Gaps Recognised in High School Curriculum
Otago Polytechnic Department of Information and Technology lecturer Terry Morris hopes the release of his new book ‘Control Technology for Schools’ will aid teachers in preparing high school students for further study in technology.
Head of Department of Information Technology Lesley Smith said: “We have concerns around gaps in the secondary school curriculum and this is one of several ways we are trying to meet that need. We need to get secondary school students up to speed on what we would call real computing.”
‘Control Technology for Schools’ is a student workbook for PicAxe focused control technology. It presents a balanced approach to combing the key topics of logic and engineering and the exit skills are applicable to systems lending themselves to electronic control such as a weather station, a traffic counter and a coin sorter. The book meets the criteria for a number of unit and achievement standards.
Mr Morris said: “What I’m hoping will come out of this book is that the Polytechnic will be in a position to help students and teachers both locally and across the country by bringing them up to scratch with what this kind of technology is about and how it might be facilitated in the classroom.”
All are welcome to attend the book launch on 31 July at Otago Polytechnic where Mr Morris will be available to answer any questions while demonstrating some of the relevant systems and software.
“The idea is to get a change in education; even if it just inspires somebody to write something better then it’s served its purpose. It’s not going to sell like Harry Potter that’s for sure but it’s a step in the right direction for technology,” Mr Morris said.