Computers in schools

[ajw]

Just another skill to develop and nothing is wasted when you learn another skill.
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While I think it's really important that kids learn IT skills, I don't agree that nothing is wasted. Many teachers I know are concerned that more and more items are being put into the curriculum. There are a limited number of hours that kids attend school each year, and if you put something new in, something else must by definition be reduced.

I'd be all in favour of schools offering free computers to those families who ask for one. For other families who have access to good computers already, it seems a bit wasteful to be accepting this from the school/govt when we don't need it. I don't think the program was well targeted, but I'm not suggesting that it was a bad idea for all people.

ajw

[ian]

Here's a conundrum.
Teachers and students are obliged to include IT as part of every lesson now and the students are expected to be active participants in the process.
But wait - how are they obliged to sit their HSC exams?
You guessed it - pen and paper!
Go figure.
SG

the "go figure" part is easy

if I take what looks like my school issued Laptop into an exam, what's to stop me also taking in a hundred or more prewritten essays, a comms link to the outside world, or to the kid on the other side of the room -- all of which would sort of defeat the purpose of the exam