[ELTWeekly Volume 7, Issue 6 | February 9, 2015 | ISSN 0975-3036]
Jodie Lopez says, “
I don’t feel I was at school too long ago. I finished in 1997, after sixth-form. But this week I was reminded that people born in 1997 are now legally adults. As I was leaving school, they were entering the world. Cue some weeping and wrinkle checking in the mirror.
Then after wondering how I had changed, I began to ponder how education in my lifetime has changed; which is largely the pondering of the impact of technology.
While at school (in the UK) I did have access to a computer suite – a room full of BBC computers where we were able to attempt some word processing and basic programming. (That was mainly me; my teacher did not have much interest in anything past the curriculum requirements of spreadsheets and databases.) Roll on to sixth form, and I took that basic experience and studied for the rather grandly titled Computer Literacy and Information Technology certificate. I remember this being very regimented – what I would call ‘ICT by numbers’. We were handed worksheets to follow, and as long as you did exactly what was written on the instructions you would end up with a certificate to show… well… that you can follow instructions. I think we were being programmed more than we were programming!
Off to university in 1997, and surely this would be the step change. I dreamed of a swish library full of the latest computers”.