High school students: are most of your peers this computer-illiterate?

Question

I work for a computer technical support company, so I am used to dealing with computer novices (mostly middle-aged adults and senior citizens.)

A caller I had today, though, surprised me. He was a high school student in a financially-well-off area of the country. When I tried to talk him through installing some very simple software, it became apparent that he had no idea what the meanings were behind these common computer terms:

desktop, mouse, icon, double-click, cursor, Windows, minimize, copy & paste.

For all high school students: is this common in your school? Do you know anyone who fits this description?

DJ · Accepted Answer

In my high school there is usually atleast 1 computer in every class room and we have about 3 or 4 computer labs (min of 25 computers in each). Now most students know the basics of a computer how to double click and what not. the dificulties come when you throw applications at them or simple errors.

But in middle school (7-8 grade) you are required to take a computer course. The course is simple touch typing, Microsoft Word, Excel, and publisher usage.

So to answer your question  in short, No. Most people in my school know the basics of a computer.

Edit; Also I have been in the same school district since kindergarten and even in 1st grade the introduced us to those really old IBM machines. Also throughout Elementary school they would guide us to do research online.

Anonymous · Answer

90% aggainst the law? lol how can something b 90% aggainst the law? Anyways I see no problem with allowing a student to enter grades for a teacher. The student can't excataly change your score on any given assignment and they certainly can't just change your grade from a A to a C just by hitting backscape. The teacher does all the grading himself all the stdent does is copy the scores into his computer. What you need to understand is that the student can not change your score. If the paper you get back has a 100% on it but the computer shows a 60% than you can show the assignment to your teach and tell him it's been misgraded by mistake. The grade book system is more complex than simply displaying a grade that can be easily changed by hitting backspce and then entering a different letter. It will take the grades from various tests and assigmnets then compute the total score based on the grading system your teacher has already programed into it. As for an invasion of privacy, you might have a point. If it bothers you that another student is able to see your grade than you can always tell your teacher that.

Anonymous · Answer

I have seen a few posters on this site that would fit a description similar to that - mind you they might only be 12 or 13.

Anonymous · Answer

i didn't think it was possible for people of my generation to be that stupid with computers...
but i have two computer classes, and they know about how much i did when i was 6.. 
it's really sad.

iLike_Speed · Answer

I don't think I could name a friend I have or anyone in my school that doesn't know that stuff.

High school students: are most of your peers this computer-illiterate?

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