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Showing posts from February, 2015

Computing in Schools - the case for Open-Source

Even at the height of the digital revolution, schools all over the world seem to be struggling with what computer literacy should mean for them. The most technophile view is that everybody should learn how to program in order to take full advantage of the creative potentials of computer technology. With a focus on the digitizing of everything, another position is that everybody should at least be a competent user of computer technology, including the ability to create digital content and not just consume it. Finally, some argue that computers are starting to be mature and ubiquitous enough that they are just a tool that should fade into the background like books or blackboards. After all, there is no subject dedicated to the study of paper & pencil technology - even though K-3 students do spend a lot of time learning to master those basic writing utensils. While I agree that some level of programming or algorithmic thinking should be part of any general education, not every