Schoolchildren in New South Wales are struggling with basic computer skills
Elementary school students in the Australian state of New South Wales may lack basic computer skills, even though they have been using digital devices from an early age. Anabela Malpique, a senior lecturer in education at Edith Cowan University, said that students need targeted instruction in typing and computer skills, according to ABC News Australia.
According to Malpique, children need to develop the ability to type automatically. Otherwise, they will waste their attention searching for letters rather than formulating their own thoughts. She noted that basic computer skills should be taught just as directly as reading, writing, and math.
Emily Lockwood, a mother of two, said that when she was in elementary school, students were taught separately how to type, create presentations, and save files. Now, however, teachers are expected to integrate digital learning into various subjects, including history, science, and English. She said that when her children first started typing on a computer, the skill did not come naturally to them.
Read more breaking news on the UA.News Telegram channel.
Research cited by ABC News Australia shows that elementary school students write better by hand than on a computer. Malpike explained this by noting that children have more experience writing by hand. At the same time, she noted that there is insufficient research on the development of computer-based writing skills at various stages of education.
Fifth-grade students take the computer-based version of the NAPLAN national assessment. The tests for 5th, 7th, and 9th grades were converted to a digital format in 2022, while 3rd-grade students continue to take handwritten tests. New South Wales Minister of Education and Early Learning, Pru Carr, stated that the computerized format may affect writing scores and asked the federal Department of Education to consider reverting the writing portion of NAPLAN to a pen-and-paper format for all grade levels.
More than 77% of third-grade students this year received a “strong” or “exceeds expectations” rating in writing. In fifth grade, this figure was 67%, and in ninth grade, it was just over 61%. Malpique added that, according to two national surveys she conducted, teachers devote more time and attention to teaching writing on paper due to a lack of training in teaching writing on a computer or due to limited resources at schools.
