dept., which
> is good for a selective school. Unfortunately a teachers wage
> isnt as good as your average IT job =(
>
> Dean
>
> David wrote:
>
>
>> I believe groups such as SLUG owe it to the community to make political
>> stands on computer literacy.
>>
>> For some reason, Australian politicians have NO idea about the need for
>> serious computer studies. My 17 year old son spent one whole year doing
>> computer studies and came out not knowing how to create a web page (even
>> using WYSIWYG editors) or understanding spreadsheeting, or even how to use
>> the 'net for research. How far behind are we going to get? He got some
>> obscure theory and that was it.
>>
>> This is not about pushing Linux, but it is about the future of the lucky
>> country - nothing less.
>>
>> The state government, as I understand it from radio reports, is running a
>> PILOT program on computer literacy - my god! where have they been the last
>> ten years?
>>
>> Meantime, I heard recently that UNSW is discarding plans to run on-line
>> teaching. (hearsay - I hope I'm wrong), and downsizing it's in-house staff
>> computer training (again hearsay, but I'm told they think it isn't
>> necessary).
>>
>> I know this is not a political list, but sometimes I think community
>> groups have obligations to do some arse-kicking.
>>
>> </rant>
>>
>> David.
>>
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