At one time in my life I played a lot of bridge. I still enjoy reading the newspaper Daily Bridge Club column by Frank Stewart. The 10/5/2010 column in my local newspaper began with the statement:
Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society: Optimists invented the airplane, a pessimist the parachute. The bridge table has room for both approaches.
Click here to learn about Dave Moursund's free book on science and technology education for teaches and parents of K-8 children.
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The previous IAE Blog entry discussed a ninth grade Computer Science course that is being required for all students in a Pennsylvania school district (9/29/2010). The course includes an emphasis on problem solving. However, we all know that problem solving is an important component of every academic course and that computers are an important aid to problem solving in every discipline.
As students gain this computer science knowledge and skills one would expect that they would want to use their new knowledge and skills, both while in the ninth grade and in subsequent grades. This means that all of their teachers will be faced by students wanting to use their newly acquired computer-oriented knowledge and skills.
In browsing the Web today, I came across a newspaper article reporting on a school district requiring all ninth graders to take a computer course. (http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20100927_Springfield_High_looks_at_computers_in-depth.html.) The Springfield Township district is the first in Pennsylvania to mandate that students take a computer science course as a graduation requirement.
I read the article to see what it might have to say about students learning computer science.
We are all interested in improving our informal and formal educational systems. This is an everyday challenge to parents, teachers, politicians, and many other people.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is certainly relevant to addressing the challenge. Most people who look at possible roles of ICT in education ask just two questions:
