How to integrate computers into the curriculum Essay

Computer technology has become an integral part of every individual’s life. The advent of computers and their explosive use in practically every field has jolted the human race into what experts call the informational revolution (Veneris, 1984). In the current era, information ahs become so important and central to a business, it has occupied its true place as a resource rather than a by product of business operations. With the current society now headed towards what Drucker (n. d.) claims to be the next information revolution, it is only imperative that we train our future generations in this field like we do in any other subject that is considered to be vital by societal standards such as language, mathematics, general science etc. Being a fairly new field of study when compared to other courses of a curriculum, IT and such are constantly changing due to the technological leaps made everyday. A thing invented today becomes obsolete a month later. Skeptics argued that the technological bubble has burst; leaving in its wake many people broke who invested in dot com companies. This might be true but only to the extent where the boom in the jobs market is not as exponential as it used to be. If we look at the new products that come on market shelves every fifteen days or so, it will be proof enough for the fact that technology has never seen a better time than this before. And this creates problems when one tries to incorporate IT in school curricula. It becomes hard for schools to keep up with the ace of technology and many schools fail to fully equip their students with the skill set needed to compete effectively in the new world. Schools usually pose some questions regarding the matter such as: ? Can computer applications help improve student performance in basic skills and other key areas? ? For what specific skill areas, grade levels, and content areas are computer applications most effective? ? Which kinds and levels of students seem to profit most from using computers to learn? ? Which kinds of computer applications are most effective for which skill and content areas? ? Can computer applications improve students’ attitudes toward school, learning, and their abilities to learn? ? Will improved attitudes translate into better performance in school? These are in fact the key points that they should address and try to achieve the answers to when designing their course strategies. Guidelines to consider are: ? Grade and intellectual level of students ? Scope of subject ? Updating with external sources ? Type of instructor (industry experience or not) These are the most important factors that an institution should consider while designing the curriculum. The appropriate software too is important to compliment the overall course structure. The software to be used should be decided upon: ? User friendliness of software ? Degree of specialization ? Subject area (programming, multimedia etc. ) ? Skill level of students The hardware should be one that can support the requirement of the software. For example an application by Adobe such as the Adobe reader requires a minimum of a Pentium 2 but windows XP requires a minimum of a Pentium 3 processor to function. Hardware requirements are usually best when taken from the software vendor. One thing to note is that students should be exposed to as man types of hardware as they would come across in the corporate environment ranging from keyboards, printers to graphics tablets. References: Abernethy K. , T. Kevin, & Piegari G. Assessing the impact of the emerging discipline of information technology on computing curricula: some experiences.Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges. Volume 22 Issue 2. Publisher: Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges. Dreher F. , Cummings M. , & Harris J. (2006). The role of IT policies in the CS/IS curricula. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges. Volume 22 Issue 2 Publisher: Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Drucker P. (n. d. ). The Next Information Revolution. ASAP: E-Commerce. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www. versaggi. net/ecommerce/articles/drucker-inforevolt. htm Veneris, Y (1984). The Informational Revolution, Cybernetics and Urban Modeling. PhD Thesis. University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Zhu L. , & Tang C. (2006). A module-based integration of information retrieval into undergraduate curricula. Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, Volume 22 Issue 2 Publisher: Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges.