 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group The Brave New World of Education Carole Speirs |
A few short years ago children knew the word "ram" referred to a male sheep
while Pentium could perhaps have been a tricky word slipped into a dictionary exercise by a zealous
English teacher. Today these words and more - gigabyte, megabyte, defrag - roll fluently off childish tongues
as adults reach for their glossary of computer terms to keep up with the latest jargon.
In the 1980s Atari and Commodore were synonymous with computers. Now, like the `386 they have become almost
historical references to technological dinosaurs. The world of computing today enables children at
kindergarten to learn their ABC through fun programs, business operators to stay in touch with reality,
octogenarians to track their stock market investments or simply while away their time absorbed in a game of
solitaire. People of all ages have embraced computers as tools for learning, communication and recreation but
the minds of the young arc more open to the possibilities of future directions.
The Bad Old Days
Less than twenty years ago students at Victorian Government Secondary Colleges were taught keyboarding skills
on electric typewriters with minimal computer access while the business world was revolutionised by computer
technology. There were very real fears that educational facilities could never hope to access the funds
needed for them to keep in touch with the new computing technology. Students needed to learn word processing,
programming and desktop publishing skills that would be acceptable in the real world. Would it ever become
reality?
What Do the Surveys Show?
In 1991 David Goyen, an Information Technology teacher at Berwick Secondary College, south-cast of Melbourne,
conducted a survey of all students at the college on their home computer access. This revealed that of the
46% of students who had a computer at home only 34% accessed IBM compatible machines, while 10% had Apple 11
Es, 6% had Macintoshes and the remainder used other brands including the ubiquitous Commodore. Further
questions found the primary home usage of computers by 13-18 year olds was Games (51%) followed by Word
Processing (29%), Programming (12%) and other (7%). The Internet was almost an unknown quantity with only a
few lucky youngsters having access and a few more accessing Bulletin Boards such as that run by Melb PC. The
survey did not anticipate the impact computers would have on teenagers' daily lives as it omitted any
questions on the amount of time spent at home on computers.
By 1997 a follow up survey at the same college disclosed that teenagers were now spending considerable time
at the computer screen. The survey revealed that students with access to a computer at home had risen to 70%,
with 84% of boys in Year 11 using home PCs. IBM compatible systems had become standard and 20% of students
had access to Office 97. While connection to the Internet was a rarity at the start of the 1990s, by the time
of the second survey 20% of those surveyed had Internet access. The main uses of home computers showed a
dramatic change, reflecting their use for VCE Units 3 and 4. Year 12 students reported that on average they
spent in excess of ten hours per week doing word processing, producing an overall home usage across the
college population of 4.25 hours. Games accounted for an average four hours for all students. In third place
the Internet attracted half that time with an average of two hours per student. Programming and spreadsheets
attracted only minimal usage.
Home Use In the New Millennium
When the survey is run again later this year it is predicted that home access to computers will top 90%. Many
students now have access to more than one computer in the home with parents having Notebook computers for
work and quite a few having multiple units for family use. With almost universal home access to computers by
teenagers it has become possible to set up home networks where young people can pit their skills against a
sibling or friend at a game on linked computers. It is becoming trendy for a group of young people to
transport their PCs to a mate's place to create a network of 5-6 computers for an overnight session as
Saturday evening's entertainment. Computers have become not only a source of information and entertainment
for teenagers, but have reached new heights where all aspects of computer usage have been combined into a
previously unimagined combination to challenge and engage the teenagers of the new milleniurn.
With the Internet firmly at the basis of their computer usage 13-18 year olds have recently discovered chat
rooms MIRC and ICQ with online games such as Earth 2025 becoming increasingly popular. Web sites from
which they can download music, games and other information occupy teenagers for many hours per week. Games
currently in vogue in the first person shooter category are Soldier of Fortune, Quake 3 and
Unreal Tournament. Those who like a challenge tend to choose strategy games. Real time strategy titles
currently popular include Starcraft, Ground Control, Star Trek Armada and Metal Fatigue while
Monkey Island is the top adventure strategy game.
Computers In Schools - 2000 and Beyond
At schools today students have ready, daily access to modern, state of the art computers. School
administrations and the business communities have recognised the importance of young people being exposed to
the prevailing technology within educational facilities for vocational training and skills development. Most
13-18 year olds now have free Hotmail or similar e-mail accounts and regularly check their mail at school.
They individually research projects using the Internet and CD-ROM which is now shared on the server at many
schools to eliminate the need for installation on individual machines. Students are also assisted to maximise
personal computer usage in schools by the employment of non-teaching computer technicians.
Site Licences
Purpose written subject programs have come onto the market recently to increase specific skills or to assist
with subject content either by installation on the network or on individual machines. While the programs
themselves are competitively priced the limiting factor for installing these programs on college networks has
been the prohibitive cost of site licences for the 25 students in the average class. With excellent hardware,
networks and computer unit/student ratios it is this added expense that most hampers the wider application of
useful teaching programs. Unfortunately it is difficult to gauge the efficacy of specific programs as
teaching tools in the classroom unless they are tested with a class of students or chosen by word-of-mouth
recommendation from a colleague in a similar school. Without observing the effect of a program on a class
teachers cannot predict its success or failure. Some expensive mistakes are possible when site licences have
already been paid for and a program crashes in front of a computer sophisticated, discerning audience of
students.
Word and Excel are currently in use at secondary colleges for the development of office skills,
while Publisher is a popular and accessible program for desktop publishing. FrontPage has
proved useful in enabling students to create their own Web pages while junior classes love the challenge of
English Master.
In Science Genetics, Natural Selection and Reaction Timer are successful teaching aids
with Mathematics recently accessing Maths Trek and Green Glubs. A number of purpose written VCE
programs have been found to be useful for skills development and course revision for the re-accredited units,
with a number having only recently been released onto the market. They offer an additional advantage in that
students can afford to buy some CD programs themselves or share with peers, obviating the use of costly site
licences.
Computers and VCE
Until 1999 the single greatest argument advanced to parents by 16-18 year olds for the purchase of a computer
was the need to word process their Unit 3 and 4 Common Assessment Tasks (CRTs). This was supported in David
Goyen's 1997 survey where Year 12 students reported that they spent 10 hours per week word processing. While
it was not mandatory for students to use a computer it was a distinct advantage for them to draft CAT essays
on computers so that teacher annotations for revision on drafts could be readily upgraded. The down side to
this was the unforeseen complication of authentication problems.
For VCE Units 3 and 4 which have been re-accredited from 2000, computers have largely been relegated to
Outcomes homework. CATS undertaken over time in class and at home have been replaced with School Assessed
Coursework (SACS) which are smaller tasks than CATS and performed solely in class under exam conditions. This
shift in assessment methodology has no "Luddite" implications but does dramatically reduce computer usage by
VCE students. Instead of employing Internet research and word processing/desktop procedures to craft an
extended research essay - they must shift their emphasis to research - using special programs to enhance
learning and revision of material to be examined internally (SACS) - then externally at the end of
semester.
Striking A Balance
Lower down in the middle school the issue of authenticity had to be addressed as a result of increased
Internet usage. Downloading an essay and submitting it as one's own has no educational value when the aim of
the exercise was learning the writing processes. Modern educators have found it necessary to revise teaching
techniques to overcome this. Conversely, there is concern that in teachers' attempts to redress plagiarism
the measures introduced to ensure originality of students' written responses will stifle their desire for
excellence. Professional writers need to perfect their prose over successive drafts, thus abandoning computer
generated essays for exams could be a retrograde step. As always, the dilemma for the teacher is to create a
balance between allowing students to access information on the Internet to support their own writing - and
discouraging them from downloading the finished works of others.
Where Are We Heading?
Students today have gained enormously from the range, quality and instantaneous nature of Internet research.
Secondary students are infinitely more technologically sophisticated than those of ten and even five years
ago. They are aware of all the methods and they have the means to access any information they require
electronically.
Educators and parents must continue to guide teenagers to use this plethora of information wisely, actively
applying it rather than passively absorbing snippets that catch their attention. We must foster their desire
to learn and strive to push back the barriers of current knowledge. Young people must continually confront
feelings of complacency, where there is little or no need to personally investigate a problem if the answer
can be at their fingertips in seconds via the Internet. Only when today's teenagers are fired with the desire
to embark on an active quest to explore the unknown will they be able to fully benefit from the endless
possibilities of tomorrow's world of computers.
About the Author:
Carole Speirs, B.A (University of Melbourne) B.Ed (Monash University) is a teacher at a Melbourne secondary
college.
Reprinted from the August 2000 issue of PC Update, the
magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
