How (Should) Students Learn Basic Applications

Yesterday David Warlick sparked an interesting and worthwhile discussion in his 2 Cents Worth blog in his What About Computer Applications post. I recommend reading through the comments for a varied and thoughtful range of responses to David's initial question:

Are computer applications something that should be taught in a class, or something that should be learned by the students, independent of a class curriculum?

David also conducted an informal poll on his blog, but I think the discussion in the comments is far more interesting, and David posted a follow-up today concluding that some combination is probably the consensus, but he then poses the following question:

My nagging question continues to be, are all classroom teachers ready or inclined to teach word processing and spreadsheets at the same time they are responsible for teaching reading, math, social studies, or science? Is it fair to them to ask it?

That is definitely a practical consideration that must be factored in. We are currently reviewing our district's Business and Information Technology curriculum and these discussions are extremely relevant. I am encouraging our entire committee to read the discussion in David's posts.