Brains, Brawn & BratwurstJudith F. BennettPeter A. CooperSam Houston State University

Introduction“Whatever gulf separates the rich from the poor,

an even greater chasm separates the armed from the unarmed and the ignorant from the educated. Today, in the fast-changing, affluent nations, despite all inequities of income and wealth, the coming struggle for power will increasingly turn into a struggle over the distribution of and access to knowledge”

Toffler, A. & Toffler H. (1990) Powershift: Wealth and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century.

Comments from Students•I just can’t do computers•I just don’t understand computers•I’m computer illiterate•I’m no good in math•All I can do is e-mail and IM•I don’t have the knowledge to function in

a technology-based society such as we have now.

Millennial Generation• MGs are the young people

of today.• Many feel they are

technologically well equipped

• Older people feel the same about the young people of today

• Don’t under the underlying mechanisms and systems they are using

• Don’t have a grasp of wide ranging applications available for help in problem solving situations

Millennial Generation• Unaware of the social,

cultural, legal and ethical considerations that surround the use of technology

• Do not have the skills to apply critical thinking skills to the real world problems

• What do we do?• How do we change the

status quo?• Where have we failed?• As educators, are we

actually teaching our students the skills they need in a technological society?

Course Requirements•High School – minimally functional – basic

word processing, web surfing, powerpoint, excel.

•College – If required, usually a one-semester course covering the bare basics including many topics. Little time is spent on each application.

•Emphasize skills, not thinking.

Teaching Quality•Equipment – 4-7 years old•Operating System – at least as old as the

equipment•Teachers – excellent if trained •Teachers – abysmal as their training time

frame has a gap of 6-10 years from the time they left college.

Basic Question•Are we using the correct methods to

teach technology to our students?

Brains•Early history consisted of programming•Not all students are capable of

programming▫Fairly good at math▫Desire to learn programming

•Needs and skills of the student were never part of the equation

Machine Intelligence vs. Human IntelligenceMachine Intelligence Human Intelligence• Computational accuracy

and speed• Replication of results• Automation and

subservience to mundane tasks

• Capacity for problem solving through functional decomposition

• Often the same things used to measure Machine Intelligence are also attributed to Human Intelligence

• Also have reasoning powers

Brawn•Programming gives way to office skills•Big Picture is missing in students

education•Victorian-era factory girl “push this

button”•Most students have the ability to learn

computers•Problem lies in the methods we use to

teach them about computers

Bratwurst•Sausage uses only the finest ingredients•Cannot make a bad bratwurst good but

you can certainly ruin a good one by bad grilling

•We need to look at the quality of the ingredients that we are using in our classes to teach the students about computers

What Should A Good Technology Literacy Course Contain?•Highest quality content

▫Conceptual understanding▫Skills acquisition▫Applications to the real world structures▫Whet the appetite rather than satiate

•The menu for Word system can kill enthusiasm in seconds

Separate Ingredients?•Cannot separate the ingredients in a sausage•Cannot separate the understanding of

intelligent computer systems from the skills necessary to develop and maintain them

•Break down the tasks for students to acquire critical thinking skills

•Use purpose driven applications that encompass and address the social, cultural and ethical considerations

New Teaching Model

Myths•Schools teach technology literacy

▫Curriculum taught and qualifications of teachers are questionable

•Universities do not need to teach technology literacy▫If the high schools and universities don’t

teach the technology required, where will the students learn it

Myths•A ‘one-size-fits-all curriculum works

▫Students have different backgrounds▫Different aspirations▫Will leave in different directions

•We have the time to teach everything to everybody▫Most courses consist of one semester▫Crammed full

Dispelling Myths•Learn one or two skills well•How can technology be of service to them

in the future•Technology drives our society•Need to be more proficient in things other

than e-mail, web-surfing, writing letters and playing games

Students Goals•Critique information•Find correct information•Be able to tell the difference between

information and misinformation•Above all, keep their information safe

Questions We Need To Answer•Where do we go from here?•Do we actively pursue ways to teach our

students to function in today’s society?•Do we require them to master more things

outside the classroom?•Do we need to expand the computer literacy

course to two semesters?•Do we change the teaching certification

requirements to require them to be able to teach computer technology?

Conclusion•These questions are begging for an

answer.•We have to make drastic changes in our

approach to computer technology for the students living in a technologically advanced world.

•It is our job as educators to prepare them to live in a wired world.

•SO FAR, WE ARE FAILING MISERABLY!!!!!

The End

Questions?

Thank You!!