Are Our Children Learning Enough Technology Skills?By FRANK J. DUTKO, Ph.D.Director, Futurekids Computer Learning Center |
 Frank J. Dutko |
Do children learn enough technology skills if they have access to computers at school, and there are computers in the home?
Surprisingly, the answer may be "NO".
If your kids are like my three children, then they gravitate to computer games if left to their own devices at home. They have lots of fun, but they are NOT learning technology skills!
Technology is a critical element in most jobs and careers. As parents, assessing the ability of schools to teach technology skills may be difficult. We did not have computers in our schools when we were in elementary school. However, children today must learn new technology. Simply learning how to play games on the computer is no longer enough.
This was the title of an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper on May 15, 1997. The Educational Testing Service, who make the SATs and GREs, did a comprehensive study of technology in the nation's schools.
Here are some statistics for elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. that were interesting...and disturbing.
The report is entitled "Computers and Classrooms-- The Status of Technology in U.S. Schools" by the Educational Testing Service, located in Princeton, NJ, and is available on the Web at href="http://www.ets.org/research/pic/compclass.html. Of course, averages for a state can be deceiving. There is a wide range in the capability of schools in our area from very good to not so good.
There are several key questions to ask your child's school:
There are other ways to find out information about your child's school. For example, there is a NJ School Report Card which contains information on Enrollment, Language Diversity, Student Attendance Rate (vs. a state average), Average Class Size, Student Mobility Rate, Student/Faculty Ratio, Faculty Attendance Rate, Student/Administrator Ratio, Faculty Academic Degrees, Length of the School Day, Instructional Time, Results of the 4th Grade Test, Early Warning Test - Grade 8, Financial Data on Administrative Personnel & Faculty Personnel, Median Salary and Years of Experience of Faculty & Administrators, Teacher Salary & Benefits, Administration Salaries & Benefits, Revenues, and Per Pupil Expenditures.
In addition, one can look at financial information on each of NJ's more than 600 school districts by accessing the Comparative Spending Guide . One can find out how much your school district is spending per pupil and compare that information to the average or median for the whole state or a district of similar size.
At Futurekids, we can help. With our weekly classes , we supplement and reinforce what children learn in school. In addition, we can help schools directly by training the school's teachers in technology or by supplying our Futurekids curriculum to schools.
We help people become masters of the computer. We define Computer Mastery as--
KNOWLEDGE of computer skills (word processing, databases, desktop publishing, telecommunications, graphics, spreadsheets, programming, and operating systems), The ability to APPLY those skills, The ability to use a WIDE RANGE of software, and The ability to use the computer as a TOOL for--
Our goal is to teach children ages 3 to 15 the computer literacy skills needed to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology. We are proud to have enabled children to learn how to use technology to excel in the classroom as well the workplace.
If you think that your child's school could benefit from Futurekids School
Technology Programs, then point your Web browser to this or call Frank
Dutko, Ph.D. at (609) 897-9595.
Frank J. Dutko, Ph.D., is the Director and Owner of Futurekids Computer Learning Center, located in the Village Square Shopping Center, 217 Clarksville Rd., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, (609) 897-9595. Futurekids teaches adults and children to be masters of the computer.
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