keyboarding replaced by game design curriculum


The Coventry School Committee approved curriculum changes at its Tuesday night meeting that will emphasize integration of more math and technology skills for students next year.

In a 3-1 decision – Committee member Thomas A. Hetherman (District 1) voted against – the council adopted four recommendations by the district’s Curriculum Council that, according to Supt. Michael Convery, will have no fiscal impact on schools.

The first two changes will affect the high school programs: Digital Media courses at the high school will be offered as a for-credit course beginning with freshman for technologically advanced students

Staff will restructure career and technical programs at the high school to offer increased mathematical support to students. “The high school has been working on this with the ultimate goal that at the end of three-year programs in some of those fields, kids will be able to access one math-related credit,” said James Erinakes, assistant superintendent.

In the middle school, the committee decided to drop keyboard classes and replace it with a video game creation program. [emphasis added]

“I’m fine with everything except for dropping keyboarding,” said Hetherman, who likened eliminating keyboard instruction with handwriting in schools. “I think we need to focus on the basics.”

Keyboarding skills are currently taught in the eighth grade and skill retention is low, said Convery, because students begin using and forming habits with technology much earlier.

“Culturally there is such a change in what these kids are introduced to early we have to do a better job finding out when kids start using the technology and integrate it when they are first using it,” agreed Erinakes.

“Integrate prior to them learning habits that render the (keyboarding) curriculum useless because learning it in the eighth grade is, I think, useless.”

The New England Institute of Technology in East Greenwich, which offers a similar program, will work with the middle school to develop content and on equipment needs.

“Fiscally you just can’t add something without dropping something else,” said Convery.

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