I.T. lessons in PowerPoint to be scrapped

NathanE

NathanE

NathanE

Soldato
Joined
21 Oct 2002
Posts
18,022
Location
London & Singapore
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16493929

Finally!

To be replaced by a proper CompSci GCSE that will be heavily influenced by open source technologies.

This is awesome. I wish I was a kid again :( :D

Computer games entrepreneur Ian Livingstone, an adviser to Mr Gove, envisages a new curriculum that could have 16-year-olds creating their own apps for smartphones and 18-year-olds able to write their own simple programming language.
Click to expand...

I wonder if there will be a huge shortage of CompSci teachers... and where there is undersupply there is higher salaries!
 
So does this mean I won't being seeing CVs in awful fonts, colours and with embedded mug shot for much longer?

Ian Livingstone said:
Children are being forced to learn how to use applications, rather than to make them. They are becoming slaves to the user interface and are totally bored by it
Click to expand...

Quoted for truth
 
It's a scandal really that the I.T. curriculum was allowed to fester in this way for over a decade. If a lesson is considered "boring" then it isn't difficult enough.
 
There are a low number of compsci teachers:

And it's not just a question of technology. The Next Gen report highlighted a general need for more teachers qualified in computer science.

It said: "Of the 28,767 teachers who were awarded Qualified Teacher Status... in 2010, only three qualified in computing or computing science as their primary qualification (compared with 750 in ICT)."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16424990

So I hope that issue is rectified. This is good news however as a step in the right direction even if there are a few hurdles to overcome.
I didn't take IT because of the content, as compared to D&T where I could create things and even try welding, in comparison making a few spreadsheets seemed quite dull.
 
Interesting, looks like the ICT Teachers are actually going to have to learn something new themselves to then be able to teach the children.

There is going to be carnage :o
 
This is excellent news. Long overdue IMHO.

It's nice to think that those who have a genuine interest in IT and CS will now be challenged and have a course that's appropriate for their interests.
 
NathanE said:
I wonder if there will be a huge shortage of CompSci teachers... and where there is undersupply there is higher salaries!
Click to expand...

Computer Science graduates have the highest unemployment rate right now, so hopefully we should see that drop as they move into teaching.

Michael Gove in doing something right shocker. I can't believe I actually agree with him on this.
 
Last edited:
You can't just learn CompSci over night (or even over a summer break) and be qualified to teach it. So the majority of existing ICT teachers will have to be made redundant.

And new teachers recruited either straight out of uni. with a CompSci degree or from industry.

This is going to cause a rather huge skills shortage. But that's good :D
 
Good. IT in schools is nothing more than Microsoft training; total joke. They do need experience in it, but they need to know its not the only operating system / office suite out there (and what an OS is, to start with).
 
The terrible state of the IT curriculum from GCSE through to A level was the primary reason I didn't do IT GCSE and then took up Computing when it was offered from AS level. Suited me perfectly, and now I make use of the skills I learnt on a virtually daily basis.

Excellent news for everyone going through school now!
 
schumi84 said:
Interesting, looks like the ICT Teachers are actually going to have to learn something new themselves to then be able to teach the children.

There is going to be carnage :o
Click to expand...

Turn them all into English/Maths teachers then we might see some benefit. ;)
 
I dont understand why they dont sort out GCSE / BTEC ICT (i pick those because I know they are both crud)

how hard can it be? get several IT people to check the material, ask industry what is required... 1 person with some direction could revamp several years of GCSE in a few weeks... you only need a handful of variations on the course (to cater for smarts and thickies).

I can only assume there are morons from the very bottom of the education system to the top....
 
they can sack all GCSE history teachers to get the budget for the re-write and have loads of £££ change...

instead of years of history sit the kids in front of the discovery channel, I hated history in school but I love discovery history... I learned so much more about the romans in a 3 part series than I did in a year at school... I am sure geography and re would be better taught from discovery as well
 
edscdk said:
they can sack all GCSE history teachers to get the budget for the re-write and have loads of £££ change...

instead of years of history sit the kids in front of the discovery channel, I hated history in school but I love discovery history... I learned so much more about the romans in a 3 part series than I did in a year at school... I am sure geography and re would be better taught from discovery as well
Click to expand...

Education isn't just about what you learn
 
schumi84 said:
Interesting, looks like the ICT Teachers are actually going to have to learn something new themselves to then be able to teach the children.

There is going to be carnage :o
Click to expand...

Agree but I think its want the system needs.

Heck, even 5 years ago when I was in highschool the teacher asked for help in IT because I knew more than him :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom