Re: [school-discuss] Digital Literacy

[LM <lmemsm@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 8:20 AM, Joel Kahn <jj2kk4@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Here's an article that definitely deserves to go viral:
>
> http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/10/opinion/rushkoff-code-writing/

Very nice article and very timely as well.  With the burst of apps
available on devices and tools like Wordpress, fewer and fewer people
seem to know what's going on underneath.  More and more people are
using their computers/phones/tablets as appliances and less know how
to actually program them.  Worse yet, more and more systems are coming
out that won't even allow you to program them.  I'm even running
across an increasing number of Linux users who don't know anything
about programming or the source code that makes up their systems and
just know how to work the GUI programs to run Linux.  Web developers
often don't know anything about HTML, CSS, etc.  They just learn how
to use a content management system and how to install plug-ins and
add-ons (not how to write them).  Would be nice to see this trend
reverse.  It's not just a problem in the education field either.  It's
a problem in the business world where entrepreneurs think in terms of
what apps they can purchase and what's already out there that can be
re-used rather than what could be crafted specifically for efficiency
and their particular needs using code.  Reuse is great, but not when
you have a large monstrosity of projects built on other projects built
on other projects just so you can get something you want done.
Sometimes it's better to re-examine if it could have been done in a
much easier way rather than trying to reuse what everyone else has
done so no real coding is needed.

Our local Linux group has been mentioning the Raspberry Pi a lot.
While it's not Open Hardware, it does provide an affordable platform
for students to run Linux on and an opportunity to try out a variety
of computer languages rather than just running someone else's apps.

Sincerely,
Laura
###
To unsubscribe from the schoolforge-discuss mailing list:
Send an e-mail message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx with no subject
and a body of "unsubscribe schoolforge-discuss"