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At left are various files useful in customizing the Tech Scouts curriculum for your school. For assistance in envisioning, planning and implementing a tech scouts program, please contact us through Beyond the Box Web Solutions, our web design company: http://gamefacewebdesign.com.
Below is an essay by Tech Scouts Jake Mackler and Bill Garrison, also available as a separate link at left.
SCOUT REPORT:
COMPUTERS IN SCHOOL
By Bill Garrison
and Jacob Makler
Computer technology is dominant in today's world. It provides thinking tools we should learn with, and tools we should learn about.However, there is much dispute over how this technology should be handled in schools, which slows progress. We believe students should be an active part of that discussion, for two reasons.
First, the topic matters most to us, who are preparing for life, unlike those who did not grow up with it and consider it less important. Some adults want what is cost efficient, or want what is easy to maintain and operate, and still others want what they think is fun and interesting, based on what they know how to do. Their choices affect us directly, and we should be asked.
Second, we are more familiar with what we need computers to do for us. Most students feel technology has a big impact on our personal lives. It helps with our homework, helps us learn more about the world, and makes school more fun. Many students say they would first consult the Internet, before reading books or asking teachers. Therefore, we expect reliable computers and information to be available to all students, at all times. However, our need for computers is not always taken seriously. For example, Internet filters are useful in school to block unwanted websites out, but when they start blocking out important educational sites, a change has to be made.
Third, giving students a voice in how computers are used in school will make us more interested in school. School has always been about teaching children how to make good choices, and we would like the chance to exercise these skills in a real-world situation that will affect us. We know that the technology choices we are growing up with are different from what our parents and teachers had, and that they are sometimes afraid of them. We would like an opportunity to help out more, both to develop our own abilities and to make it easier for teachers who use them to teach with. In every class there are always a few students who know how to figure out computer problems, and even fix them in many cases.
The more interested and the less frustrated students are with our computers, the more we will learn.