Computer science: the teachers' view: 'There is only so much Powerpoint and Word that you can teach'

Faculty

agree that computing is the future of the school. But massive retraining is first necessary

Teachers play a crucial role in achieving the transformation of the computer program. And although many, of course, returned the Education Secretary Michael Gove, the teaching of ICT as labeling dull and boring, most agree that radical changes were made to the way IT is taught in schools .

John Stout, who teaches computer science at A-level students of King George V Sixth Form College in Southport, Merseyside, has campaigned for greater emphasis on coding, thinking and calculation theory behind calculating long. A member of the school hall computer that says. "Many of our students come here after having a very unfortunate experience of ICT in high school because many of those who teach just use Word" aa

Stout takes his 13-year-son of the little one example. "At home in his spare time, using a site called Mindcraft, which is an online game is to create new systems for this purpose, building servers, bits of programming for writing this - cram .. much earlier than that in children of school age are fascinated by the material in their most difficult lessons of the theory behind the history of computing. Turing machine, especially in this year's 100th anniversary the birth of Alan Turing, who will use his generation. "

• Amy Desmond Williams, director of teaching and learning of ICT in education and business in Sidney Stringer Academy in Coventry, has already begun the process of curricular change include the science more computer. She said: "There is only so Powerpoint and Word can be taught, it is important that students learn skills of office, but to give them the opportunity to go to take degrees in computer science, we need to teach some are thing. programming skills from the beginning as well. It was enough of this. "
• Teacher training
• Aa is the key, she continues: "When I was training only a few years ago there was really no classes for teachers who tend to be the one with ICT strong preference for desktop skills .. The theme of the computer has been closely linked to business studies. There is some panic in schools today. development of new training courses for teachers must be a priority. "

brand Clarkson, director of IT and computer science at Teesside Egglescliffe School, agrees. He said: "There was a time when departments of ICT in schools were made up of stakeholders physical education teachers who compiled the results of their football teams in the spreadsheet and a couple of professors of mathematics and physics who knew a little coding is now mainly teachers with business. finance studies. It should not be a massive retraining of teachers may have different contents that have been used for delivery. not need more teachers to that teachers with different capabilities. We have developed a generation of teachers with a skill set that is not what we need long-term future of computing in schools. "

Lisa O'Kelly

Computing and IT

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