Computing Education Will Not Be One Size Fits All

phones, computers, radios, laptops, mobile phones, satellites, routers, etc. ICT, as a term and in the understanding that users have of it, tends to encompass both hardware and software, all under the guise of usage and information flow [ 20]. This term avoids the possible narrowness of computing science, and avoids the potential machine focus of computer science. On the other hand, there is nothing inherent in the term that makes it clear that computing is involved at all, which can make it difficult to talk about what we are educating people to do, what we are educating them about.

It would be helpful if the 21st century saw the various disciplinary communities coalesce around a name that serves as an effective and flexible umbrella over these many perspectives on computing, one that points effectively toward the underlying disciplinary (and, increasingly, interdisciplinary) content.

 

IT’S A BIG WORLD OUT THERE!

As argued previously, much of computing education to date has been driven by both the historical development of the field and the recent development of personal uses of technology and interdisciplinary applications of computing. During the last 15 years much of the computing industry in the developed world has focused on monetizing the user. This is done through the development of many consumer products which presumably improve our lives (talk to your TV remote! let your thermostat learn your habits so that you never have to set it! let your refrigerator tell you what to buy at the store! let your appliances directly order products!). Monetizing is also done through analysis of user data, both at the individual user level and in aggregate, while we are left with little control over personal data once it heads out to commercial entities (see the work of Debra Estrin [ 8]). As technologically interesting as these developments might be, they are fundamentally intended to make more comfortable lives that are already fairly comfortable. Yet for every new application that we presumably cannot live without in the developed world, there is an article or book that describes the negative effects on social interaction [ 18], the stunted development of empathy and communication skills among today’s children [ 17], the need for digital detox [ 5], and the potential uses of the vast quantity of data we are generating [ 12].

What about the rest of the world? There is clear evidence
[ 15, 20] that a facile uncritical application of certain technol-
ogies in developing world contexts will be unsuccessful. In
some cases, such as the introduction of computers into el-
ming, and compilers. As the underlying theory evolved, new
data structures were designed, algorithmic analysis came of
age, language paradigms and new languages were created, and
courses were developed on these topics.

The PC era changed the way we teach computing because it became easier to provide equipment for students, we could have closed labs like other sciences, and students could do class work outside of formal academic spaces.

Meanwhile, the curriculum continued to evolve. Hardware improvements and new applications supported interest in topics such as computer graphics, human computer interaction, and artificial intelligence, while courses on software engineering and algorithmic analysis became more common at the undergraduate level. This period also saw an increase in discussions about computer literacy and information literacy, along with a seemingly perennial debate about the role of computer science departments in post-secondary institutions, particularly in liberal arts colleges.

In the current period the demand for computing education has increased significantly and it is no longer only at the undergraduate and graduate level. The ubiquity of computing across application areas means that many people feel the need to know something about computing. Meanwhile, personal and Io T devices require more widespread knowledge about hardware, embedded computing, and security. These are no longer niche areas. We also must reconsider ethical concerns considering the deluge of data that is available and the issues that arise when designing and building devices that reside in people’s homes and pockets [ 9, 13].

But wait a moment! Everything I have written above is a very Western developed-world view of computing education. In the history laid out above, computing education evolved at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and is now trickling down into elementary and secondary education. But when we consider the rest of the world, with an eye toward the future, there is much more that should shape computing education.

 

WHAT’S IN A NAME?—PART 3

There’s a very important term missing from the disciplines listed above, namely ICT (Information and Communication Technologies). ICT is a term that has been adopted globally and is used much the way that “IT” (information technology) is used in the U.S. ICT has proven to be a very flexible umbrella term, adjusting over time to include television, fixed-line

It would be helpful if the 21st
century saw the various
disciplinary communities coalesce
around a name that serves
as an effective and flexible umbrella
over these many perspectives
on computing, one that points
effectively toward the underlying
disciplinary (and, increasingly,
interdisciplinary) content.