As the world begins to move to an online platform, knowing how to operate and effectively use technology is becoming more important then ever, but, are schools doing enough to prepare student for this task?
“I know some basic stuff but I don’t really have any in depth knowledge of how like Microsoft programs work and how that could be utilized, and all of the knowledge isn’t really from school it was more from just like life,” senior Isabel Krengel said.
Krengel mentions that in a previous school district she was in there where more technological requirements for students.
“I remember in elementary school they taught us how to type and how to use the basic programs, we worked a lot on power point and Microsoft and we where required to take a computer class in my old middle school,” Krengel said.
Krengel also mentions that there is definitely room for improvement in what schools are teaching.
“I think things like quick typing, basic knowledge of programs like Microsoft, and just like how to get around the internet,” Krengel said. “Also like how to research and find stuff on the web efficiently.”
School counselor Courtney Tarbox thinks one of the most important things a student can learn is email etiquette.
“Email etiquette is really important, because if students understand how to properly write a professional emai, summarize it well, and use all of the appropriate greetings, I really think that’s important because its teaching them how to utilize technology and communication through tech in an efficient and professional way,” Tarbox said.
Learning tech skills early on can also be very beneficial to students later on in life.
“It’s all about knowing how to utilize the internet, just using Google Docs and Microsoft to practice and get comfortable with them, because there’s always gonna be some type of technology platform in the industry and its important to know it well to be able to use it correctly,” Tarbox said.
Tarbox says that tech skills should be primarily learned through students self initiative, as the school doesn’t want to take away space for electives in students schedules. “There’s actually so many recourses available online, I’ve seen like typing classes, college prep blogs, and little learning modules, also bigfuture.org, which is run by college board. And all of those sites are really good and give students a run down of what they need to know going into the future,” Tarbox said.
