At first, I thought a seven-year-old article on computer science in schools would be hopelessly outdated and quaint. Not so - the author, Allen Tucker, presents a case for the teaching of computer science that retains its currency even now.
Basically, the author make the case that it's not enough to use the digital resources we have. What is needed is a core curriculum that progressively builds the knowledge base of all students, whether destined for a computer science career or not. It is no longer possible to enter a career without at least rudimentary knowledge of computers and their use. In his view, all need to use them, some need to design them, others need to run them. And we need to train them all.
Tucker lays out a good foundation for structuring such a curriculum, outlines the importance of each step, and defines the commitments necessary to fully implement such a curriculum, not the least of which is money and resources. One personal experience brought this message home for me this week when I taught a high school Excel class. The students were learning Excel 2003 - two iterations outdated - on computers running on Windows XP, also outdated by Vista and Windows 7. The class was an elective, nowhere near a requirement, and the learning was extremely elementary and worksheet-based. By that point in their academic careers, the students should have been able to design relational databases from scratch. Even now, technology is not taken seriously enough.
Well said Tom! I agree that although a person may not actually go into a computer based field...they still need to learn some basic computer skill to function in this world. It doesn't suprise me that the United States has dropped so drastically in our ranking when I hear things like your high school computer class still using computer programs from a decade ago. If we want our students to function at a top level....they need to be working on top level /current equipment!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I agree with the author's point of view. While I agree that we need to build a curriculum about technology, I don't think everyone needs to learn everything there is to know. Some people were built for programming. Is it good to know it exists and that's why things work? Sure, but do I need to know how to code and layer websites? Not so much. Overall, I understand his point, and would certainly support any efforts to integrating a more consistent and solid foundation when it comes to technological knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI am pleased to hear that the author outlined his version of a computer science curriculum - as this is what the article I read was lacking! I agree that this is a topic that needs to be taken more seriously in schools. I can remember being required to take a "keyboarding" class my freshman year of high school where we learned spreadsheets and databases (along with typing) - but after that one semester it was never mentioned, or used, again.
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