A Merry Rant

When I registered for my first classes at my new college, one of the prerequisites for pretty much any of the programming courses was "Applied Computer Sciences". It's supposed to be an introductory course covering the basics of Microsoft's Windows operating system and its features and preloaded programs, specifically the office suite.

I took it quite begrudgingly because I have to, and figured it would be an easy class considering I have known how to use a PC ever since I could read. If that were not the case, I would be beyond lost. The professor remarked on the first day that "The course used to be called 'Microsoft Office Suite'". Whoever changed the name has miserably failed their responsibility as an educator and/or administrator.

Somehow, this introductory level course manages to over-complicate the most basic aspects of programs as simple as Microsoft Word. Yes, I know how to copy and paste text. No, I don't want to know the myriad ways you can do it on this version, and I don't care because the next version will be different (and likely have even more ways to do it piled on). I certainly don't want to commit all of this to memory to be tested on. Control+C and Control+V work for me just fine, are faster than the methods described in the textbook and by the instructor, and work on different operating systems (at least Ubuntu). I did not intend take a Microsoft Certification class, least of all one that doesn't give you a certificate at the end.

I am keeping afloat in this class because of my own personal knowledge. I have learned little if anything new, and most of it will be willfully forgotten as soon as the class ends because, as I stated earlier, it will be mostly irrelevant in a few years when a new Microsoft Office Suite comes out. That, and the fact that I will only use Windows when forced to do so.

The copious amount of material my class attempts to cover (at a furious pace) leaves people who are just starting to use computers in the dust after the first day. I'm almost falling behind myself! Several of the people who were new to computers seemed to have stopped attending class. We are expected to know how to use the Internet to download and upload files through some (quite confusing) website service within the first week. Again, if you have never used a computer before, how are you supposed to know how to do that?

I'm not saying the instructor didn't break the whole process down step-by-step, but short of writing the whole process down as she did it (once) there is absolutely no way anyone with a less than photographic memory would remember the process, especially if they're looking at her wondering "What is the address bar?"

I seethe with pain for my classmates who took the class with an honest desire to learn how to use a computer. On the first day I overheard somebody inquiring about how to use the mouse. The professor asked "How many of you have never used a computer before?" Several people raised their hands. You would think after seeing this show of hands, a professor would slow down the course to accommodate the people who are brand new to technology, syllabus aside. Absolutely no consideration was given to the fact that students may have taken the class without ever using a computer before! I sincerely hope it's not because of a regulation about sticking to the syllabus imposed by the university (Or local/federal government). I would rather it be carelessness on the behalf of the instructor. In this case, that would be the lesser or two evils.

The professor was asked by a Mac user, "Will this online service work on my computer?" She responded "Yes, it will work on any operating system." The website requires a plug-in file. It is an .exe file.

(For those of you who don't know why that is pertinent, .exe is "the common filename extension denoting an executable file (a program) in the DOS, OpenVMS, Microsoft Windows, Symbian, and OS/2 operating systems." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EXE) )

I didn't say this aloud because I did not want to make the teacher dislike me at the very beginning of the course. But I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs, "No! It will not work on your mac without downloading a comparable plug-in for MAC OS, and none are linked on the online service!" Maybe there isn't one!

For somebody brand new to computers, this class would consume over twelve hours a week easily, and the student would likely end up with a C despite the effort. With that level of work expected for just one class, it could easily frustrate a student into not attending classes or dropping the course. Who knows, maybe the class could inspire somebody to drop out altogether. It certainly is a temptation for me to drop the class, prerequisites be damned. It truly pains me that some students were denied the opportunity to learn a new skill by over-complication of a very basic subject and a misleading course description.

What is my point? Am I just ranting? I don't rant about something without a solution lately. Here's my point:

This course needs to be two different courses. "Office Suite" should be one, and it can stay well away from me and the prerequisite list. "Introduction to Windows" should be available to students who are new at using PC's, and should be taught at a learning pace. That should also not be a prerequisite, because not everyone uses Windows.

"Well how do they know if a student is ready to take a higher level computer class?"
A placement test.

A few afterthoughts:

I intend on sending the above (edited to sound mechanical and academic, of course) to the department head after I pass the course so they don't think I'm merely complaining about the amount of work I have to do. I hope it saves some people from frustration and abandonment of technology, which is becoming much more than essential in today's world. For now, I'm miserable Mondays and Fridays.

I acknowledge that I made a few verbal cuts against Windows. I am not saying people should abandon their preferred operating system; if Windows works for you then use it and use it well! No matter where you go in the corporate world, they typically use Microsoft's operating systems.

I prefer Linux because it's free and can do anything Windows can do except, and I add this quite ruefully, play most if not all video games (without an emulator, which are abundant). Keep that in mind if you switch!

Can you tell I hated today's class?