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Rob Larsen
10652686
October 20th, 2007
CMP S 401
The use of computers in public schools has been a highly debated issue for over a decade now. Many people wonder if they are being used correctly, or to their potential, while others wonder if all schools have access to the technology that they should have. In the year 2007, computers are a large part of almost any modern life, and much of the information needed to function with computers is learned through elementary to high school education.
There are numerous issues with how computers are being implemented in our education system in the United States. The first real question is whether or not there is enough access of modern technology to all students. Computer use has risen sharply since the 1990s by students at both home and school, but whether or not all students have fair access to these vital tools is questionable. The second major question is whether or not computers are being used effectively in primary and secondary education. In many areas of our society there is plenty of technology available, however in many scenarios the implementation of these computers and their use is obviously not up to par with what many feel should be taught. The last main issue is whether or not teachers are prepared to utilize and correctly teach these new technologies brought in to the classrooms.
Most students' experiences with computers are fairly limited during elementary school. In my experience, our classes would only visit the computer lab at school occasionally, and the level of involvement was limited at best. There was an extremely basic typing program they used to teach more the basics of a computer then typing itself. If you completed the exercises, students would then be able to play a point and click paint game until the hour had expired.
This is not to say that many elementary school students are limited in what they know about computers, as they become more and more prevalent in our everyday lives, it is just highly limited in what is learned at school. Students in the 2000s are learning much more about computers in their early years then students did a decade ago, but most of this education is still taking place outside the classroom at a young age.
Middle school brought a lot of change in the way computers were used and taught in my upbringing. While attending North Tapps Middle School, in Lake Tapps, Washington, computers became a vital part of many students' lives. Not only did the school offer typing classes, but they offered basic computing skill classes, classes on Microsoft's Office Suite, and even introductory classes in web development through point and click design tools. NTMS even offered an afterschool group called Technology Club that offered students a chance to play with new technologies and learn more about them. This experience was very informative in the ways of integrating computers into students' daily lives, but it was not the norm.
North Tapps Middle School is a fairly affluent school, in a well off district. Many educational districts do not have the funding to support programs like this, which can hurt students that come from less affluent areas. According to the National Center of Educational Statistics, over 9% of surveyed sixth through eighth graders did not even have access to a single computer at school in 2003. This figure does not even take into account students that had effective use of computers, just use of a single computer in general. Only 55% of the students had access to computers with the Internet at school for any use. This means that many of the students surveyed in middle school did not have access to the internet for any research or references during their schooling and with today's modern computer based society, this put these kids behind the curve for technical jobs.
My personal experience with computers in high school was well beyond most students in the US. I had three years of computer science classes, which were Introduction to C++, Advanced Placement C++, and Independent/Contract Study C++. These computer science classes were accompanied with general computing classes, and a year of web development courses. While that experience sounds great, that experience was not the norm. According to the NCES in 2003, 9% of high school students had no access to computers at school at all, only 63% of high school students had access to the internet at school. With 37% of students having no access to the internet at school, and some students not only having access but having content development experience, there is quite a divide created in our educational system.
Most of this problem is based on money. Schools within higher income areas that receive more money have access to newer technology, and can spend more on well trained teachers that are capable not only of using computers, but teaching advance uses of them. The NCES studies in 2003 note that areas which average below $20,000 income only had access to computers at school 80% of the time, while those areas over $75,000 had an increase of 6% over that mark. While those numbers might not be to startling, the difference in computer use at home over the same numbers has a 51% jump. While computers may be available at schools in most cases, the ability of those students to go home and continue their education with computers is astonishingly different.
The overall result of the "Current Population Survey, October 2003 School Enrollment and Computer Use Supplement" notes the following
Most students use computers and a majority use the Internet ... About 91 percent (53 million persons) of children age 3 and over and in nursery school through grade 12 use computers, and about 59 percent (35 million persons) use the Internet.
While these numbers sound decent, the survey was only done four years ago. When it comes to continuing education on to college many, if not most, classes require not only use of but previous knowledge of the internet. This means that 41% of the students out of our public education systems come into college unprepared in computer use.
The survey also points out other points in the application of technology education. It notes that "Computer and Internet use are divided along demographic and socioeconomic lines. Use of both technologies is higher among Whites than among Blacks and Hispanics." However it is also noted that computer use in schools helps close that gap, as many of those minorities have higher opportunities to use computers within schools. Computer use in schools may have problems, but it has come extremely far since the 1990s, and schools are helping bridge the gap in economic and racial boundaries.
Other noteworthy problems with the use of computers in K-12 education are the lack of highly trained teachers in these fields. Most people that are well educated out of college would rather take higher paying jobs then what is offered to K-12 educators, leaving these technology classes to be taught by undertrained teachers.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/2006065.pdf