<br>
I had another go at this on my blog:<br>
<a href="http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/10/decline-of-it-in-education.html">http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/10/decline-of-it-in-education.html</a><br>
<br>
it gets a bit complicated because probably many traditional subjects
are at least sometimes taught in routine, formulistic and uninspiring
ways<br>
eg. maths out of the textbook<br>
<br>
certainly its asking too much for any teacher to be continually
innovative in whatever subject they teach, given the pressures on
teachers in general<br>
<br>
but when computers came along as new, important, "vocational" some of
this was then converted into skill routines at the school level -
here's a new application (eg. Office), how do we use this properly -
initially this was enough to establish the subject but has not been
enough to sustain it R-12 or K-12 in the longer term<br>
<br>
Yes the IT teacher knows how to use Word better than the English teacher<br>
<br>
But it's not reasonable for a subject (IT) to sustain itself long term
mainly on a skilling basis. It would not be reasonable for any other
subject to do that<br>
<br>
In some cases the forces for IT have not developed a compelling enough argument for IT to be retained as a separate subject<br>
<br>
In other cases a compelling argument - a deeper approach - has been
developed and the stakeholders (students, school admin, universities)
have heard it<br>
<br>
For the students who think they are "digital natives" it has to be a good argument since it is coming from the "immigrants"<br>
<br>
In other cases the argument has been developed but fallen on deaf ears<br>
<br>
I'm saying that its not reasonable and not inspiring for IT to remain
as a separate subject unless it does develop an argument that is
equivalent to the best argument that English, Maths, Science could
develop. To teach IT mainly as a skill is boring anyway - who really
wants to do only that?<br>
<br>
These other subjects have a 400 year plus magnificent tradition <br>
<br>
Now what is it about IT that makes it equivalent to these subjects?
That is the argument that has to be developed for IT to compete long
term as a standalone with these subjects, if we want that.<br>
<br>
Your comments could also be read as an argument for a new subject such as "media studies"<br><br>How do media changes effect our learning - eg. if students watch as much TV, play computer games, web surfing, use their mobile phones etc. - how does that impact on their ability to sit in a class and listen to a teacher?
<br><br>Media studies might be an elective in school - but there is something happening here in the way media is changing that is having a profound effect on everything that happens in school<br><br>IT teachers losing their subject is a wakeup call for a bigger problem - like a species becoming extinct might signify a broader significant change in the whole environment
<br><br>-- <br>Bill Kerr<br><a href="http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/">http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/</a><br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 10/17/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Costello, Rob R</b> <<a href="mailto:Costello.Rob.R@edumail.vic.gov.au">
Costello.Rob.R@edumail.vic.gov.au</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><br>making the parallel with English / computer literacy is suggesting that
<br>"digital native" status does not mean we necessarily abandon attempts to<br>build on kids skills in a concentrated way<br><br>what are the ideas that computer literacy opens to us?<br><br>Well, what is software?
<br>It is medium in which we carve and express ideas. It provides a milieu<br>in which we increasingly communicate. It is an increasingly dominant<br>substrate in our culture. It is mirror in which we see ourselves -<br>watching my 5 year old snap himself on the web cam.
<br><br>there is a plasticity in software, that means it can morph into every<br>domain - can be video editing, email, spreadsheets, game design,<br>blogging, CAD etc<br><br>and teaching kids how to work with it, be creative with it, in whatever
<br>form or context, can be valuable<br><br>sometimes the very diversity of forms works against seeing what the<br>deeper ideas are<br><br>Also can lead to the "ICT is just a tool, lets not focus on the<br>technology" - "its teachers who make sure its used in meaningful
<br>contexts" sort of thing<br><br>and I broadly agree with the sentiment, in many cases<br><br>Yet given the plasticity of the software, it would also be nice to let<br>kids experience how to work with that - to take control at that deeper
<br>level, to have some ideas of how to write it, not just read (experience)<br>it (=literacy)<br><br>Its harder, but potentially it goes further than mastering applications<br>- valuable as that is<br><br>Kay says that putting a piano in a classroom is not going to make
<br>musicians - the teacher, and the music (software) are the key elements -<br>the music is also the expression<br><br>the discipline of performing music is "hard", takes years of training to<br>reach higher levels
<br>and it builds in complexity as it goes - builds on previous skills<br><br>Systems thinking, object orientation, etc, is possibly as hard to<br>master, just as useful and adaptable when mastered - and accessible at<br>
earlier stages with the right tools<br><br>Agree we don't have a clear sense of what these big ideas are - too<br>taken with the range of apps (=music appreciation, reading?)<br><br>though playing with them does also give some measure of the ideas,
<br>indirectly- and may payoff in other ways (the communication or<br>expressive or analytical power of the tool) - and may be appropriate in<br>many cases, classes etc<br><br>PS here's one spinoff of tinkering with software at school age -
<br>wouldn't have occurred if I'd been left to the apps of the day - a<br>little induction into BASIC started the accessibility of constructing<br><br><a href="http://www.brainshapes.com">www.brainshapes.com</a><br>
experimental, may change, copyright, incompletely documented etc<br>cheers<br>Rob<br><br>PS lots of disciplines are making some sort of extended "literacy" claim<br>- not just ICT (financial literacy, ethical literacy, scientific
<br>literacy - the multi-literacy grab-bag)<br><br><br>> Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:17:10 +1000<br>> From: "Bill Kerr" <<a href="mailto:billkerr@gmail.com">billkerr@gmail.com</a>><br>> Subject: Re: [Yr7-10it] Year 7-10 IT structures
<br>> To: "Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List"<br>> <<a href="mailto:yr7-10it@edulists.com.au">yr7-10it@edulists.com.au</a>><br>> Message-ID:<br>> <<a href="mailto:5d2dce520710151717x5d8d6618h6708ca82433b91bc@mail.gmail.com">
5d2dce520710151717x5d8d6618h6708ca82433b91bc@mail.gmail.com</a>><br>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"<br>><br>> I'm interested in this argument about the "information age" and "IT is
<br>> equivalent to English", which has come up before on these lists<br>><br>> The term "information age" is too vague now IMO. The "information age"<br>did<br>> not start with the computer - it started with the printing press.
<br>> ...<br>><br>> The argument that "we can all read and write" implies that IT is<br>another<br>> form of literacy (equivalent to reading and writing) and so deserves<br>an<br>> equal place in the curriculum to English
<br>><br>> That argument might turn out to be correct, eg. we could argue that<br>> students<br>> could learn to program the computer to represent dynamic systems (eg.<br>the<br>> spread of AIDS or a traffic jam simulation or global warming) and that
<br>> this<br>> systems theory knowledge is a new form of literacy required by the<br>modern<br>> citizen. If we understood systems theory better then society would<br>have<br>> picked up on global warming earlier or developed other perspectives on
<br>> global warming to our current ones (ie. panic)<br>><br>> But it's wrong to equate the ability to read and write English with<br>the<br>> ability to learn basic computer skills.<br>><br>> The English curriculum does not or should not justify itself in
<br>secondary<br>> school on the basis of learning to read and write. It might justify<br>itself<br>> on the basis that the study of Shakespeare for example provides<br>students<br>> with new insights into the human condition.
<br>><br>> "Computer science" (which is perhaps not a real science yet) could<br>only<br>> justify itself on this sort of basis - that it provides new unique<br>> insights<br>> into the human condition.
<br>><br>> Integration of computers into the rest of the curriculum (and<br>computing<br>> being phased out as a stand alone subject in the middle years) is<br>> proceeding<br>> on the basis that all computing has to offer is basic (computer)
<br>literacy<br>> skills and that the "digital natives" will pick that up anyway. The<br>> comparison here is with oral literacy. Humans learn to talk without<br>formal<br>> teaching. They don't learn to read and write without formal teaching.
<br>That<br>> process is meant to happen in primary school and is the major focus of<br>> primary school. The ability to read and write then opens doors to the<br>> collected wisdom of humanity, be it through books or the web.
<br>><br>> So, what is the argument that computer skills are somehow equivalent<br>to<br>> English - the subject which provides the underlying basis for all of<br>> modern<br>> human knowledge, post Enlightenment?
<br>><br>> Maybe there is such an argument. But the fact that IT teachers haven't<br>> developed it coherently is the underlying reason why they are losing<br>their<br>> subject.<br>><br>> --<br>> Bill Kerr
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