On Tue, Dec 02, 2003 at 09:57:35AM +0000, Christopher Dawkins wrote:
I agree that many teachers of ICT (and hence their students) would have considerable difficulty transferring their existing ICT skills to alternative open-source applications. But why?
Rather the non-portability of ICT skills as taught in schools and elsewhere simply reflects the comparative immaturity of today's ICT curriculum.
True. It reflect training rather than education, though we aim for transferable skills in most other subjects. It's as if we were producing mechanics who can only service Ford cars, historians who know only the
Or even only current models of Ford cars...
late Victorian period, artists who can paint only in charcoal, philosophers who know only Kant. All this is fine as a specialisation or
Even specialist car mechanics, historians, artists, etc usually have some background as generalists. In the case of the example historian IMHO such a person would be of little use, since a lot of history is meaningless without context.
in old age, but we are producing young people (and young teachers, defined for IT purposes as under the age of fifty-five) who are not only restricted in their range but - much worse - who are determined not to learn anything else.
In some cases "determined not to learn anything else" (including the basics behind the tasks) ends up as "taking great pride in their ignorance". -- Mark Evans St. Peter's CofE High School Phone: +44 1392 204764 X109 Fax: +44 1392 204763