Re: more on broken schools (Was: Re: Schneier, Data and Goliath: no hope for privacy)

Salvador Mirzo <smirzo@example.com> wrote or quoted:

You know what I think?  I believe the problem is more on the teachers.

  I've got this notion that someone's got to level up from
  "user" to "power user" before they cut their teeth on
  programming. The "power user" is savvy with the command
  line, text editors, and system tools and programs.

  But these days, I'm seeing folks in my programming classes
  who don't have all the prerequisites. I don't buy that people
  today are inherently less sharp than before. They just need
  to be schooled in what they need to know. If someone were to
  break down why the command line and such are crucial /and teach
  them/, they could pick it up. Maybe we're barking up the wrong
  tree assuming people naturally learn this stuff nowadays.

  In my classes, we roll with Microsoft®-Windows as the operating
  system, and here's the know-how that's required to enter the class:

  Starting and Ending a Class Session

- Turning on the computer and monitor if necessary

- Logging into the computer

- Logging out and shutting down


  Characters

- Knowledge of special character names like curly brace "{" or
  backslash "\"


  Keyboard

- Familiarity with key names such as "Enter key", "Shift key",
  "Function key F5", etc.

- Understanding the function of commonly used keys

- Inputting special characters like curly brace "{" or
  backslash "\" (this is more difficult with the German
  keyboard!)

- Comprehending keyboard notations like "Ctrl-C" and their
  spoken equivalents


  Text Fields

- Recognizing text fields on screen

- Understanding "focus" and how to give/remove it from a text
  field

- Copying text to/from the clipboard

- Using "Ctrl-A" to select all text

- Utilizing "Ctrl-C", "Ctrl-X", and "Ctrl-V" for clipboard
  operations

- Applying the "input replaces selection" principle

- Moving the cursor in a text field (using arrow keys and keys
  like "Home")

- (Recommended) Selecting text by moving the cursor while
  holding Shift


Windows

- Identifying windows on screen

- Resizing, repositioning, maximizing, minimizing, and closing
  windows

- Bringing a window to the foreground among multiple open
  windows


Context Menus

- Understanding the term "context menu"

- Recognizing context menus on screen

- Opening and using context menus for various elements (e.g.,
  icons, backgrounds)


Programs

- Understanding what a program is

- Launching programs


Processes

- Understanding what a process is

- Terminating processes

- Interacting with dialog boxes

- Knowing the concept of a process's "current directory"


Program Menus

- Familiarity with the term "program menu"

- Recognizing program menus on screen

- Using program menus


Web Browsers

- Launching a browser

- Displaying web pages by entering their URI

- Using hyperlinks

- Searching for text within a web page

- Using a web search engine


File Systems

- Understanding concepts of "folders" ("directories") and
  "files" and their relationships

- Comprehending terms like "(full) path(name) of a file or
  folder" and "file extension"


Text Editors

- Understanding what a text editor is

- Knowing how to launch a text editor (e.g., Windows Notepad)

- Opening, editing, and saving text files with specific names,
  locations, and encodings

- Creating new text files


File Explorer

- Identifying the File Explorer (formerly "Windows Explorer")

- Recognizing File Explorer windows

- Launching File Explorer

- Determining or changing the current directory in a File
  Explorer window

- Using the navigation pane, content pane, and address bar

- Locating a folder or file with a given pathname

- Creating new empty text files or folders


Additional Skills for Java, C, or C++ Courses, not for Python Courses

- Configuring File Explorer to display file extensions

- Understanding "Open" and "Edit" options in file context menus

- Using folder or file icon context menus

- Renaming, deleting, copying, or moving folders and files

- Copying folder or file pathnames to the clipboard or a text field