Revision as of 08:33, 5 February 2013

Link to Modules

Class Proposal: "Living in a Technology World"

This is a draft proposal for the class, "Living in a Technology World" (title suggested by Darren - User:Dheiber).

The idea for this class came from me, Joseph Herbert (User:Jwmh).

The basic premises are as follows: - What separates a "computer person" from a "non-computer person"? (note: these are usually self-identified)

Volume I: Familiarization with the interface

[or, "Getting to know the basics"]

This should entail only the *bare necessities* for operating a computer:

physical care - heat=bad, liquid=bad, grounded surge protector = good, etc. (is this really "necessary"?)
poweron / login / poweroff
using the keyboard and mouse
understanding the folders, files, and applications

Note that this doesn't cover the use of any specific applications (such as a web browser or a word processor), but rather familiarization w/ the interface as a whole.

- NB: currently this below content seems only applicable to the WIMP / Desktop model. Is this appropriate? (initial instinct is to respond, "yes, and necessary, at least in present-day").

However, how do we expand / generalize for smartphones? ... The usual case for teaching abstractions is, Start with specific cases, then the rest (generalized) can follow. So may not be possible to teach 'only' the abstract (which we knew as soon as we started talking about UI conventions:windows/menus/etc, didn't we?).

Hardware

Module: power/electric/heat (howto turn on; do's/don'ts)
Module: hooking up a computer
Module: hardware interface (mouse and keyboard)
- get Mac keyboard/mouse also

Software (UI)

Module: (UI) Login screen
Module: UI desktop (environment - default at login)

windows
menus
status bar

Volume II - Beyond the Basics: Knowing How to Explore

(even if you don't know what you're looking for)

[or, "Section 2: Getting savvy"]

Okay, this is where it gets tricky, and I'm not sure what it Section 2 vs Section 3.

How do you know what to look for?
How do you go about finding it?
- what are we even talking about; what does "it" cover here?
Difference between "exploring" vs "changing"
How do you make changes?
- How do you do so safely?

Section 3: Getting savvy - making changes

um. basics of making changes?

right-clicking fits in here somewhere

locating & changing -- settings (OS) + settings (applications)

Volume III - How to deal with unexpected behavior

[or, Section 4: solving problems; basic 'troubleshooting']

(assuming something is not actually 'broken' as req's fixing by a technician..(?)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==Link to Modules==
+=Link to Modules=
-Hardware
+==Class Proposal: "Living in a Technology World"==
+This is a draft proposal for the class, "Living in a Technology World"
+(title suggested by Darren - [[User:Dheiber]]).
+The idea for this class came from me, Joseph Herbert ([[User:Jwmh]]).
+The basic premises are as follows:
+- What separates a "computer person" from a "non-computer person"?  (note: these are usually self-identified)
+[[Category: Classes]]
+[[Category: Education]]
+==Volume I: Familiarization with the interface==
+===[or, "Getting to know the basics"]===
+This should entail only the *bare necessities* for operating a computer:
+* physical care - heat=bad, liquid=bad, grounded surge protector = good, etc.  (is this really "necessary"?)
+* poweron / login / poweroff
+* using the keyboard and mouse
+* understanding the folders, files, and applications
+Note that this doesn't cover the use of any specific applications (such as a web browser or a word processor), but rather familiarization w/ the interface as a whole.
+** NB: currently this below content seems only applicable to the WIMP / Desktop model.  Is this appropriate? (initial instinct is to respond, "yes, and necessary, at least in present-day").
+However, how do we expand / generalize for smartphones?
+... The usual case for teaching abstractions is, Start with specific cases, then the rest (generalized) can follow.
+So may not be possible to teach 'only' the abstract (which we knew as soon as we started talking about UI conventions:windows/menus/etc, didn't we?).
+====Hardware====
 <ol>
 <li>Module: [[/Module:electric|power/electric/heat (howto turn on; do's/don'ts)]]</li>
@@ Line 10: / Line 39: @@
-Software (UI)
+====Software (UI)====
 <ol>
 <li>[[/Module:UI_login_screen|Module: (UI) Login screen]]</li>
@@ Line 20: / Line 49: @@
 Module 7: Extras: Status bars, Workspaces ("a second window to look thru"??)
 (Interacting w/ the computer)
-==Class Proposal: "Living in a Technology World"==
+Parts of a UI:
-This is a draft proposal for the class, "Living in a Technology World"
+* windows
-(title suggested by Darren - [[User:Dheiber]]).
+* menus
+* status bar
-The idea for this class came from me, Joseph Herbert ([[User:Jwmh]]).
-The basic premises are as follows:
+==Volume II - Beyond the Basics: Knowing How to Explore==
-- What separates a "computer person" from a "non-computer person"?  (note: these are usually self-identified)
+(even if you don't know what you're looking for)
+===[or, "Section 2: Getting savvy"]===
-[[Category: Classes]]
-[[Category: Education]]
-** NB: currently this below content seems only applicable to the WIMP / Desktop model.  Is this appropriate? (initial instinct is to respond, "yes, and necessary, at least in present-day").
-However, how do we expand / generalize for smartphones?
-... The usual case for teaching abstractions is, Start with specific cases, then the rest (generalized) can follow.
-So may not be possible to teach 'only' the abstract (which we knew as soon as we started talking about UI conventions:windows/menus/etc, didn't we?).
-===Section 1: Getting to know the basics===
-This should entail only the *bare necessities* for operating a computer:
-* physical care - heat=bad, liquid=bad, grounded surge protector = good, etc.  (is this really "necessary"?)
-* poweron / login / poweroff
-* using the keyboard and mouse
-* understanding the folders, files, and applications
-Note that this doesn't cover the use of any specific applications (such as a web browser or a word processor).
-===Section 2: Getting savvy===
 Okay, this is where it gets tricky, and I'm not sure what it Section 2 vs Section 3.
@@ Line 61: / Line 71: @@
 ** How do you do so safely?
-??===Section 3: Getting savvy - making changes===
+===Section 3: Getting savvy - making changes===
 um. basics of making changes?
 right-clicking fits in here somewhere
-Parts of a UI:
-* windows
-* menus
-* status bar
 * locating & changing -- settings (OS) + settings (applications)
-===Section 4: How to deal with unexpected behavior; solving problems; basic 'troubleshooting' (assuming something is not actually 'broken' as req's fixing by a technician..(?)??)===
+==Volume III - How to deal with unexpected behavior==
+===[or, Section 4: solving problems; basic 'troubleshooting']===
+(assuming something is not actually 'broken' as req's fixing by a technician..(?)

Difference between revisions of "User:Jwmh/Class Drafts"