Computer Literacy as Ideology

The quotes presented above show that students’ resistance to the notion of a computerized future is often confused and contradictory, and their reactions to their own experiences with school computing are often similar. In some cases, however, it has crystallized into a firm anti-computing position. The first type of response is illustrated by this exchange:

Interviewer: You say you are going to go into a business career. Do you expect to use computers in the future?

Student #13: No, I didn’t like my computer course.

Interviewer: No?

Student #13: No, especially the first time. I had a lot of trouble in the first half.

Interviewer: So you are not that keen, then really, on using them in the future?

Student #13: Well, depends on what it is for. If it’s, like for work, no. This is fun. I don’t mind typing in stuff and stuff like that but when it comes to learning about the computer I don’t really...

Interviewer: So you don’t really care how it works or whatever.

Student #13: No.

Interviewer: You just want it to be easy to use.

Student #13: Yeah.

Interviewer: Do you think you will take any more computer courses or...?

Student #13: Probably. I’ll probably have to. I’m working towards a business certificate, so, I think I gotta have a Grade 11 Computer course. Whether I want to or not.

Interviewer: I see. so you think it’s pretty well a requirement of the...

Student #13: Yeah.

Interviewer: Yeah, okay. Well, aside from taking actual computer courses, would you like to use them, sort of like you did here in this class? As just, sort of, one feature of the course?

Student #13: Yeah. That would be cool.

Here we encounter a young woman in a virtual maelstrom of conflicting experience and emotions. Her introductory computer-studies course failed to indoctrinate her, and in fact had the opposite effect of putting her off computer use. By contrast, the more "casual" use of computers in her Family Studies course was viewed as fun. And, despite her avowed distaste for serious computer use, she feels trapped by her desire for a business career: "I gotta have a Grade 11 computer course. Whether I want to or not." She may be correct. She may have no right to aspire to a business career without developing computer expertise. What other aspects of her education are being sacrificed to this necessity, however?