DACS General Meeting by Patrick Libert Ah, the first day of school. Let’s see, we have to get our kids some pens and pencils, a couple of notebooks, an eraser. That should do it. Whoa! We’re in the twenty-first century now and our child would be totally unprepared for the classroom with only those supplies. DACS’ August presentation showed us what we REALLY need for today’s education. This program should be mandatory for any parent and/or child preparing for the school year, be it for kindergarden or the first year of High School. Mark your calendars because it will probably be presented again next year. Sean seamlessly guided us through the presentation. He emphasized that the first approach is to check with the school as to what software and computers are used in the classroom. Once that is known, there are sources where discounted software and hardware can be bought for educational purposes. OpenSource software is also a free alternative to many applications; don’t overlook that possibility. Children will be taught to make presentations, to work with photo editing software and even to work with MIDI by the time they reach middle school. There will be specific requirements for hardware as the education progresses from primary school into college. By the freshman year of high school, it is likely that a laptop would be a good investment if not specifically required by the curriculum. Many colleges will certainly require it. Cellphones, PDA’s and music players may not be allowed in many schools unless the latter two are required for course work. It is important to check with the school on these specific rules. The presentation, prepared by Rob and embellished and presented by Sean, was a learning experience for me and I am well past school age. If only I could have had those tools when I was slaving to earn my degree in Chemistry! DACS must schedule this presentation annually before schools open and alert the community. I rate it a 9 out of 10! .
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