Essential Computer Skills for a High School Student (original) (raw)
Essential Computer Skills for a High School Student
Today's technology continuously improves our lives, whether it's related to personal, business, or educational matters. For most people, technology is already an integral part of their lives and cannot finish a day's task without it. This promotes the notion that, in general, people need to learn about the most common technology that they come face-to-face with - computers.
Most people agree that there is a need for the younger generation to understand how computers work for them. However, there is still a slight disconnect as to what computer skills are needed to be enforced on high school students and what they need to master to ensure survival once they are out on their own.
There are still questions and comparison about measuring a high school students competency or computer skills. Can a student be considered well-versed in computers if they can play computer games, chat online, or surf the internet? Is it necessary to have high school students learn how to operate a word processor, a spreadsheet, or a presentation creator? What are the sufficient skills needed for high school students to prepare them in entering college or the workplace?
In some instances, the computer skills that high school students need to master are misconstrued, and that learning how to use the computer in a productive manner is often neglected in comparison to knowing how to use a computer for internet and social purposes. Only a minor number of high school students know how to use computers for their projects, presentations, and computation. Students need to learn how to be more computer literate in terms of the latter; because this is what they'll be doing most of time once they graduate high school. Never mind the work or career that they will engage in because being having computer skills for productivity is what matter most.
It's essential for high school students to master the following computer skills:
File Maintenance and Organization - saving files AND knowing how and where to store them is vital. It includes categorizing files into different folders or criteria (depending on the user.) All organizations from all industries are very keen into file maintenance and organization, and being a master of this skill does not require a student to have an advanced subject in Math or Science.
Using the Internet for Research - aside from social networking and e-mail, the internet can also be a very good source for a variety of information. For students, this will help them find information that they may not find in their local libraries, and maybe, get well versed on other topics that are not usually on their school books.
Produce a Neat and Error-Free Document - learning how to use word processors, such as Microsoft Word, also helps students in creating a more presentable essay or term paper. Word processors also have tools, such as the Spelling and Grammar Checker, to help clear errors on their documents. Computational tools, such as Microsoft Excel, also aids in data gathering and computation. Learning how to use computational tools also lessens the error of doing manual computation and tabulation. " Creating a Presentation - not all projects are submitted in a form of a document. There will be times where a teacher may require a student to present in front of the class or a panel. Knowing how to create a presentation will help students in developing them for their future jobs as well.
Basic Troubleshooting - a computer is a machine, and may need maintenance from time to time. Computer literacy can also be measured in the student's knowledge on how to keep their computers running in the most basic sense. Knowing what to do if the computer doesn't turn on does not require Einstein's brain to do basic troubleshooting - is the computer properly plugged on?
In an essence, having high school students master the above-mentioned computer skills will definitely give them an edge once they set foot to either the college or to their workplace. It doesn't require for them to learn every nook and cranny of a computer, but learning how to utilize its main purpose will definitely help them survive in the future.