Heard it on the radio again this morning – the need for
people to be educated for the “Digital Economy”. Schools have had “computer
science” since the 1970s. Many schools now require students to have their own
laptops or tablets. But how much better (digitally) educated are people? Recent
interactions with people in the workforce make me wonder if any progress is
being made.
Part of the problem is what is being taught. Way back when
the computer classes were part of the maths syllabus. They taught how to
analyse problems and solve them with computer code. It is this type of teaching
that will lead to the high tech people some of the software development
companies want. But it isn’t for everyone. True, good teaching can improve how
well people can do this – and teach common solutions so people don’t have to
reinvent the wheel or make avoidable mistakes. But it also takes specific types
of intelligence and good memory to do well. You simply cannot retrain every
unemployed youth to slot into the IT industry.
So, the syllabus changed and became more about using what is
there. This won’t turn out computer scientists or software engineers but it
should produce people who are able to function at a good level in an economy
that uses a range of software every day. I’m out of touch these days so I’m
unsure what is being taught, but I have my own little list – and I suspect it
isn’t being taught – or at least not taught well. As a minimum I’d expect
anyone under 35 to be able to handle all of the tasks below without thinking:
- Look after their own computing housekeeping – backups, virus protection, updates, organization of files (whether for desktop, tablet or smart phone)
- Be able to search (efficiently) for information on the internet and be able to judge the reliability of the information found (Also understand concepts such as “intellectual property” and “copyright” and the need for acknowledging sources)
- Be able to avoid common scams and malware attacks
- Know how to use email effectively, know basic email etiquette and be able to find an important message quickly
- Know how to use the basics of a word processor – ie know something about formatting, layout and templates
- Know how to setup a simple spreadsheet with common formula
I certainly hope no school time is spent on gaming – because
the first list doesn’t seem to be well addressed yet. So, I’m creating another
Blog with some basic tips for people who may not have had the chance to pick
some of the basics up. My first entry is on adding lines to a page. (There may
be more involved than you think)
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