| Sometimes a news or opinion item’s importance grows over time. One such item for me is “Why Your Boss is Wrong About You.” It appeared last week in the New York Times and online at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/opinion/02culbert.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1299589476-9Ar8SlJlzUw4pKYtA5LBbQ. Evaluating employees is more complicated and less fair than people would like to believe. Author Samuel Culbert writes about the problems of relying on the common performance review. He has “examined scores of empirical studies since the early 1980s and have not found convincing evidence that performance reviews are fair, accurate or consistent across managers, or that they improve organizational effectiveness.” It might help for bosses to realize that they are reviewing their own performance as well as that of the employee. Mr. Culbert suggests collaboration between boss and employee to make real progress. It makes good sense. Read his article for details. Four related, yet distinct, areas of technology in education are information technology, educational technology, information literacy, and computer science. - Information technology (IT) includes network and servers and computer hardware and software maintenance and repair.
- Educational technology applies technologies and methods to improve teaching and student learning.
- Information literacy is “the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand” (from National Forum on Information Literacy).
- The academic study of Computer science is explained below.
Computer Science concepts are important for the development of our children. Computer science goes beyond using technology. It goes beyond keyboarding or using applications such as word processors, spreadsheets or databases. It goes beyond using computers to enhance learning in other academic disciplines (just having computers in the school does not teach students the fundamentals of computer science). Thinking that computer science is the same as technology is like thinking that English is the same as using books, or that Science is the same as using laboratory equipment. An official description (from the Association for Computing Machinery) is “Computer science is the study of computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, their hardware and software designs, their applications, and their impact on society.” This is a good description that requires knowledge of the concepts. It may be more helpful to know benefits for students. Students who study computer science learn a number of vital skills that can be transferred to any subject area and contribute significantly to their performance as professionals: - Problem solving skills: Problem definition, solution design, implementation, testing, revision; Creativity, perseverance, teamwork
- Design skills: Designing and working to specifications
- Logic and reasoning: The ability to analyze a problem and break it down into a logical sequence of steps
- Computational thinking: Drawing on fundamental concepts in computer science to analyze and solve problems; Thinking at multiple levels of abstraction.
Computer Science Lures is a Computer Science Education Week
meeting of the
Michigan Computer Science Teachers Association on
Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at 7pm
at
Detroit Country Day School
22305 West Thirteen Mile Road
Beverly Hills, MI 48025 Directions: Park in the lot to the right from the main driveway. Come in the main entrance and follow MiCSTA signs. Planned Topics: - CS Ed Week happenings and ideas
- Starting from Scratch and/or Alice
- Robotics
- A High School Sequence:
Multi-Media and Programming or
Programming and Design for the Web;
Intermediate Programming and Data Structures;
Advanced Placement (AB class with A test) - Ideas from the Group
To join the Webex (both audio and video planned), email Rich Lamb at rlamb [at] cranbrook [dot] edu.
Get with the program! Friendly conversations can have cognitive benefits, according to research recently published by Michigan Today online at http://michigantoday.umich.edu/story.php?id=7900. Oscar Ybarra, lead researcher for the study at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, published results in the Social Psychological and Personality Science journal. Brief friendly social interactions provide a short term boost in cognitive tasks using executive brain functions. Given the competitive context today’s economic situation has fostered in organizations, the final comment is especially applicable. Note that “in competitive contexts that occur in some organizations, be aware that you may inadvertently fail to support your cognitive flexibility and focus.” I like to patronize locally owned businesses. Items retailers sell are likely to be different than what is available from the big national chains, so patronizing local businesses can promote a variety of items being available. Other local businesses provide services tuned to the needs of the area. I find that they often provide better service at good prices. Locally owned businesses deliver or they do not survive. Plus, money they take in tends to stay in the area. King’s Garage is a local business in Farmington (Michigan) that has been serving my automobile repair needs for many years. I keep cars for a long time, so a good service garage is important to me. King’s provides estimates and guarantees your cost will not exceed the estimate without first getting your approval. They check over the car while estimating and give you options if they find additional items, especially when safety is involved. The focus is always on what is best for the customer. If you need a ride to your home or office when leaving or picking up your car, they will take care of that. I have had them weld a part for me when one was not available otherwise for a reasonable price. They installed a rebuilt engine that is still going 160 thousand miles later. They have good pricing, too. Your mileage may vary, as they say, but I like doing business with King’s Garage (http://www.kingsgarageautorepair.com/). | |
