From September, coding will become a mandatory part of the curriculum in British schools
By Will Goodbody, Science & Technology Correspondent
@willgoodbody
This week saw the inaugural Tech Week Ireland taking place. Run by the Irish Computer Society (ICS) with support from ICS Skills and Science Foundation Ireland: Discover, its aim is to engage, challenge and inspire Primary and Secondary students to interact with technology in a new way, and encourage them to consider a career in IT. Over the week, 42,000 people – mostly children – have been taking part in events in schools, libraries, Scouting Troops and many other locations. Getting an introduction to new technology, seeing what it can do, and hopefully getting some ideas about what they would like to do with it in the future.
It’s a worthwhile agenda at a time when Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) says there are around 80 new jobs being created in the ICT sector per week. Fastrack to IT (FIT) estimates there are around 4,500 vacant technology jobs in Ireland at any one time. And Forfas predicts that between now and 2018, 44,000 new IT jobs will be created. In other words, we need well trained IT professionals now, and many, many more into the future.
And yet, according to those who know about these things in the world of IT, we simply aren’t doing enough to teach our children inside schools about computer science and coding. Sure, organisations like Coderdojo are doing fantastic work in introducing kids to code in a fun, informal and relaxed environment. And many other tech savvy kids are teaching themselves how to code in their spare time.
But the argument of the Irish Computer Society, and many IT professionals, is that we could and should be doing alot more, inside the classroom. And failure to do so will mean our children will be left at a disadvantage compared to their international peers. Take Britain, for example, where from September the study of computing, and specifically coding, will become mandatory in all state primary and secondary schools. In Estonia, children as long as seven have been learning about robotics and coding for many years. The idea is straightforward – rather than just teaching them how to consume technology, children should be taught the far more valuable skill of making technology.
Of course it’s not all that easy. Changing and introducing new curricula, as the Minister for Education reminded me today, is not quick or easy. Ruairi Quinn is also mindful of overloading teachers with to many curriculum changes at once. In addition, it is likely that very few teachers here will know how to code themselves, let alone be able to teach it. You also need an infrastructure and equipment, which at present is patchy to say the least. And there’s the valid argument that children should be allowed to be children for as long as possible. That they should learn how to imagine, how to communicate, how to learn and how to discover.
But none of these things should be seen as an insurmountable hurdle. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has a comprehensive – albeit a little dated – vision for ICT education in schools. The new Junior Cycle Student Award syllabus will include optional short courses in programming and coding and digital media literacy, which is a positive starting point. We have extremely bright, well trained and very enthusiastic teachers who want to do their best for the children they teach. The rollout of high speed broadband to second level schools is due to be complete by the end of the year, although primary schools need it too.
There is undoubtedly a role in all of this for the IT industry itself. Some of the bigger multinationals do have worthwhile initiatives which involve encouraging schools and their children to learn about and use IT. But perhaps there’s an opportunity for further engagement, both in terms of skills and funding. After all, when it comes to education, you reap what you sew.
I’m no expert in education. But you don’t have to be to understand the potential of our young people. Just spend some time at a Coderdojo session, or watch how quickly a child can master simple tasks involving technology, and you will see it too.
The challenge is to nurture, encourage and harness that potential. Because if we don’t we will undoubtedly be left behind. And the IT industry is probably right – it should all start, not in Coderdojo, not at events like Tech Week, not at home, not a summer camps. But in the classroom.