From: choy@skorpio.usask.ca (I am a terminator.)
Newsgroups: k12.ed.comp.literacy
Subject: Re: Computers & education
Date: 28 Dec 1992 21:33:14 GMT
Organization: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: skorpio.usask.ca

In article <1992Dec26.174411.21714@freenet.carleton.ca>, aa161@Freenet.carleton.ca (Geoff Irvine) writes:
|> 
|> Hi Bob,
|> Greetings from Ottawa Canada.I am the Head of te History and Contemporay 
|> Studies Department at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School. We opened in 1991 
|> at a high tech heaven. Our school has an ethernet backbone ( because who can 
|> afford optical ? ) and we are all MacIntosh. We have been planning and are now 
|> implementing the integration of technology in the classroom. Here are few 
|> pieces of advice for what they are worth :
|> 2. Inservice is the key. Teachers will traditionally not bring a computer into 
|> the classroom for at least a year after they have been introduced to it. Start 
|> with mark management, move to word processing. Once they have got past this 
|> they are ready to leap. Spend first on computers for preparation rooms and find 
|> ways to get good deals for teachers who want to buy for home use.If the 
|> teachers are unconvinced you ge nowhere no matter how many high tech toys you 
|> buy. Offer afterschool workshops on introductory experiences with computers and 
|> software ( through in goodies and beverages and they'll love ya !)

Teachers need to understand computers because they handle information,
something that teachers and students work a lot with. My opinion is that
teachers should know the philosophy of computation, not just how to use
a machine to find the average and the standard deviation in one keystroke.
Computation is done in everything today. I see computation boosts some
people far ahead of the layman. For instance, a few years ago people used
to be able to assemble a computer that runs on a par with a store bought
machine. Now, you can't do that without a clean chip fab. Computers are
now built to be bullet proof. The hobbyist can turn to putting computer
networks together (though they exist on wafer scale integration), but are
the days of personally assembling the fundamental computer over? Those who
can compute can assemble the home version of a computer factory. The sheer
speed of computation available permits ventures in building computers in
the garage. The problem is people are not aware of this power. Awareness
in children starts with awareness in the teachers.

|> 7. Most of all -- the maxim here is "Use computers only if is helps kids work 
|> faster and/or smarter ". This is important. We goofed a lot initially trying to 
|> use tecnology for its own sake. Kids see through this and the doubters on the 
|> staff end up saying " I told you so " ( with pretty good reason ). Frankly, 
|> computers are great for about 20-30% of what goes on in classrooms. The rest of 
|> the time there's really no real use for them. Mind you that 20 to 30 % can be 
|> very intensive, particularly if your are doing multimedia.

Children learn many procedures or algorithms that they may use frequently in
life. Some of these algorithms may be performed with the aid of a machine.

Children also learn many facts (including how to handle facts with a machine).

|> 8. If you can afford it ( and the prices are coming down ) go with MacIntosh. 
|> The hardware is ideally suited to the novice user and the person who thinks 
|> computers are the " machines from hell ". MS-DOS machines are fine for computer 
|> nerds but very unfreindly to infrequent users who cannot easily remember key 
|> controls.

I think the fear of computers stems from the lack of understanding of
what computation is all about, and a perception that computation involves
intensive labor (it does, but there is a step-by-step approach to learning
to compute).


-- 

Henry Choy
choy@cs.usask.ca

"The Log Song", from Ren & Stimpy
 
   "What rolls down stairs alone or in pairs
    Rolls over your neighbor's dog?
    What's great for a snack and fits on your back?
    It's Log, Log, Log!
 
    It's Log, Log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood.
    It's Log, Log, it's better than bad, it's good!
    Everyone wants a log! You're gonna love it, Log!
    Come on and get your log! Everyone needs a Log!"


"Math is tough!"

      -- Barbie