ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605240035
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES F. PHELAN
I HAVE worked with computers more than 40 years. Originally the operating cycle was 120 per second versus millions today. My first encounters had 1,000-byte memories, compared to millions today. I have taught programming and circuitry for logic, counting, adding, multiplying, etc. But none of this has anything to do with using computers today.
Is an electrical engineering degree required to use lights, microwave ovens or washing machines? Does a truck driver's job require an "automobile literate", i.e. a mechanic?
Much is made about "word processing" - the glorified typewriter with which you can easily revise, edit and check spelling. What basic skills are needed? The ability to type, to read and to write comprehensible English. How long does it take to be "literate''? A few hours for basic usage, about three or four days for proficiency.
How about spread-sheets? It would be impossible to be "literate" in all of their vast numbers, but if you can read and comprehend English, you can easily learn any one, provided you have been imbued with enough discipline to know that learning is hard, but the reward at the end is great.
Of course, you should know enough arithmetic to spot obvious errors. (How often have I encountered students with answers in millions instead of thousandths, the excuse: "That's what my calculator said." )
I have a 5-year-old grandson who can bring up a new game and learn to play it in minutes. But does it teach him to reason, analyze, comprehend and express ideas, or just to play?
The Internet is fantastic, but have you ever tried to read a book on a computer screen? Parents should ask questions. What are my children doing with a computer that cannot be done as well or better with a library? Does a vast amount of data help educate, or is it just a game? It seems to me that a child would have to be well-grounded in geography, history, basic science, literature and logic before beginning to use a small fraction of the data on the Internet.
Before spending large sums of money to proliferate classroom computers, the question should be asked: "How much of it would be better spent for smaller classes and more teachers?" Note that the question being raised is not should computers be in schools, but how are they being used and what is being sacrificed?
Finally, a programmer's job is to write programs that can be used by people with absolutely no knowledge of computers except how to turn them on and use a keyboard or mouse, i.e. designed by geniuses to be used by idiots. Ten years ago I had to write my programs; now I am content to be a "computer idiot." I need very little, if any, "computer literacy."
James F. Phelan of Blacksburg served as a Navy commander and was a professor of electrical engineering at Virginia Tech. He is now retired.
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