Comments on: College Courses & IT Skills http://lonesysadmin.net/2007/10/20/college-courses-it-skills/ im in ur data centrz patchin ur serverz Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:08:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: just jon http://lonesysadmin.net/2007/10/20/college-courses-it-skills/#comment-48461 just jon Mon, 22 Oct 2007 21:02:10 +0000 http://lonesysadmin.net/2007/10/20/college-courses-it-skills/#comment-48461 Of course, I'll argue that University-level CS departments aren't "better" than Tech Colleges, but that they aren't for the same purpose. University classes should not teach you the particulars of any given operating system or programming language, they should teach about the decisions and theories behind how those things work.. You'll also get the argument out of me that most of what business schools teach is not university-level theory and concepts, it's "how to use Microsoft products 101." (Actually, given the number of times Word is used as a page layout program, or Excel is called a "database," maybe that should be "mis-use." :)) It's hard to make a concrete argument out of because it's very hard to draw the lines, but sometimes it feels to me like any time you move away from drawing things out on paper and in to using any particular product, you're running the risk of making the class more about a particular product than a concept. Certainly any time you have to spend several hours using Excel to cut and paste values from one spreadsheet to another as "homework" for a class, I think we've missed the point. jon Of course, I’ll argue that University-level CS departments aren’t “better” than Tech Colleges, but that they aren’t for the same purpose. University classes should not teach you the particulars of any given operating system or programming language, they should teach about the decisions and theories behind how those things work..

You’ll also get the argument out of me that most of what business schools teach is not university-level theory and concepts, it’s “how to use Microsoft products 101.” (Actually, given the number of times Word is used as a page layout program, or Excel is called a “database,” maybe that should be “mis-use.” :))

It’s hard to make a concrete argument out of because it’s very hard to draw the lines, but sometimes it feels to me like any time you move away from drawing things out on paper and in to using any particular product, you’re running the risk of making the class more about a particular product than a concept.

Certainly any time you have to spend several hours using Excel to cut and paste values from one spreadsheet to another as “homework” for a class, I think we’ve missed the point.

jon

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