Huh, file system? What is it?
Contents
Introduction
The Verge reports an intriguing and fascinating story. It seems that students all over the world are struggling with basic computing concepts such as file and folder hierarchy. In their minds, the idea of hierarchic file system is fading away, being replaced by laundry basket storage. No more files in folders inside bigger folders, all neatly labeled. Instead, all my stuff is piled up somewhere and fetched by search when needed. Moreover, many don’t understand the difference between local storage and cloud storage.
[Catherine Garland, the professor] asked each student where they’d saved their project. Could they be on the desktop? Perhaps in the shared drive? But over and over, she was met with confusion. “What are you talking about?” multiple students inquired. Not only did they not know where their files were saved — they didn’t understand the question.
Gradually, Garland came to the same realization that many of her fellow educators have reached in the past four years: the concept of file folders and directories, essential to previous generations’ understanding of computers, is gibberish to many modern students.
Professors have varied recollections of when they first saw the disconnect. But their estimates (even the most tentative ones) are surprisingly similar. It’s been an issue for four years or so, starting — for many educators — around the fall of 2017.
The whole story can be seen here: https://www.theverge.com/22684730/students-file-folder-directory-structure-education-gen-z
Some would call this digital illiteracy. Others say it’s just a paradigm shift, coming from computer use totally different than what we’ve been doing in pre-internet times. Both might be right.
I personally find it a little disturbing. File systems, folders and files aren’t going away any soon. No matter what handy search tools we put on top of them, we’d better get a grip of these concepts. Especially when studying in STEM field ;-) On the other hand, it’s fascinating. The problem clearly shows growing need for better ways of organizing our digital heritage. Files and folders might feel old and rusty, but ’laundry basket’ model won’t get us far either. Programmers, take this as a challenge!
Author Tomasz Waraksa
LastMod 2021-09-27
© Tomasz Waraksa, letsdebug.it
Disclaimer
This article is not promoting any of the described products, services or vendors. We don't have any commercial interest nor associations with them. We're not trying to suggest that these products or services are best for you, nor promising that your experience will be the same.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website and any information presented on it.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under our control. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Software License
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of software published on this website and associated documentation files (the “Software”), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions, unless stated explicitly otherwise:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
The software is provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement. In no event shall the authors or copyright holders be liable for any claim, damages or other liability, whether in an action of contract, tort or otherwise, arising from, out of or in connection with the software or the use or other dealings in the software.