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Seeing Through Computers Introduction The essay, written by Ms. Sherry Turkle, is an argumentative one asking that computer literacy education in schools today should include teaching what is found inside the computer, and not only to be contented with the teaching of its applications. Students must know at least what a computer is made of and how it works in the most basic fashion, in order that students should know that man created computers and, therefore, man still has the ultimate control over them. Thesis Statement There is a need to know about how a computer functions and computes, in order to promote creative thinking and problem solving faculties in students today.
Analysis The first point that the author would like to drive home is that any person who uses a computer, even just a personal computer, should be able to develop an empowering relationship with it. In the website of The American Prospect Online where the article can be found, the empowering relationship that can be developed with a computer means that one has control over its functions and capabilities, and therefore, this requires an understanding of how it works and does its job. This is a task which has been overlooked in recent times by the educational system, and teaching computers in school has been reduced to teaching how to operate an appliance; that is, only applications such as navigation, music and interaction are being taught at present. Therefore people are said to be slaves of the computer. If there are problems with the computer, one can no longer solve them, but is compelled to bring the unit to people who understand them more. What the author is trying to drive home in the early part of the essay is true.
Many people have become slaves to their computers, such that if they experience crashes or any other kinds of trouble, they are totally lost and confused. A basic knowledge of the hardware in a computer will enable the user to be able to detect trouble, perhaps by using the diagnostics of the computer itself, thus allowing for the continued usage and enjoyment by its owner. Knowing precisely how it works will add to the pleasure of the user as he can try out the myriad number of applications and functions as the situation warrants it. As for those who worry that knowing something about the calculative prowess of computers will turn people into linear thinkers, knowing the hardware of computers will not just turn people into linear thinkers but into creative thinkers as well.
The creativity will lie in that people who know how computers compute can think about solving problems using their computers in different ways. Thus, the problem-solving capabilities of users are enhanced when they understand how a computer works. In the essay, Ms. Turkle writes about Tim, a 13 -year old boy with whom she plays Sim Life with. Tim apparently is a master of the game itself, and has the ability to score many points in one sitting, but he does not understand the algorithm behind the games software. Knowing the algorithm behind any software increases ones understanding of the application of the program itself, and creates thought-provoking questions in ones mind as well.
If Tim knew what the algorithm was behind Sim Life, he would have probably looked for more ways in which to play the game and achieved his desired objectives. Another mistake computer education today is doing is that it allows students to simulate what would otherwise require the closer scrutiny of such using ones senses. The author deplores the use of computers to simulate laboratory experiments and for tasks that require creativity, such as drawing and drafting. How can a student truly understand the power of a magnet when it picks up iron fillings onscreen? The student will miss being able to touch the fillings, touch the magnets surface, and touch the fillings when they are stuck to the magnets surface. Physical presence is needed in these types of investigations, and those who formulate the curricula for computer education should be able to distinguish what needs examination by the senses and what does not.
The ultimate disease, the author says, is when too much simulation of real life events leads to detachment from real life. The needed assault on the senses that influences learning is gone, and thus there is a loss of the personal touch in education. Conclusion The author made very valid points in her essay. Computer education has to be rewritten such that some sort of compromise between teaching applications and teaching the algorithms and the hardware is reached. The degree of the balance of the content will perhaps depend on the students ages and learning capabilities. One cannot teach the complicated algorithm of games to preschool children.
However, a balance between the two opposed areas of computer education will not only give the students an understanding of how computers function, but will assist them in the development of their life skills such as coping with reality and being able to analyze and solve problems on their own by thinking creatively. Work Cited Turkle, Sherry. (1997). Seeing Through Computers. Date Accessed 27 Aug 2007 at.
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