Computers are a constant presence in the lives of most students, but few know about their inner workings, or how a network functions, and many have not thought much about the ethical dilemmas that the Web world has wrought.
That's where Pirmann's course, required for all ninth graders, comes in.
The Springfield Township district is the first in Pennsylvania to mandate that students take a computer science course as a graduation requirement, Pirmann said.
"It takes the approach [that] this is what you need to know to live in the 21st century."
School Board President Mal Gran said he saw the course as "one that would provide tremendous opportunities for kids."
The binary numbers lesson, part of a unit on problem solving, is one example.
"There are so many thinking skills involved that have such a wider application than simply computer science," Gran said. "This is the kind of thinking I want all of our teachers to try and bring out of our kids."
Before this year, Springfield had required students to take a course in information technology. "It was essentially a class in [how to use] Microsoft Office" applications, Pirmann said, something they now come to school knowing.
At Pirmann's urging, the district switched to a course modeled on one designed by the Computer Science Teachers Association, a national group. Pirmann heads a regional chapter.
The course combines factual information about computers with units on logical thinking and problem solving, and includes an introduction to programming and Web design. Another thread throughout: the ethics of computer use, including privacy issues and hacking.
In one class, for example, Pirmann compared trying to access someone's computer files without permission to "walking down the street, trying to open the door to every house."
"At what point do you cross the line" of legality? she asked her students.
"When you open the door and go in," one answered.
