Curricula and Learning Links - Technology
Computer Skills for High Schoolers
November 2004
What computer basics should homeschoolers know before they graduate high school? The answer depends upon what line of work he will go into.
Suggestions from Scott Bryce
Typing. Email. WORD. Basic internet search and navigation. These will be used in any field.
I use newsgroups all the time, so I'd suggest understanding basic netiquette as it applies to email and newsgroups. How to find the correct newsgroup to post a question in.
If your child is going to learn to do HTML (and he should), have him learn to do it right. No HTML editors. He should know about valid markup, and cascading style sheets. How to use an FTP program. How to set up a domain. You can practically do this for free. Notepad, PaintShopPro verson 3. FileZilla. All are free.
Basic programming logic. Pick your language. What you learn in one language will carry over into the others. You don't need to go in depth, but have enough understanding so that macros, etc. will not be intimidating. What language would I suggest? That's a tough one. My daughter wants to learn to program, and I haven't figured out which language to teach her. I use Perl every day, but it isn't a good beginner's language. BASIC is a good beginners language, but doesn't carry over into other languages well. VBA can be used to create macros in any Microsoft application, so that might be a good one, but I detest it as a programming language.
As for the other suggestions, I seldom use Excel. I have done computer based multimedia presentations for over 10 years, and I have never used PowerPoint. If someone has basic computer literacy, learning new applications should be easy. I like the suggestion to let them play, as long as they are using real programs to do real tasks. Let their interests determine what they will learn. The skills will carry over into other areas.
For someone who wants to focus on web development, HTML, CSS, a language that can be used to do server side scripting (Perl, PHP), databases and a paint package or two. Interface design. What makes one website easy to use and another difficult to use?
If a child wants to go into a technical field, knowing about how a computer stores data will be helpful. Hexadecimal, ASCII, ANSI, etc. What is a bit? What is a Byte? How to read simple file formats, such as BMP.
For programmers, a basic understanding of the Windows API.
Suggestions from Mary Leggewie
- How to back up their computer (#1). (There are those who back up their computers and those who WISH they had.) AND the importance of saving regularly.
- How to transfer files from one computer to another.
- How to design a basic (not fancy) web site. (Lots of tutorials on this on the Internet, and you can buy a used copy of an outdated version of PageMill, etc. cheap on ebay. Beware of Front Page...it's a "cheater" version in my opinion, but it doesn't hurt to know how it works.
- Power Point. Used in business a LOT now.
- The importance of anti-virus, anti-spyware software and how to use it on a regular basis.
- Photoshop and or Quark (both expensive programs). It doesn't mean you have to learn everything, but basic stuff is important
- How to recognize a secure Web page.
- Excel
Suggestions from SoCalPam
Filemaker Pro or a decent database. We keep lots of things at home on a database as it's so convenient to pull things up and sort the data differently. You can merge your data into other documents as well.
The main thing I'd suggest: LEARNING TO TYPE MESSAGES WITHOUT ABBREVIATIONS. Lose all that teen message board chat and learn to type for real. Learn to spell. Present yourself as a mature human being instead of a sloppy person who can't communicate.
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