Sunday, February 15, 2009

Re: 21st Century Computer Skills

Well stated Denis. Google is the Bomb that explodes all myths. It is all=
about wanting to.
=20
Norman

________________________________

From: A forum for independent school educators on behalf of Dennis Arms
Sent: Sat 2/14/2009 2:26 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: 21st Century Computer Skills

I'm going to push a little bit on this one. I graduated from high schoo=
l in 2005. I took the "Business" sequence of courses which included elec=
tives such as Document Formatting, Advanced Document Formatting, Compute=
r Applications I, and Computer Applications II. All of these courses=
taught us the basic skills such as setting margins, reinforced touch=
typing, and all of that other "stuff."=20
So after I graduated from high school I took a job working in a pre=
school, then as a computer lab aide, then as a Technology Specialist.=
I never had any kind of training but a majority of the skills I learne=
d were easily applied to other areas. When I worked as a computer lab=
aide the room was full of Macs which I had never used before.=20
In my opinion the important computer skills include: being able to=
talk TO people, not AT people, being able to search effectively, and=
being willing to try. When I worked as a Technology Specialist I could=
always count on Google to provide some guidance to fix whatever problem=
I was having.=20
Technology courses are an important part of a students career. I=
LOVED my computer courses in high school because they taught me things=
that I could use right away. I can type 80+ words a minute thanks to=
my computer courses, and I can talk anyone through changing columns,=
creating tables, creating formulas, etc.
These "five step computer users" are the people who have never had forma=
l training. I see them every day, scribbling down the steps I am giving=
to them..."wait, wait, I need to write that down."


>>> Renee Ramig <rramig@sevenhillsschool.org> 02/14/09 12:06 PM >>>
I have found that having a "computer skills class" does little for my
students because nothing is context. I show them how to do columns and
footers in Word or formulas in Excel. But, the first they use it in
class for a project, they often need to be re-taught as now it is in
context of some curriculum area.

Personally, I believe in the adage "No technology before its time." I
find that teaching a technology tool works best, is retained better, and
can be transferred more easily if it is taught in the context of a
curriculum project.

Just my 2-cents.

Renee Ramig
Seven Hills School

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