This article was written by Melanie Gow.

So you have a computer centre at school, now what?

The latest technology is awaiting eager minds hungry to learn, so what do you teach them?

Most schools decide that the only thing that should be taught in a computer centre is computer related skills. Are there common guidelines for what needs to be taught/covered/acquired by the time a learner graduates to grade 8? Most schools follow their own ‘syllabus’, some (at huge expense) pay for programs which very cleverly link the curriculum to computer literacy, and others still are not sure what skills they should be doing at all. What does the Education Department have to say about this?

Judging by the software chosen by the highly successful Khanya project, in the Western Cape, they advocate curriculum development as a priority for the computer centre with a major focus on numeracy and literacy. Gauteng Online follows a similar strategy and are almost at the stage of allowing schools to choose their own curriculum development software.

I had the privilege of meeting with the Head of e-learning for the Eastern Cape (East London District). His main message is: “Computer centres should be used for curriculum development and the computer skills will follow. Where in the curriculum does it ask for a dedicated learning area called ‘Computer Literacy’?”.

Why the debate? Primary schools are spending a lot on dedicated teachers and programs to teach computer literacy – which is a fantastic skill – but then lose out on valuable integration time with the curriculum. Why is this seemingly a waste of resources? The progression from primary to high school – where on the computer skills ladder does the high school need to begin? From the bottom, as there is no set guide/outcomes for the teaching of computer skills. Therefore who knows which primary schools have covered which aspects?

So how should computer centres be utilised to maximise the capital outlay? Well I say for curriculum development (and choose software that adds real value) AND computer skills. There is place for both, it’s an injustice to reserve such a privileged resource for one purpose only. So let computer centres adopt a female gender and multi-task!

Viva Bafana Bafana Viva South Africa!!!

curriculum delivery, skills