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Re: [school-discuss] Technology Curriculum



Yes, this is a nice curriculum that is now appropriate to about the grade 7 level or so.

The grade 9-12 level is more 'problematic'... (grin).

The important question in my mind, is what should we teach children at this level....

1. What role does a simple programming language have?

2. What kind of knowledge is required about using 'command lines'? (and a command line interface). Children are now only using a GUI environment here....

3. What should student know about how computers work with a variety of languages (with different character repertoires and encodings...)

4. What knowledge about databases and query languages (ie. SQL) should they know? Report Generator?

5. What should they know about HTML? XML?

6. What about Desktop Publishing.... CAD?.... (more skill based outcomes).

7. What about graphics skillsets? Should they know about masks and layers? (yes). Vector vs Bitmapped Graphics?

IMHO, there should be 'strands' of all of these from the 9-12 level to give children exposure to all of these things. The problem of course, is that the dominant monoculture allows children exposure to a GUI O/S and a single Office suite... there is very little in the way of higher level expectations... just more of ('How to Click Buttons in a GUI'), etc.

A curriculum that outlines the use of FOSS in delivering a well balanced curriculum to the 9-12 level is VERY important in my mind to provide a framework for development of instructional materials and inservices to teachers.

I have something like this stored in a protected database, if anyone is interested.


My 2 cents worth.

Les Richardson
Open Admin for Schools.






On Tue, 25 Sep 2007, Joel Kahn wrote:

Not long ago, while I was going
through some old papers, I found
a copy of the official "Technology
Curriculum" that my former employer,
the Bolivar (Missouri) R-1 School
District, has been using (and which
they are still using to the best of
my knowledge). I pass it along for
whatever it may be worth. I've done
some minor editing for clarity. Here
is what the people in charge think
the students should know:

Logging on and off the computer

Physical care of the equipment and software

Using strategies to troubleshoot

Selecting and using appropriate technology

Basic technology vocabulary and knowledge

Responsible computer use

Managing files appropriately

Launching appropriate software

Creating a basic document using a word processor

Creating simple pictures with
paint and draw programs

Creating multimedia presentations

Importing & utilizing graphics

Using a variety of different
sources to find information

Locating information using technology

Using the World Wide Web to access sites,
gather information and interpret results

Using the mouse properly

Understanding basic hand positioning for keyboarding



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