The British Government has announced it intends to change the way that IT is taught in schools (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16493929). They want to change the emphasis away from teaching children how to use software packages, and to include elements of programming and software development.
This made me think back to the way IT was taught when I was in school and later at university. Bear with me – this was back in the late ’80s when IT was still a new subject. I can’t speak about the current IT provision in schools, but looking back at my own education and experience in the world of work I can see some important themes that I think need to be included in any change in the way IT is taught.
Open to all – when I was at school, IT was only on offer to those who were in the top set for mathematics. Whilst I can see the thinking behind this, there’s a danger that some pupils with an aptitude for IT who aren’t so strong at maths may be left out. I know access to IT in schools is much greater now than 20-odd years ago, but it needs to not be seen as a niche subject.
Quality of teaching – possibly the most important element. I remember my first lesson of my Computer Studies “A” Level (where I was the only student). My teacher starting with “well you’ve not learnt this, and I’ve never taught it” didn’t fill me with much confidence. Good, knowledgeable, enthusiastic teachers are invaluable in any subject, and very much so here if pupils are to not only learn but develop an enthusiasm for the subject. There’s also the challenge of keeping the subject matter up-to-date, but a lot of the basics haven’t changed.
Teamwork – one of the best parts of my Software Engineering degree was a team project. We had to work in a team of four to develop different aspects of a “Windows” type operating system. This taught us not only about working as a team, but also about the importance of writing modular software that could interface with other software systems written by others.
I think broadly the announcement is good news. There’s little mileage in just teaching kids how to use PowerPoint or Excel (although there’s no denying these are useful skills). I think pupils should be challenged and taught to develop software in a collaborative way – this can only benefit both them and the business they will go on to create or work for in the future.
Transparent Technology 
Jan 12, 2012 @ 14:00:54
I can only see this as a good thing, but as all these things the rhetoric sounds very nice but in practice could be harder to deliver. From my experience it is all about the quality, knowledge and enthusiasm of the teachers. I think institutional learning always suffers from teachers and lecturers being out of the “real” world for too long and therefore I suspect that the kids could teach them a thing or too, especially about IT. I would welcome more people in business getting involved in schools and teaching. When I was at school IT teaching was done by our Maths and PE teacher!!
There is also a danger that if things are on the school curriculum they loose their appeal to young people and become boring just by association.
On a more general point I think that school curriculum’s are too rigid and don’t allow creativity, resulting in the statement in this article “Mr Gove announced plans to free up schools to use curricula and teaching resources that properly equip pupils for the 21st Century.” why are schools not free in the first place to decide what they teach and how they resource it ???Madness!
Mar 08, 2012 @ 13:04:01
I believe the government needs to jump one way or another on ICT Teaching.
All pupils should have the opportunity to learn the key IT skills they will need in the workplace (basically the MS Office suite), for most pupils this will be of more benefit in their lives than learning who was the King during the Napoleonic Wars – the next generation will just look this kind of information up on their smartphones if they need it.
However, pupils should also have the ability to learn skills which would help them get a job in the IT Industry – programming, database design etc. This could be an option at GCSE or A-levels. Perhaps closer communication between the schools and universities (offering IT degrees) would help.
Mar 08, 2012 @ 15:57:09
I think there should be room for both. I do think that the re-introducton of programming skills – and the recent launch of the Raspberry Pi is great news. So many jobs in the future will benefit some programming knowledge – even in creative areas such as animatio. I think it’s really important to de-mistify the skill of writing software so people don’t see it as a black art.