Hi
I'm new to the list and have been reading for a while. You all
have given me a lot of food for thought and some great
information. For that I thank you.
Brett's comments about HS students prompted me to post. He has a
good point about the Electronics Teacher. Part of the problem
with HS is that even our teachers don't know what the technology
is there for. I'm part of a national organization in the US for
bringing technology into the schools. One of our biggest
challenges has been to get the teachers to accept it and then
*use* it in the curriculum. Although more teachers are interested
now than they were, say, 5-10 years ago, it is still a struggle.
Some teachers are concerned that we are trying to tell them how
to teach and all we really want is to show them the tools they
can use to make learning exciting and memorable.
Cherise
-----Original Message-----
From: Brett Lorenzen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Friday, August 21, 1998 4:50 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: WC:>: Would you install IE 4.0 for them?
Cyberspace Publishing wrote:
>In a recent poll (for what they're worth), only 3.5%
> of graduating HS students were planning on computer studies
upon
> entering college. Most HS students I've run into are only
interested in
> learning the latest game or chatting on the Internet. They
could care
> less about learning how to use the computer as a "tool"!
Should clarify the 'poll'. That poll was the form they fill out
when
they take the ACT admissions test. Still a link to it on CNN
home
page. Should be noted:
1. The info is optional, and there are over 200 questions in
total
(after you've completed the registration itself).
2. There are over 200 questions (by the time they get there they
are
often filling in boxes)
3. Some of the options only allow them one answer from lists of
20 or
more career fields.
4. The type of person likely to be a CS major is more likely to
figure
out you can skip the last 200 questions of the survey and be done
with
it . . ;)
5. The test is widely used, but certain key schools, like MIT,
use the
SAT . . . and the ACT also has a lot of small schools and JCs in
the
pool that don't even offer CS as a realistic option.
Etc.
If you'd like a sample of the survey, visit the website at
www.act.org
and follow links to registration. Go ahead and start the
process--as
long as you don't fill in credit card the file will die in 72
hours.
(Go ahead and send them an email commenting on the program
design, too
*grin* I'm sure they'll appreciate that.)
Anyway, the point being, asking an 18 year old if they're going
to major
in CS and doing it that way isn't much of an indicator. In
addition, I
know as many HS students with computer skills skipping college to
fill
jobs as I do going to college . . . no opinion on whether that's
good or
bad as a whole (really a personal thing), but can understand why
someone
who wants to be a CS person and has the skills at graduation
would take
the $70K out of high school and blow off college for a few years
. . . .
I agree, though, that there are a lot of students interested only
in
playing games . . . but that's more the school's fault -- when
the
teacher can't do anything but install the game, and makes no
required or
engaging way to get them to use the system as a tool, they're
going to
play a lot of games . . . .
They should do for them like they did for us when I was a
sophomore in
high school. Electronics teacher walked in one day with a box
that said
"Heathkit Z-80" on it. Looked at us and said "Here's a computer.
Instructions are inside. Put it together and see what you can
make it
do."
then he learned with us . . .
B
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