The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2007: §2313    Home    Papers/Indices    prev (§2312)    Next (§2314)
Fri, Nov 2, 10:30 - 10:55, Ellwood 1     Paper (refereed)
Recommended Citation: Bennett, J F and P A Cooper.  Brains, Brawn and Bratwurst.  In The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2007, v 24 (Pittsburgh): §2313. ISSN: 1542-7382.
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Brains, Brawn and Bratwurst

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Refereed6 pages
Judith F. Bennett    [a1] [a2]
Computer Science
Sam Houston State University    [u1] [u2]
Huntsville, Texas, USA    [c1] [c2]

Peter A. Cooper    [a1] [a2]
Computer Science
Sam Houston State University    [u1] [u2]
Huntsville, Texas, USA    [c1] [c2]

Ignorance of technology is safe in simple societies, where the technology is simple and doesn’t require great intelligence to manage, where it is relatively static and so skills once learned, and understanding once gained can be applied for a lifetime, where technology is not foundational to living and where such ignorance does not exact a heavy toll. As members of a technology-driven society, we must function on a level that is more than just getting out of bed and going to a job, coming home, watching TV, playing with the dog or kids, eating supper and going to bed. We are constantly faced with how to deal with the technology in our lives, an existence that is totally dependent on what happens in the digital world. Furthermore, the technology we face today is not the technology we will face tomorrow. Change is the only constant, and the pace of change is increasing. Traditional approaches to computer literacy typically address either the ‘brains’ approach, teaching the underlying processes involved in modern technology systems, or the ‘brawn’ approach, where functional skills are emphasized without a clear understanding of why things work that way. What is needed is a more integrated approach that connects the underlying processes with the functional competencies in such a way as to be useful in solving real world problems. This is ‘bratwurst.’

Keywords: computer literacy, computer curriculum, teaching methods

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