Education
With technology increasingly being part of the classroom, do we need new standards to give all students a basic understanding of what they now depend on in their everyday lives.
One of the biggest challenges in technology is coming up with a good way to train new users in its proper use. The lack of consistent documentation in desktop and mobile applications is one of the best examples of this problem. If a school wanted to teach a technology subject like software development
, where would they start? What is the computer programming equivalent of grammar or algebra? Should there even be such standards?Related articles
Why It Works
The basic question posed by the absence of technology standards in school curricula is, why aren't we teaching such standards? The most important part of any mechanical or electronic subject is the basics of how a particular mechanism works. Understanding software and electronics is very much like understanding mechanisms and energy. They are subjects that, while not necessary for everyone to specialize in, should be introduced to all students so they can develop a basic aptitude.Realizing the Promise of Technology
So much innovation has been introduced in the last 25 years it is difficult for most people to keep up. For example, almost everyone is carrying a fully functional computer in their pocket, yet most only use that computer for text communications. What other kinds of functions might such a device offer, and more importantly, which of the people carrying one will invent those functions? These are important questions because both are answered by education. The great inventions of the 19th and 20th centuries were the result of bright, motivated people who had knowledge about their tools and trade.Using Technology to Educate
One of the possible solutions to the dearth of standardized education in technology may be solved by online instruction. The advancements in digital instruction technologies have recently made it possible for nearly anyone to pursue and obtain an advanced degree like an online masters degree in education from the comfort of their own personal computer. If such technologies can be employed to establish and advance a standard curriculum for other subjects like software development, electrical engineering and certain sciences, then it might be possible to give all students a basic understanding of the technology they depend on in their everyday lives.Technology is not as complex and obscure as most people think. Like all subjects its more advanced precepts depend on a few basic principles which can be taught in the context of basic principles from other academic disciplines like language and mathematics. This is the primary justification for a comprehensive technology curriculum in public and private education. Without it, we risk becoming a society that does not understand its own tools.
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