Michael Gove to scrap 'boring' IT lessons

[SimonMac]

If ICT actually taught pupils how to use Excel to its full then that would at least be something.

Why not scrap the lessons altogether and just sign them all up for Learn to code | Codecademy

Signed up thanks!

[Spacecadet]

Why not scrap the lessons altogether and just sign them all up for Learn to code | Codecademy

Won't work on my client co pc running IE8

will run on my phone

[bobspud]

My computer science teacher turned out to be a maths teacher. So he was fantastic at fetch execute cycles and hex binary and all the stuff you needed to know back in 1989. the results were a serious bunch of turned on kids that could code well in pascal and basic, at least two of us were elite enough to hack the school network and on one occasion totally ruin it

The other teacher was a politics teacher who was useless at everything. Her class learned Dbase because it was easy and spent most of their time on their arses playing with drawing packages.

I cant thank my teacher enough for the trade that he gave me and the inspiration (through his active disapproval of pirating games and hacking to learn)

When I look at the crap that comes out of computer science degree courses now I just laugh. I knew more than they do in my first A-level year...

[TimberWolf]

Part of ICT lessons should involve how to sign on and how to find a proper job that your own government isn't trying to replace with a cheaper import.

[Sysman]

Why not scrap the lessons altogether and just sign them all up for Learn to code | Codecademy

Even up-arrow to recall command lines works there. I'm impressed.

[DodgyAgent]

I think learning Word & Excel are very important, can they not be integrated into English, History, Business studies etc etc?

[gingerjedi]

Why not scrap the lessons altogether and just sign them all up for Learn to code | Codecademy

Thanks for the link.

[Freamon]

If ICT actually taught pupils how to use Excel to its full then that would at least be something.

Why not scrap the lessons altogether and just sign them all up for Learn to code | Codecademy

[CheeseSlice]

[IMG]Instead he will, in effect, create an "open source" curriculum in computer science by giving schools the freedom to use teaching resources designed with input from leading employers and academics, in changes that will come into effect this September.

I hate it when politicians think they can convince the public they've 'got it' by using buzzwords inappropriately.

They could start by teaching kids how to write software, then how to test it. Why wait until college/university? They could literally leave school and jump straight into a junior test engineer or developer job, undercutting Bob whilst they're at it.

[AtW]

The teaching of computer science in school is to be dramatically overhauled, with the existing programme of study scrapped to make way for new lessons designed by industry and universities, Michael Gove will announce on Wednesday.

In a speech, the education secretary will say the existing curriculum in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has left children "bored out of their minds being taught how to use Word and Excel by bored teachers".

Instead he will, in effect, create an "open source" curriculum in computer science by giving schools the freedom to use teaching resources designed with input from leading employers and academics, in changes that will come into effect this September.

The announcement follows pressure from businesses critical of a shortage of computer-literate recruits – a deficit highlighted by a Guardian campaign launched this week.

Source: Michael Gove to scrap 'boring' IT lessons | Politics | The Guardian

AtW's comment: indeed why not scrap 'em when pupils will learn themselves how to play game consoles and upload photoes to Facebook?