"Computer education" is twofold, referring both to the learning of computer hardware, software, functions and uses, and adapting computer technology to non-computer-related subjects. The ubiquity of computer technology makes it advantageous, if not necessary, for individuals to learn how to operate them. As the digital age advances, computers will only grow in importance. Computer education is not only for academics or students; ordinary citizens can derive practical, day-to-day benefits from computer education as well.
Traditional pedagogical methods vary widely and depend largely on the setting and the instructor. Conventional methods, at least at the secondary or post-secondary level, are based around an individual teacher in a classroom giving lectures. The instructor may draw on supplementary materials such as handouts or visual aids, but the bulk of the educational content is communicated orally, without reliance on technology. Such methodology required the use of a physical classroom, where students and teacher congregate.
Computers can aid in the educational experience by providing additional teaching resources on which to draw and automating certain processes. For example, some educational institutions now use detailed, state-of-the-art computer simulations of animal dissection in lieu of actual dissection. Such methods can be less expensive and more efficient. Computers can also improve communication among students and between students and instructors. Educational software can diversify the materials instructors can use to teach students. Many educational programs, on a variety of subjects, use multimedia presentations, including sound, image and text, that provide another means for students to learn.
The challenge of teaching computer education using traditional methods is that it involves applying old-fashioned processes to a new technology. However, the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Standard, "pre-digital" teaching methods such as oral lectures, test-taking and reading assignments are still important in computer pedagogy. While computer instructors will invariably want students to learn by doing, using actual computers, more traditional methods provide a valuable complement.