=20
I applaud your stance on the tools. My question to you, are your student=
s being presented history or are they doing history. If you are watching=
someone shingle a roof (presenting history) it will be very hard to und=
erstand why a nail gun is much better to do the job than a traditional=
hammar is. (doing history). Just a thought
=20
Norman
________________________________
From: A forum for independent school educators on behalf of TJ Rainsford
Sent: Fri 2/13/2009 5:00 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: 21st Century Computer Skills
Keith:
Teaching fundamentals is rarely a waste of time (if it is, then my fellow
historians and I are going to be up the creek without a paddle!). And=
I
assure you that applications like spreadsheets are not going anywhere
anytime soon as long as there are accountants, statisticians, social
scientists, or anyone else working with referential data or calculations.
The tools may become more robust but the basics are still going to be=
the
same.
I am of the opinion that we need to combine the education of the tool=
(word
processing, spreadsheets, databases) with the use of the tool (writing
skills, data analysis and manipulation, information management). In oth=
er
words, theory has to be part of practice. All too often, I encounter=
young
business professionals and students who are quite adept at using some
whiz-bang tools but can't format a professional document or do data anal=
ysis
because they don't know how to use the tools designed for those jobs.
By some estimates, the average computer user utilizes less than 30% of=
the
capability of the standard desktop. In part it is because we are only=
now
getting to the point of integrating technology in the classroom. As fut=
ure
professionals become more adept at marrying theory to toolsets, people=
like
yourself will actually become MORE important, not less. Someone has to=
show
them how to use the tools to manage more and more information and the=
basic
applications are the fundamental tools.
Just my two cents.
TJ
On Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 1:09 PM, Keith E Gatling <kgatling@mph.net> wrot=
e:
> As I consider what I should be teaching in the coming years, I've been
> wondering, with all the neat stuff people have been doing with podcast=
s,
> wikis, blogs, and other forms of interactive media, is there really=
any
> point in my continuing to teach such nuts and bolts stuff as word
> processing
> and spreadsheet use? I keep hearing about how the 7th grader of today=
won't
> be using any of these "old fashioned" tools by the time they're in col=
lege,
> and so I wonder if continuing to teach them now is just a waste of
> everyone's time.
> --
> keg
>
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *=
* * * *
> Keith E Gatling - Computer Instructor
> Manlius Pebble Hill School
> 5300 Jamesville Rd
> DeWitt, NY 13214
> 315.446.2452
> http://www.gatling.us/keith
>
> Some teachers teach subjects. Others teach students.
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *=
* * * *
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
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>
--
TJ Rainsford
E: tjrainsford@gmail.com
[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution=
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