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CRACKING THECODE
Without highly skilled individuals, there is potential for the UK to become a second-class society in thrall to those who can develop the new technology, says Daley Robinson, group marketing director at Stone Group
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“It is fundamental that schools promote coding in a fun and innovative way in readiness for impending change”
e live in a
computerised, programmable world, and to make sense of it, computing is
essential for moving forward. Without highly skilled individuals in this area, there is potential for the UK to become a second-class society in thrall to those who can develop the new technology. YouGov research has shown that the
vast majority of children want to learn to write code. Their findings reveal that 75% of children aged 8-15 are 'very' or 'fairly' interested in making their own apps, but only 3% say they already know how to. In learning to write code, young people can get to the very core of technology and truly understand it from a unique perspective.
There is research evidence by Dr Mathew Pearson, that ICT lessons in schools are "prety boring" and "litle more than a continual rehash of Microsoft Office Skills".
Delving further into his research we discover that students are doing much more creative things with computing outside the school curriculum. At Stone Group, we have seen similar situations and believe children need to start exploring technology from a young age and, as such, have always supported coding clubs and hackathons that are run out of school hours to encourage passions for computer programming. It is, therefore, extremely encouraging that the Department for Education has published the national curriculum for computing that will replace the current ICT curriculum in September 2014. It will focus more on the creation of
Daley Robinson
computer programs rather than the simple use of the technology. The Chartered Institute for IT (BCS) states that it is essential children from primary school onwards are taught how to create digital technology and software for themselves. It will teach children to think about the problem-solving process itself. Because it touches many aspects of daily life and almost every industry worldwide, computing can be tied to a myriad of students' interests –helping to nurture these interests and passions and provide future opportunities. So, with the government pressing on with plans to introduce the new national curriculum, it is fundamental that schools fully embrace the changes and promote coding in a fun and innovative way in readiness for the impending change. The new programme of study must also be welcomed across the school and more importantly understood correctly. Recent misinterpretations of the term 'computing' have cast doubt and uncertainty toward the project before it has even begun. This may prompt educators to question how comfortable teachers will be in delivering such new content in this area. Lesson content will change considerably, so for those that perhaps previously found ICT challenging at times, how confident will they be to teach a new level of IT that delves into the details of how software works behind the scenes and how it is developed? Therefore, it is vital for success that there is correct support for teachers so they can provide a combination of theory, practice and creativity to make the new computing curriculum an extraordinarily beneficial and creative subject, infused with innovation and life skills. ET
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