Links:
http://youngrewiredstate.org/ - Young Rewired State
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/15081 - Emma's Downing St Petition
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By the age of 9 (year 5), any child following the UK's national curriculum for ICT, will hopefully be familiar with some very common computing activities such as searching the Internet, and using everyday office software such as spreadsheets and word-processors. It's basic stuff, and it seems somewhat dissapointing. Are we condemning the next generation of kids to technological illiteracy by setting low expectations.
IT education campaigner Emma Mulqueeny certainly thinks so. In addition to running events intended to inspire the next generation of young software developers, she's instigated a petition to bring some rigour into IT education. Starting in year 5 she wants kids to be learning to code software.
You can find out more about Young Rewired State and also sign onto Emma’s petition to reform the ICT syllabus by following the links from the Pod Delusion website. This is SF for the PD
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Q. What inspired you to launch this campaign?
- Just looking for your personal motivation
- I understand you are a mum, so please feel free to talk about your own experiences in ICT education.
Q. I had a read through the national curriculum for Key Stage 2 & 3 ICT. Of all the technology related topics they've mentioned there really isnt anything that most people would call programming or coding, but there is a lot of other stuff which seems quite barmy, such as "Promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through ICT" - maths teachers dont have to put up with this kind of crap... why is all this useless stuff even here?
- Feel free to speculate or rant.
- The big point here is that the ICT curriculum does NOT prepare kids of the kinds of things that they will almost certainly need to do with computers.
- It’s bizarre that the curriculum seems to skirt around this most important of all topics in computing!
Q. The national curriculum is also really keen to promote computing as a means of supporting other topics like science and art - but what about using computers for their own sake? Why must computing be subservient to other activities?
- Any comments on the status or perceived importance of IT knowledge within schools.
Q. But is it reasonable to expect that kids can get their heads around programming? The people who drafted the ICT curriculum seem to have assumed that 9 year-olds should not be exoised to this sort of thing.
- Can you talk about one or two of the easy programming languages you've previously mentioned on your blig?
- The point is that there are accessible development tools that a 9 year old should have no trouble with!
Q. When I was a child I was given a BBC Microcomputer. By today's standards this was a pathetic computer, but this was a machine built to teach and inspire kids to experience the joy of computing. It was part of a national campaign to bring IT literacy to the masses, and it really worked.
Today most kids want an Xbox or a PS3, these are awesome machines, but they teach kids virtually nothing about how computers work. Do you think it's ever going to be possible to repeat what the BBC did in the 1980s and seriously re-launch a campaign for IT literacy?
- Looking for a positive message to end on (e.g. Raspberry Pi, Rewired State)
- Would like to give people hope that there are developing projects which aim to use skills creativly.
Q. Finally, how can we help support your campaign?
- Just want a “call to action”, can you mention the ePetition. Don't give the URL, we will link to it from the Pod Delusion web-site. Feel free to re-iterate the main objective of the petition.
- You could also mention your next Young-Rewired State event.
