Solo
solo+@cmu.edu
Argument 76-100G
December 8, 1995
The Call for Computers in Education
In today's fast-paced society, new technologies breakthrough daily and new jobs requiring the use of such technologies emerge. To get hold of these new jobs, it is vital to become familiar with these technological breakthroughs. Consequently, to survive in today's society, a person has to gain knowledge on these new technologies. Computers and telecommunications are examples of such breakthroughs. As a result of these technological developments, our society is changing. The definition of literacy is one of such social change, now, to define literacy completely, we have to add computer literacy into our current definition. Being literate now is not simply able to read and write anymore; being literate includes the ability to manipulate computers and use telecommunications to gain access to information in the cyberspace surrounding us; or in other words, being literate means that some grasp of computer literacy is required ( Mangan , 2). Today, computers are being introduced to most professions; from a high-tech factory to a grocery market, some form of computer is involved ( Mangan , 2). Although different jobs require different levels of knowledge on computers, nonetheless, some extent of computer usage is asked for in every profession. Without the required experience on computers, it is likely that a person will lose in job competitions in our every-competitive society. Take as an example, an employer interviewing two workers, one with little experience on the software used in the industry, and the other having moderate knowledge on them. There is no doubt that the latter will have a higher chance of being employed. This is because the employer doesn't have to spend extra money and time training the first worker. Author Jean Paul Gee would say that the latter is literate while the former is not under this situation since literacy, to him, is having the appropriate knowledge.
The age of information has arrived, it is very likely that computers will be the future trend in the workplace ( Mangan , 3). In order to prosper in such a society, a person has to acquire fluency in computer literacy, or in other words, be proficient in the use of computers. In order to help our students survive this computer era, I will argue that schools have to increase the computer literacy level of their students, and if necessary, force this literacy upon them.
To understand why schools should integrate more computers into their classrooms, we should analyze the problem we have now; mainly, students are not gaining enough experience on computers. First of all, we should look at today's statistics and determine if students even need such experience on computers. According to statistics, approximately one tenth of US population have a computer or has access to one. Looking at the ratio of those who can access a computer to those who cannot, we can conclude that many jobs do not need computer experience (or the unemployment rate will be much higher, but I will not discuss that here). Then why do students need it? Now, we should look at the different types of jobs offered to people with and without computer literacy. It is easily seen that, in today's world, most middle or high paying jobs require computer usage and are mostly granted to those with experience, and this is precisely the answer to the question above: having computer experience will maximize a student's potential ( Mangan , 3). In a survey conducted in Purdue University, it was observed that half of the students involved in the survey has some experience in computers, but many did not use computers regularly and have no motivation of using it for their classes ( Larson , 4). It is clear that the other half of the students without experience may encounter difficulty finding a higher paying job in the future that they are headed for. Furthermore, it is observed that computer usage in jobs are increasingly growing as more services are offered on computers, therefore, by the time our students graduate, finding a middle or high paying job may be more difficult than today.
In modern society, the well-being of an individual is frequently associated with social goods; goods such as money and social benefits. Being fluent in the computer literacy definitely leads to such goods ( Gee , 8). Jean Paul Gee, in his paper Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics, states that being fluent in a dominant Discourse will lead to social goods and Discourses are ways of acting, speaking, doing, and believing that is acquired in the society ( Gee , 6). Therefore, Gee would agree that what our students need now is to acquire more computer literacy in order to be prosperous in society. Furthermore, people without fluency in computer literacy tends to have high anxiety in the manipulation of computers ( Larson , 5); this further dulls their ability in achieving goals and completing tasks as long as these goals and tasks are computer-related. My proposal aims at resolving this problem by making all students fluent in computer literacy and, as a result, increase the prosperity of the students.
Communication is an essential component to our society. It is also one of the most important elements in the working environment. For most people, being able to communicate with colleagues in work would be difficult if they do not share some background knowledge with you. Similarly, if newly-employed coworkers are to communicate with other employees, when issues concerning computers come up, it would be difficult if one party does not have a grasp on computer literacy. E. D. Hirsch , in his book Cultural Literacy, states that knowledge level is declining due to the lack of common skills and knowledge of the society. He argues that a list of fundamental knowledge has to be taught to students in order to prevent our current knowledge level to decline. E. D. Hirsch would agree that knowledge on new technologies should be taught to the students as an item in his proposed list of fundamental knowledge. With the knowledge on these new technologies, information flow and communications will both be smoother between people. As an example, News channels frequently refer to cyberspace, Internet, and World-Wide Web; however, if a person is has no knowledge of such matter, the will be a tremendous difficulty trying to understand the news. If some core knowledge of the new technological breakthrough, in particular computer literacy, is taught to everyone in the society, such frustration as to understanding what cyberspace, Internet, and World-Wide Web is will be resolved. Furthermore, the use of computers in communication is limitless. Currently, there are numerous presentations done through computers. Using computers to make presentations, live video footage, audio sounds, and visual aids can all be added in making the overall presentation much more understandable. This is yet another strong argument that pushes the educational administrators to increase computer literacy among the schools.
Time management and productivity are two other elements that are essential to the well-being of an individual in the society. As technology advances and computers become faster and faster, the time that people need for accomplishing certain task is shortened. Ten years ago, I would have been writing this paper by hand; it would have been difficult to move paragraphs around, check of spelling errors, and to write out another draft. However, today, I am typing this paper out on a computer. The fact that using a computer, I can do everything that I though difficult to do ten years ago with just a few mouse clicks. This shortens the time for checking spelling errors, and to rewrite a draft if need be, which means that I can devote the more time to other business. Besides shortening the time for actually writing a paper, the technology allows the accessing of information to be much easier. Ten years ago, looking for an article in any modest-sized library will take a long time because of going through the card catalogue. However, ten years have past, and today libraries use computer system to check for the books and articles available. Furthermore, as the Internet grows larger and larger, the amount of information stored in it grows in size too. There is an incredible amount of useful information stored in the cyberspace waiting for people to download. What used to take hours of searching (for information) is now shortened into a few seconds due to the advancement of technology. However, what does computer literacy have to do with these issues? The answer is quite simple, if a person doesn't have enough computer experience, he or she will never be able to use the computer resources and would have to use the old methods. It may sound silly that anyone could not know how to use a library computer system or a word processor, but it is amazing how many people ask the librarian for help every day. If students are taught and become fluent in computer literacy, they can have a base on computer manipulation. Since most computers operate on a similar basis, having a base on computer manipulation can help students understand most computer systems; as a result, they can be able to work most computers and software with ease.
Although more and more people are beginning to become aware of the upcoming computer era, there are still many that resist the usage of computers ( Mangan , 11). It is simply impossible for everyone to adjust to such a fast-paced change in society. A few years ago, computers were the size of a storage room, and now, we have personal computers at our hands. Some people say there ought to be some reservations, a buffer that can slow things down, allow changes to occur. However, there is no way to slow down the advancement of these technologies. We cannot change what is already going on. Since we cannot adjust our society, we have to adjust to society. There is no easy way out. If people choose not to open their arms to computer literacy, those people will lose their competitiveness in the society. We, as a society, should be made aware of the welfare of our future. Computer literacy, as it stands, is the gate to the future, it holds the key to jobs in the business world today. In order to guarantee the well-being of students that will face society in the future, instruction in the use of computers and other new technology has to be taught in school. We can not afford to lose anyone in this rush of technological advancement; it would simply be unfair to them if they are not given a chance to learn about computers because their school doesn't offer any courses for it. Therefore, it becomes necessary to make the teaching of computer literacy and the use of new technologies a requirement for our current educational system, even if it means to force the teachings upon the students. After all, it is for their future welfare.