Talk:Computer Skills Curricula

From School Computing

[edit] Creation of Computer Skills Standards

Chadwick School (K-12, Palos Verdes, CA) is also looking to update it computer skills curriuculum across the board, from students through faculty, to administrators.

Rather than have a checklist approach, and/or just adopting the ISTE standards, we're trying to find what the ideal standards are from the top down:

1) What does a graduating student need to be able to do in order to be successful in college and thereafter?

2) What does the faculty need to be able to do to support that?

3) What does the administration need to be able to do to support that?

Those are big (and expensive) questions, but seem to be the ones we need to ask in order to get the ball rolling and build a program that will truly serve the needs of the community for the present and future.

-Deborah Levy Technology Integration Specialist

[edit] why ISTE?

The ISTE standards have been tremendously helpful to us. Because they are broad, they really serve as guiding principles rather than strict guidelines. The questions you ask are great, how do the 21st century skills that ISTE is talking about relate to what you are trying to create? Specific skills are tricky - we always worry when people ask us to make sure students can use XYZ software package. Certainly none will be around in just a few years, everything will be different - versions, operating systems, input/output devices, etc. Students will be better served if they have skills like: problem solving, communication, productivity, research (from ISTE's list). I think that is the power of the ISTE standards. -arvind 1-25-06