A heavily-revised and rewritten version of an essay that I did a long time ago, back when Windows Vista hadn't even been showcased as Longhorn. It's not perfect by any means, and I'd like your opinions on it.
Computers in Education - A Short Essay
The idea of computers in education has been around for a long time, and many steps have been made to get computers into schools. However, I would argue that computers in schools are improperly integrated, with a focus on the incorrect things.
The story of computers in education started around the early 1980s. The quintessential and possibly the original educational computer was the BBC Micro, a government-funded development from Acorn Computers, one of the computers from the era of microcomputers with in-built BASIC on the ROM chip. I contend that this was an effective educational computer, because it focused on the correct things which educational computers should.
Why was the BBC Micro successful, and more importantly, why was it an effective educational computer?
The BBC Micro was developed in conjunction with the BBC Computer Literacy Project, which focused on teaching people how to use computers, rather than trying to teach people using computers, which has proved largely unsuccessful - the internet, among other things, provides distraction in a teaching environment, these distracting effects being increased by the popular uptake of social networking.
The BBC Micro was one of the more expensive home computers of the early 1980s, but was also one of the most powerful. As with many home computers of the time, it had a form of the programming language, BASIC (Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) hard-coded into the ROM chip. While BASIC has largely been derided by professional computer programmers, many of their criticisms stem from the crude logical constructs of many variants of the programming language, which do not apply to the particularly powerful variant found in the BBC Micro. This variant allowed people to easily compute graphics and sound and to implement them in their programs and was all well-documented in the 524-page manual.
This was not the extent of the BBC Micro's programming abilities; a built-in assembler was included, allowing those with the appropriate skills to program using the native code of the processor, which granted massive speed improvements and allowed the user to potentially program professional software from the comfort of their own homes or schools, as well as providing them with a talent which would be very useful in the computer market. A tutorial for this MOS 6502 assembly language was also included in the manual.
While the necessities of programming one's own software have largely been eliminated with modern operating systems, the idea of granting the user professional-quality programming software with the operating system was an idea that was very important in the BBC Micro project, and it is one that should be redeveloped for the modern computer user.
Computer programming is an important art of learning how to use a computer, for it can teach a motivated student the logic of how the computer works. In the past, children might have made transistor radios, an activity which might have taught them a bit about important practical skills, as well as the academic side of it in the guise of electronics. I think that computer programming is the closest that a standard student will get to building that idea of building transistor radios in the modern day, and a skill which is more relevant today.
Another reason why I think that the BBC Micro was an effective educational computer was that all of the operating system files were hidden from the student. A child has curiosity, which is to be encouraged. However, a child is not expected to understand what the system files do, and if not, they should not play around with them, for fear of damaging the computer. That's one of the things that I like about the BBC Micro - it allowed people power, in that it allowed them an easy to use BASIC dialect, as well as a powerful assembler to enhance their programming, but that power couldn't destroy the computer, as I've done a few times with Windows... Even if they were to stall the computer, a quick press of the BREAK button would be assured to have the computer working again in a few seconds - with modern versions of Windows, it can take half-a-minute or more to load the computer after a reset, and that's with few programs loading at start-up.
The idea of being able to hide operating system files from the unauthorised is one that has been explored more recently with modern versions of Microsoft Windows, and is a fundamental part of the security of a Unix or Unix-like operating system, including Mac OS X and Linux.
In summary, here's why the BBC Micro was an effective educational computer, and three things which an educational computer should have:
- It was primarily made to teach people the fundamental skills of how to use computers, not teach them using computer programs.
- It had powerful and effective development tools for programming, along with an effective manual and tutorials included to help the budding programmers in using the tools effectively.
- It hid the operating-system files in a ROM chip, thus making it near-impossible to crash it completely. If a problem occurred, a simple press of a button would sort the computer out again. A restriction on access to these system files is probably the most logical alternative with modern operating systems.
Enough about ancient history, what do we do today?
First of all, the inflated budgets of most educational computer departments are unnecessary. Before the advent of Windows Vista, the computer specifications necessary for operating systems did not necessitate brand new dual-core processors of several gigabytes of RAM. This necessity for over-powerful computers would be a reason why I would immediately rule out the use of Windows Vista as an operating system for educational purposes.
Pre-Vista versions of Windows work on a large range of computing hardware, and would be an ideal choice, if not for the fact that Windows XP will soon lack mainstream technical support. For an operating system with a commercial background, this will not be acceptable for educational departments and has to be ruled out for that reason.
Mac OS X runs on a wider variety of hardware than Windows Vista, and yet, it is not an appropriate choice either, because of the high costs of Apple computers, even higher than the acquisition of computers which will run Windows Vista with any degree of competency. Therefore, it must be ruled out as well.
At this point, it appears that Windows Vista is a necessary measure to keep computer users up-to-date, but I would suggest the final alternative, one which may seem audacious and ridiculous, but one which could revolutionise computers.
This final alternative would be to primarily use one of many variants of Linux. With the high costs associated with adopting Windows Vista, this has already been an option which many businesses have adopted, and with the ability for contemporary variants of Linux to work on an unrivalled variety of hardware, it would mean that otherwise-obsolete computers could be given a new lease of life.
An extra advantage is granted by the fact that these same variants of Linux can co-exist with Windows Vista, allowing them to be dual-booted on brand new computers as well as obsolete hardware, allowing for a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing hardware. Certain computer manufacturers have also adopted Linux as an option for businesses, and this choice could easily extend to educational computers.
But surely Linux is too difficult for a child or young teenager to use? I don't believe so. Modern versions of Linux are not that much more difficult than Windows to install, especially variants such as Ubuntu, which has the added advantage of being demonstratively easy to use. In fact, with the quantifiable security advantages granted by Unix-like operating systems, viruses will have less effect than ever before.
Ubuntu, an ideal variant of Linux for the purposes of education, contains a large amount of professional quality software included on the installation CDs, including the popular OpenOffice for word processing, spreadsheets and presentation, and the extremely powerful GCC compiler collection for programming in a multitude of computer languages.
To summarise:
- Specifications for an educational computer need not be high with the right operating system.
- A question - is Linux really that difficult to use?
- Professional-quality, cheap and powerful software could make a Linux distribution the way forward in an alternative line of educational computing.
But why not use computers for teaching subjects, rather than teaching them to teach computer skills?
My thoughts are that students learn more about non-computer subjects when they're engaged in a class with books and paper than when they use computers. A computer has too many distractions available - games, the internet, other programs. In any educational plan which has computers involved, the amount of "books and paper" learning as opposed to computer learning should be at least in a ratio of 80:20.
Another reason that I would cite is the fact that the internet is a limited research tool, being strongest at researching scientific, technical and military topics - the original intentions for the ARPANET, predecessor to the internet. One wishing to research any of the arts, humanities or social sciences will encounter considerable difficulty in finding any appropriate references.
With that said, in some respects, computer skills can be integrated into ordinary schooling: Allow the students to submit their work in typed form, possibly through e-mail; allow them to make presentations using presentation software, et cetera.
I'm not convinced about the proposed Linux standard. Why not use Windows Vista?
It is true that Microsoft Windows dominates the PC market as an operating system. It is also true that Linux has a very low penetration, not known about by most of the PC-using public. However, it is also true that Microsoft charges groups for licences for installing Windows on each computer, and it is also true that Linux is provided free-of-charge.
Along with this, Windows does not come packaged with the powerful tools present in most Linux distributions; instead, a user must purchase them for high prices, or otherwise go out of their way to find and install the software.
If a distribution of Linux doesn't have an application distributed with it, all they need do is find the GNU Project homepage, look at the Free Software Directory and look at the almost-5,000 packages indexed, most of which would be originally programmed for Linux.
Unfortunately, here, we come to a roadblock - many of these programs are difficult to install and configure, requiring prior knowledge to install. However, there is no need to fret. If a user needs a Windows application, are they stuck? By no means. Using the Wine program, provided a user can install and use many of today's Windows applications without needing a Windows operating system.
Alright, we know your hardware and software requirements; now, what would a prospective student be taught?
To start off, a basic understanding of the computer's hardware, and the relationships between the software and the hardware is arguably necessary for a full and rounded computer literacy. In more friendly words: the basics of what is inside the computer, including hard drives (for their own personal reference), removable media, the processor, the PCI/PCI Express expansion slots, etc; how it would relate to the BIOS; a run-through of the basic BIOS commands and how the hard drives and removable media are represented by the operating system.
With that point out of the way, you may be wondering whether teaching the students how to use the BIOS and where all of the hardware resides is too difficult, and potentially dangerous for them. First of all, I don't propose teaching this to five-year-olds who have just entered school - the best a teacher will get get is a blank stare of incomprehension. I propose teaching that part of computer literacy to fifteen-year-olds, preferably with a lack of technical jargon, wherever necessary.
As an option, a small run-through course on how to build a computer could be undertaken by the more technically adept students, although this may or may not be suitable depending on expenditure levels on the information technology aspect. This would operate in a similar way to old "transistor radio kit" ideas, where a child could learn about electronics within a controlled environment.
At this point, you may be wondering what the use of teaching students about what is inside the computer. I believe that an incomplete understanding of the software's relationship with the hardware is a major part of technical support, and subsequent uses of jargon, or alternatively, a lack of it when it is necessary, can be a particular bugbear of people using technical support, leading to a bad reputation of technical support among the standard computer user.
Thus, by eliminating incomplete understanding of the software's relationship with the hardware, a part of technical support which either doesn't help the computer user much (the telephone method) or which doesn't teach the user anything about the problem (telephoning in help; the support team comes into the office method) could be scrapped.
Of course, the technical support business suffers financially by this decision, but it could lead in a gain in reputation for them, as the jargon-laden section of hardware management could be eliminated in favour of software-related problems.
With the hardware understanding a minor concern for older students, the most important part of computer literacy is the use of software to improve productivity.
Thus, the teaching of the use of office software - word processor, presentation program, possibly spreadsheet and accounting software for business students; mostly provided by the OpenOffice package, graphics manipulation programs - in accordance with the open-source/free line of thinking on operation systems, this would be mainly provided by the GIMP manipulation program, and other programs which would be used from day-to-day by people in everyday situations, is imperative and perhaps should be a mandatory piece of information technology training.
Students should be able to use the programs competently, able to do most of the things with the programs which they would conceivably use in an everyday situation, with a more minor concern with more specialised aspects of the program, but enough so that a student may be confident when asked to do more in-depth usage of the computer.
The other area of software which would be important to teach would be computer programming, primarily to teach the logic and principles of computer programming, rather than intense focus on any one language. For this reason, a form of BASIC would have been a preferable choice for this sort of teaching in the 1980s, when most computers came with a BASIC interpreter, but the language is antiquated and not appropriate for modern programming.
An alternative starting choice would be the use of Python. Python is a simple, modern language with a lot more potential power than the variants of BASIC that existed in the 1980s, and is compatible with a large number of different operating systems, including both Windows and Linux.
As for the powerful assembly language discussed in the first section, the modern alternatives are the far less complicated C and C++, which provide the power of assembly language with a more friendly syntax. These languages have the advantage of being some of the most important languages in the computing market today, just as the assembly languages were in their time.
Regardless of the programming language that you use to teach programming, what is important is that students are taught, in simple terms, "how the computer thinks".
In conclusion:
- Students should be taught the basics of computer hardware and the software's relationship to it, to eliminate unnecessary technical support troubles.
- An option could be to teach students how to build their own computers, in an effort to bring back the idea of the "transistor radio kit" in a modern form.
-The most important bit for students to learn is the use of computers in order to improve productivity, in the guise of office software and image manipulation programs.
-Students should be taught the logic and principles of computer programming, best taught by demonstration through a programming language suited for the task.
In conclusion, educational computing standards should be changed to teach students the intimacy of computers. Using cheap, reliable and powerful Linux distributions, an alternative could be made to the bloated Windows Vista, and one that could increase new students' computer knowledge exponentially versus the commercial alternatives.
A heavily-revised and rewritten version of an essay that I did a long time ago, back when Windows Vista hadn't even been showcased as Longhorn. It's not perfect by any means, and I'd like your opinions on it.
Computers in Education - A Short Essay
The idea of computers in education has been around for a long time, and many steps have been made to get computers into schools. However, I would argue that computers in schools are improperly integrated, with a focus on the incorrect things.
The story of computers in education started around the early 1980s. The quintessential and possibly the original educational computer was the BBC Micro, a government-funded development from Acorn Computers, one of the computers from the era of microcomputers with in-built BASIC on the ROM chip. I contend that this was an effective educational computer, because it focused on the correct things which educational computers should.
Why was the BBC Micro successful, and more importantly, why was it an effective educational computer?
The BBC Micro was developed in conjunction with the BBC Computer Literacy Project, which focused on teaching people how to use computers, rather than trying to teach people using computers, which has proved largely unsuccessful - the internet, among other things, provides distraction in a teaching environment, these distracting effects being increased by the popular uptake of social networking.
The BBC Micro was one of the more expensive home computers of the early 1980s, but was also one of the most powerful. As with many home computers of the time, it had a form of the programming language, BASIC (Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) hard-coded into the ROM chip. While BASIC has largely been derided by professional computer programmers, many of their criticisms stem from the crude logical constructs of many variants of the programming language, which do not apply to the particularly powerful variant found in the BBC Micro. This variant allowed people to easily compute graphics and sound and to implement them in their programs and was all well-documented in the 524-page manual.
This was not the extent of the BBC Micro's programming abilities; a built-in assembler was included, allowing those with the appropriate skills to program using the native code of the processor, which granted massive speed improvements and allowed the user to potentially program professional software from the comfort of their own homes or schools, as well as providing them with a talent which would be very useful in the computer market. A tutorial for this MOS 6502 assembly language was also included in the manual.
While the necessities of programming one's own software have largely been eliminated with modern operating systems, the idea of granting the user professional-quality programming software with the operating system was an idea that was very important in the BBC Micro project, and it is one that should be redeveloped for the modern computer user.
Computer programming is an important art of learning how to use a computer, for it can teach a motivated student the logic of how the computer works. In the past, children might have made transistor radios, an activity which might have taught them a bit about important practical skills, as well as the academic side of it in the guise of electronics. I think that computer programming is the closest that a standard student will get to building that idea of building transistor radios in the modern day, and a skill which is more relevant today.
Another reason why I think that the BBC Micro was an effective educational computer was that all of the operating system files were hidden from the student. A child has curiosity, which is to be encouraged. However, a child is not expected to understand what the system files do, and if not, they should not play around with them, for fear of damaging the computer. That's one of the things that I like about the BBC Micro - it allowed people power, in that it allowed them an easy to use BASIC dialect, as well as a powerful assembler to enhance their programming, but that power couldn't destroy the computer, as I've done a few times with Windows... Even if they were to stall the computer, a quick press of the BREAK button would be assured to have the computer working again in a few seconds - with modern versions of Windows, it can take half-a-minute or more to load the computer after a reset, and that's with few programs loading at start-up.
The idea of being able to hide operating system files from the unauthorised is one that has been explored more recently with modern versions of Microsoft Windows, and is a fundamental part of the security of a Unix or Unix-like operating system, including Mac OS X and Linux.
In summary, here's why the BBC Micro was an effective educational computer, and three things which an educational computer should have:
- It was primarily made to teach people the fundamental skills of how to use computers, not teach them using computer programs.
- It had powerful and effective development tools for programming, along with an effective manual and tutorials included to help the budding programmers in using the tools effectively.
- It hid the operating-system files in a ROM chip, thus making it near-impossible to crash it completely. If a problem occurred, a simple press of a button would sort the computer out again. A restriction on access to these system files is probably the most logical alternative with modern operating systems.
Enough about ancient history, what do we do today?
First of all, the inflated budgets of most educational computer departments are unnecessary. Before the advent of Windows Vista, the computer specifications necessary for operating systems did not necessitate brand new dual-core processors of several gigabytes of RAM. This necessity for over-powerful computers would be a reason why I would immediately rule out the use of Windows Vista as an operating system for educational purposes.
Pre-Vista versions of Windows work on a large range of computing hardware, and would be an ideal choice, if not for the fact that Windows XP will soon lack mainstream technical support. For an operating system with a commercial background, this will not be acceptable for educational departments and has to be ruled out for that reason.
Mac OS X runs on a wider variety of hardware than Windows Vista, and yet, it is not an appropriate choice either, because of the high costs of Apple computers, even higher than the acquisition of computers which will run Windows Vista with any degree of competency. Therefore, it must be ruled out as well.
At this point, it appears that Windows Vista is a necessary measure to keep computer users up-to-date, but I would suggest the final alternative, one which may seem audacious and ridiculous, but one which could revolutionise computers.
This final alternative would be to primarily use one of many variants of Linux. With the high costs associated with adopting Windows Vista, this has already been an option which many businesses have adopted, and with the ability for contemporary variants of Linux to work on an unrivalled variety of hardware, it would mean that otherwise-obsolete computers could be given a new lease of life.
An extra advantage is granted by the fact that these same variants of Linux can co-exist with Windows Vista, allowing them to be dual-booted on brand new computers as well as obsolete hardware, allowing for a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing hardware. Certain computer manufacturers have also adopted Linux as an option for businesses, and this choice could easily extend to educational computers.
But surely Linux is too difficult for a child or young teenager to use? I don't believe so. Modern versions of Linux are not that much more difficult than Windows to install, especially variants such as Ubuntu, which has the added advantage of being demonstratively easy to use. In fact, with the quantifiable security advantages granted by Unix-like operating systems, viruses will have less effect than ever before.
Ubuntu, an ideal variant of Linux for the purposes of education, contains a large amount of professional quality software included on the installation CDs, including the popular OpenOffice for word processing, spreadsheets and presentation, and the extremely powerful GCC compiler collection for programming in a multitude of computer languages.
To summarise:
- Specifications for an educational computer need not be high with the right operating system.
- A question - is Linux really that difficult to use?
- Professional-quality, cheap and powerful software could make a Linux distribution the way forward in an alternative line of educational computing.
But why not use computers for teaching subjects, rather than teaching them to teach computer skills?
My thoughts are that students learn more about non-computer subjects when they're engaged in a class with books and paper than when they use computers. A computer has too many distractions available - games, the internet, other programs. In any educational plan which has computers involved, the amount of "books and paper" learning as opposed to computer learning should be at least in a ratio of 80:20.
Another reason that I would cite is the fact that the internet is a limited research tool, being strongest at researching scientific, technical and military topics - the original intentions for the ARPANET, predecessor to the internet. One wishing to research any of the arts, humanities or social sciences will encounter considerable difficulty in finding any appropriate references.
With that said, in some respects, computer skills can be integrated into ordinary schooling: Allow the students to submit their work in typed form, possibly through e-mail; allow them to make presentations using presentation software, et cetera.
I'm not convinced about the proposed Linux standard. Why not use Windows Vista?
It is true that Microsoft Windows dominates the PC market as an operating system. It is also true that Linux has a very low penetration, not known about by most of the PC-using public. However, it is also true that Microsoft charges groups for licences for installing Windows on each computer, and it is also true that Linux is provided free-of-charge.
Along with this, Windows does not come packaged with the powerful tools present in most Linux distributions; instead, a user must purchase them for high prices, or otherwise go out of their way to find and install the software.
If a distribution of Linux doesn't have an application distributed with it, all they need do is find the GNU Project homepage, look at the Free Software Directory and look at the almost-5,000 packages indexed, most of which would be originally programmed for Linux.
Unfortunately, here, we come to a roadblock - many of these programs are difficult to install and configure, requiring prior knowledge to install. However, there is no need to fret. If a user needs a Windows application, are they stuck? By no means. Using the Wine program, provided a user can install and use many of today's Windows applications without needing a Windows operating system.
Alright, we know your hardware and software requirements; now, what would a prospective student be taught?
To start off, a basic understanding of the computer's hardware, and the relationships between the software and the hardware is arguably necessary for a full and rounded computer literacy. In more friendly words: the basics of what is inside the computer, including hard drives (for their own personal reference), removable media, the processor, the PCI/PCI Express expansion slots, etc; how it would relate to the BIOS; a run-through of the basic BIOS commands and how the hard drives and removable media are represented by the operating system.
With that point out of the way, you may be wondering whether teaching the students how to use the BIOS and where all of the hardware resides is too difficult, and potentially dangerous for them. First of all, I don't propose teaching this to five-year-olds who have just entered school - the best a teacher will get get is a blank stare of incomprehension. I propose teaching that part of computer literacy to fifteen-year-olds, preferably with a lack of technical jargon, wherever necessary.
As an option, a small run-through course on how to build a computer could be undertaken by the more technically adept students, although this may or may not be suitable depending on expenditure levels on the information technology aspect. This would operate in a similar way to old "transistor radio kit" ideas, where a child could learn about electronics within a controlled environment.
At this point, you may be wondering what the use of teaching students about what is inside the computer. I believe that an incomplete understanding of the software's relationship with the hardware is a major part of technical support, and subsequent uses of jargon, or alternatively, a lack of it when it is necessary, can be a particular bugbear of people using technical support, leading to a bad reputation of technical support among the standard computer user.
Thus, by eliminating incomplete understanding of the software's relationship with the hardware, a part of technical support which either doesn't help the computer user much (the telephone method) or which doesn't teach the user anything about the problem (telephoning in help; the support team comes into the office method) could be scrapped.
Of course, the technical support business suffers financially by this decision, but it could lead in a gain in reputation for them, as the jargon-laden section of hardware management could be eliminated in favour of software-related problems.
With the hardware understanding a minor concern for older students, the most important part of computer literacy is the use of software to improve productivity.
Thus, the teaching of the use of office software - word processor, presentation program, possibly spreadsheet and accounting software for business students; mostly provided by the OpenOffice package, graphics manipulation programs - in accordance with the open-source/free line of thinking on operation systems, this would be mainly provided by the GIMP manipulation program, and other programs which would be used from day-to-day by people in everyday situations, is imperative and perhaps should be a mandatory piece of information technology training.
Students should be able to use the programs competently, able to do most of the things with the programs which they would conceivably use in an everyday situation, with a more minor concern with more specialised aspects of the program, but enough so that a student may be confident when asked to do more in-depth usage of the computer.
The other area of software which would be important to teach would be computer programming, primarily to teach the logic and principles of computer programming, rather than intense focus on any one language. For this reason, a form of BASIC would have been a preferable choice for this sort of teaching in the 1980s, when most computers came with a BASIC interpreter, but the language is antiquated and not appropriate for modern programming.
An alternative starting choice would be the use of Python. Python is a simple, modern language with a lot more potential power than the variants of BASIC that existed in the 1980s, and is compatible with a large number of different operating systems, including both Windows and Linux.
As for the powerful assembly language discussed in the first section, the modern alternatives are the far less complicated C and C++, which provide the power of assembly language with a more friendly syntax. These languages have the advantage of being some of the most important languages in the computing market today, just as the assembly languages were in their time.
Regardless of the programming language that you use to teach programming, what is important is that students are taught, in simple terms, "how the computer thinks".
In conclusion:
- Students should be taught the basics of computer hardware and the software's relationship to it, to eliminate unnecessary technical support troubles.
- An option could be to teach students how to build their own computers, in an effort to bring back the idea of the "transistor radio kit" in a modern form.
-The most important bit for students to learn is the use of computers in order to improve productivity, in the guise of office software and image manipulation programs.
-Students should be taught the logic and principles of computer programming, best taught by demonstration through a programming language suited for the task.
In conclusion, educational computing standards should be changed to teach students the intimacy of computers. Using cheap, reliable and powerful Linux distributions, an alternative could be made to the bloated Windows Vista, and one that could increase new students' computer knowledge exponentially versus the commercial alternatives.