BY ELENA VALDEZ
The integration of computers in the classroom has skyrocketed in recent years. The use of these extremely useful, fast devices has provided students with a medium in which they can do virtually anything. The problem with this, however, is that frankly, the students do not know how to use them.
A computer is far different from a cell phone. Their inner workings may have many parallels, but at the end of the day, user functions vary vastly. Typing up documents and accessing scholarly websites are essential to the success of a student, and expecting them to enter high school inherently knowing these things is unfair to the student body. Failure to properly educate the youth on computers and their programs not only asks for the resurgence of frequent and often easily remedied issues but also creates bigger ones.
Simple things such as citations, email writing and obtaining information from credible sources are often disregarded in curriculum and students are left to find the information by themselves.
Whether it be as complicated as the programming of a computer’s system or as simple as writing a proper email, students in the modern age should be required to take a computer class. This class could teach students how to access the computer’s hard drive, coding basics and other techniques that would aid in the student’s use of a computer.
Overall efficiency would increase as teachers of other subjects would not have to waste their lecture time going over technology basics. Mandating a computer class will benefit both students and teachers alike.
And, as technology is so utterly important now, the students would both know how to use a computer properly and understand how the machine works. Much of the younger population relies on technology but doesn’t know the slightest thing about the inner workings of their favorite devices.
A computer class as a graduation requirement would ensure that all students are aware of how their technology works and that they know the most productive ways to use it. Simple things such as citations, email writing and obtaining information from credible sources are often disregarded in curriculum and students are left to find the information by themselves.
The use of computers in a classroom is inevitable. Students should be required to receive the proper training before they use them in a classroom setting. The baseline information will provide an excellent foundation to build upon in the years to come.
tudents are technologically adequate, however, many of them function without a comprehension of the basics.
Although computer classes are offered at CCHS, they are electives which students have to sacrifice other classes in order to take. Exploring Computer Science and AP Computer Principles, for example, are both year-long classes that take a large chunk out of a student’s schedule. By only having these as electives, the school does not allow students with little to no computer knowledge the chance to learn.
A mandatory computer class would not even need to be a year long. Teenagers are quick to learn with technology and have been around the machines for the majority of their lives. One semester of a computer basics class would do the job just fine. Any material necessary to understanding a computer and how to properly use it can be covered in half of a school year. This also gives students a chance to try something new, and potentially discover a career path that they might wish to pursue.
Relying on computers but providing no instruction on how to use them is a fault in the system. Students are technologically adequate, however, many of them function without a comprehension of the basics. In order to ensure that these devices are being used correctly and that students are informed, a computer class should be mandatory in the late years of middle school or early high school.
Photo by Kayla Florenco
