Editor:
First, Keats and the American Revolution don’t change much; computer technology is the fastest changing discipline in the history of the planet. Staying current leaves little time for refining pedagogy or schmoozing in faculty offices.
Second, technology classes have a greater variance in student background; that makes them harder to teach. How many of our students are out there right now reading about the Renaissance or looking over some Wordsworth quite apart from any college assignment? How many are texting or surfing the Web?
When I do an accounting course, everybody starts in about the same place; when I teach our computer course (BCIS), student experience is all over the map. It’s far more challenging.
Now there’s a third reason: Learning outcomes, detailed e-syllabuses and other items in the growing stack of overhead that is being imposed by the educationists are much friendlier to some disciplines than others.
The history faculty can set up learning outcomes, which will require only modest revision as time goes by. CIS will have to cancel classes to keep up with the constantly changing learning outcomes of 100 high tech courses.
Teaching technology is, as they say, a whole new ballgame.
College administrators have yet to accept that and deal with it effectively.
Thomas Friday
Business Administration
Professor, Retired
