Computer Course Requirement Change Aimed to Help Senior Mad Dash

To help seniors in their mad dash to fill requirements in order to graduate, Dedham High School will change its yearlong computer technology class to a pair of semester courses during a student’s freshman and sophomore years.

The Dedham School Committee endorsed the plan at a meeting Wednesday evening.

“The key is to get them early on as freshman, that way they apply these skills in grades 10, 11 and 12,” said computer teacher Dan Rouse. “It’s important to get them earlier on.”

The change will affect incoming freshman in the fall.

“Originally I questioned, but after your presentation and a little research, I think I support leaving it as a requirement,” said School Committee member Dimitria Sullivan.

This year the school piloted teaching the course both in the classroom for one set of students and online-only for another set to help students who couldn’t fit the traditional course into their schedules.

The results were the same across the board, and online students displayed a higher level of self-initiative and organization, said Don Langenhorst, the district’s technology director. The comparison is the topic of Langenhorst’s doctoral dissertation.

Rouse predicted that with a computer course in their early years, students should perform better as upperclassmen.

Currently, the course has students perfect resumes and cover letters, research software and hardware products, use databases for research, and trains them on Internet safety and digital intellectual property.

“[We] give our students practice solving complex, real-world problems that we think will give them a competitive advantage by the time they leave the high school,” Rouse said.