Early Computer Education for Students

Introduction

With the increasing need for technology proficient students, educational computing needs to start at an early age. Computing should be involved in each level of education from K-12 to higher education. This essay will cover the issues, challenges, and conclusions of computing education methods in different educational levels, internet in education, using “edutainment” within curriculum, and teaching information literacy.

Background Literature

Learning can be described as a process of interaction of student-to-professor, student-to-student, student-to-material, and student-to-expert/practitioner. Traditionally, a students learning is limited to class lectures, face-to-face discussions, office visits, quizzes, and tests (Wang, 2007, p280). Wang states that student learning quality can be improved by increasing these basic interactions. According to Wang, the Internet can improve the quality of these interactions when integrated into the classroom setting. The Internet improves the interaction of student-to-professor, student-to-student,

student-to-material, and student-to-expert/practitioner (Wang, 2007, p 281). According to Wang, traditional classroom learning has extreme limitations. Most information is dispensed in lecture, especially in a college setting, and assessed with a test. Students have very little time to reflect and to express their thoughts and feelings about what is taking place. They have very little time to communicate to the professor what they are learning or having difficulty learning after each class session. Often students misconceive what they read and what they hear in a lecture setting. These misconceptions are carried through into an examination and are seldom resolved

(Wang, 2007, p 281).

Mary Green and Mary Nell McNeese believe that video games are an untapped resource in education. They refer to games that could be educational as “edutainment.” The main purpose of edutainment is to promote student learning through exploration, interactivity, trial and error, and repetition in such a way that students get so lost in the fun, that they don’t realize they are learning at the same time. By playing digital games, students exercise various skills such as strategizing, and problem solving to conquer the enemy, save the princess, or find the hidden treasure (Green, 2007, p 6).