Re: [seul-edu] I'll put in my two cents... and ask for a penny...

[jeff williams <cfiaime@mpks.net>]

Greetings Ryan!

On Thu, 29 Jun 2000, you wrote:
> > ....We need to teach concepts, not keystrokes.  The basic Linux distributions
> > give
> > the tools to teach concepts.
> 
> OK, so tell me what concepts you've come up with as essential.  We have all of our
> students go though a Word Processing class and Spreadsheet class.  I had a hard
> time doing a database class last year because no other teachers (I was hoping
> Science) would help me get data and stuff for these kids to use.  Also I only saw
> them two times a week which made for a lot of catch-up each class.

That two time a week schedule makes teaching quite difficult.  We should have
them quite a bit longer, or at least more frequently.  (Rather than two 45
minute sessions weekly, why not five 20 minute sessions?  Retention would be
better.)  

Is your lab available to students during the day?  That, too, makes a
difference.  If you teach two days a week and they get no additional time to
practice and use the computers, you are kidding yourself that you are doing any
good.

> My administrator wants to have a general class for kids (10th grade) after they've
> had the word processing class.  Maybe this is the class to do it in.... then offer
> the language and specific classes (HTML, Linux basics, etc. - any other ideas) to
> the 11th and 12th graders that have gone through both of these classes.

Oy veh, the stuff you can teach!  Language, certainly.  How about computer
assisted music?  Art?  Web design?  Process control -- with the mindstorm LEGO
robots?  The possibilities are endless.

You'll need to have a Linux user's class, of course.  Explain the file system,
the basic commands, and the like.  Let's face it, we have to do that basic
class for any computer.  Beyond that, a general class ought to build on the
sacred three at least.  These are tools that are going to get general use by
almost everyone.

> Like I tried to elude to, this is a totally new position for my school, and the
> surrounding school districts are honestly caught up in getting lots of computers
> without teaching the kids... there are a few exceptions.  I don't want to do that
> here.  We're a small school and I think I could have to opportunity to actually
> make the students competent at applying this in the future.  Am I making sense?

You are on the right track.  As an idea, give extra credit for every assignment
done for another class using the tools you are teaching.  Do they use the word
processor for an language arts (English class!) essay?  Great!  Do they use the
database for collecting information about the plants in a 20 foot square in the
field next to the playground?  Fantastic!  (Neat grade school project, count
the plants, animals, bugs, rocks, etc., in a 20 by 20 foot square.  Each
student gets a different square.  Tabulate by some sort of grid system and
classification system.  Great database teaching tool.)  Do they use a
spreadsheet to graph the number of times the cafeteria serves creamed corn vs.
the number of kids that actually eat the creamed corn?  Outstanding!

You can easily get creative.  The computer is not the subject of your class,
but is the tool that your students can use for every other class.  Let the kids
give you ideas of how they would like to use the system, too.  (No, not games.)

In my opinion, one of the last uses you teach is internet research.  They've
got to learn about the difference between good data and junk before they are
turned loose.

I hope this helps spark some thoughts.  Let's kick this around a bit.

Thanks for your reply.

-- 
jeff williams - cfiaime@mpks.net
                    jbw9586@ksu.edu