On Sunday 30 November 2003 20:28, ICT Support Officer wrote:
Nothing so far has impressed me here in UK as far as ICT is concerned.
There is little impressing me.
Definition of ICT should be revised for schools. On the one hand staff and students use ICT facilities to aid their core subjects. There are many examples of this. In science, there is so called data logging facilities. Without computers they cannot record their data analysis. Should all Physics students learn how to program. Well, I think not. They do however need the necessary skills to use computers, and various software applications. We have secretarial and Business studies. Students doing these courses also need to use various applications to aid their core learning. So the point I am trying to make here is that ICT is just a set of tools and learning to use such tools should be integrated into their core learning. A mechanic cannot repair an engine without tools...which brings me to my second point (or ..on the other hand bit). Currently, most schools in UK appear to be stuck with Microsoft products. Mostly the reasons for this is negative and quite frankly that is how the tax payers money is wasted. A mechanic can pick and choose whatever tools he needs to get the job done and not necessarily the most expensive or elegant tool. Schools however seem to choose the most expensive software tools. Most of the time the argument is that, that is what the standard is in industry. Microsoft does not set standards, they sell goods. In many cases they completely ignore International standards (in my opinion). Not everyone drives BMWs or Mercedes's.
Computing, as it was called in the old days should be a branch of ICT as computer studies where students are taught how to program, whether it's web programming, databases, spreadsheets etc. This however does not appear to be the norm as I read all postings here. ICT departments should be lead by people who have through knowledge of all aspects of computing. Currently there are very few such people in schools. It's like having, say a pilot, running the ENT department of a hospital. I know my example is a bit extreme but you get the drift.
What can we do to correct this situation....Well, that is the real question, isn't it??
M Gural
Network Manager
Canon Palmer Catholic School
I am an ICT co-ordinator struggling to come to terms with what I am being told is the correct way to teach ICT (by the government - do they know what they are doing). Here is an example from the KS3 sample lessons provided by the DFES. On one page there was a table, it had about 6 rows and 2 columns, it had been constructed in MS Word by drawing the lines in???? I am becoming more and more uneasy with this school ICT thing. It seems to me that the ICT curriculum has been drawn up around the tools that most schools have or can provide. Consequently all we get is MS application focussed modules of work with resources supplied in MS formats (against the policies of the e-Envoy apparently). I was converting the whole KS3 thing to OO but when my teachers began to complain about the banality of it, and with my growing uneasiness about it have stopped. We use Open Source almost exclusively to teach ICT and I have the idea that an alternative Open Source National Curriculum would be a good thing, what do others feel? I'm with you Garry. I am currently devloping a Moodle site and I am posting
On Sunday 30 Nov 2003 7:35 pm, garry saddington wrote: the file formats in M$ and OO. I am gradually getting OO out to my students so that they can "use" XP in school and in April when we renew the lease on 40 or so PCs they will be sold to the less fortunate students at the school with Linux and OO pre-installed. Slowly but surely I will evict M$ from my world.....
regards garry