Ask HN: What to teach in undergrad Intro to Tech course?

2 points by mashmac2 11 years ago | 2 comments

I'm teaching an undergraduate Intro to Technology course which is required for all students at my university. I've been given relatively free reign over the content - It just needs to be relevant to the students and help them prepare for the rest of their schooling and future careers.

What would you include?

Right now the course involves a lot of Microsoft Office and typing skills, but I'd like to provide more value than just Office skills. I've been considering basic programming, video production, or computer hardware in addition to discussions about ethics in technology, ergonomics, technology addiction, and current events. What are your thoughts?

tjr 11 years ago |

I've taught a course like that. I think your topic ideas sound good.

For the programming component, maybe look at Scratch, or perhaps do some scripting with Microsoft Office. Mobile (iOS, Android) development might be even more interesting to the students, though covering enough material in such a course to really have them do that on their own is likely implausible. You could perhaps have a mobile project already made, and, during class, show them roughly how it works, and solicit ideas on things to change -- then rebuild and run it again.

I'd almost certainly cover privacy-related topics, both technological and philosophical. You may not convince anyone to care about privacy, but at least help inform them.

It could be interesting to bring in some old computer systems, either for real or emulated, and demonstrate how things in decades gone by worked.

jhwhite 11 years ago |

If I were teaching an Intro to Tech course I'd go over more of the basics of what you would find in A+ and Network+ certifications.

The basics of a computer, what the pieces are, how they interact. The basics of networking, the TCP/IP stack, how networks work. I wouldn't go into router protocols or anything.