[kictanet] School ICT to be replaced by computer science programme

[Edna shiko]

Hi Listers,
 i am looking for Local based professional bodies for ICT practitioners
Kindly assist

Thanks

On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 3:29 PM, <bitange at jambo.co.ke> wrote:

> A good read from the BBC below.
>
> Ndemo.
>
> 11 January 12 06:06
>
>
> By Judith Burns
> Education reporter, BBC News
>
> The current programme of information and communications technology (ICT)
> study in England's schools will be scrapped from September, the education
> secretary will announce later.
>
> It will be replaced by an "open source" curriculum in computer science and
> programming designed with the help of universities and industry.
>
> Michael Gove will call the current ICT curriculum "harmful and dull".
>
> He will begin a consultation next week on the new computing curriculum.
>
> He will say this will create young people "able to work at the forefront
> of technological change".
>
> Speaking at the BETT show for educational technology in London, Mr Gove
> will announce plans to free up schools to use curricula and teaching
> resources that properly equip pupils for the 21st Century.
>
> He will say that resources, developed by experts, are already available
> online to help schools teach computer science and he wants universities and
> businesses to devise new courses and exams, particularly a new computing
> GCSE.
>
> The education secretary will say that the inadequate grounding in
> computing offered by the current curriculum is in danger of damaging
> Britain's economic prospects.
>
> He will call for a revival of the legacy of British computer pioneer Alan
> Turing whose work in the 1930s laid the foundation of the modern computing
> industry.
>
> "Imagine the dramatic change which could be possible in just a few years,
> once we remove the roadblock of the existing ICT curriculum.
>
> "Instead of children bored out of their minds being taught how to use Word
> or Excel by bored teachers, we could have 11-year-olds able to write simple
> 2D computer animations," he will say.
>
> 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.
>
> 'Slaves to the interface'
>
> Mr Livingstone, co-author of last year's Next Gen report which highlighted
> the poor quality of computer teaching in schools, told BBC news: "The
> current lessons are essentially irrelevant to today's generation of
> children who can learn PowerPoint in a week."
>
> "It's a travesty given our heritage as the most creative nation in the
> world.
>
> "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," he said.
>
> Other experts voiced concerns about a shortage of teachers qualified to
> deliver the new curriculum.
>
> Bill Mitchell, of British Computing Society, said: "It is tremendous that
> Michael Gove is personally endorsing the importance of teaching computer
> science in schools.
>
> "There are, of course, significant challenges to overcome, specifically
> with the immediate shortage of computer science teachers."
>
> While Prof Steve Furber, chairman of an imminent Royal Society report on
> computing in schools, said non-specialist teachers might find the plethora
> of alternative teaching resources confusing.
>
> "We look forward to hearing more about how the government intends to
> support non-specialist teachers who make up the majority of the workforce
> in delivering an excellent ICT education without official guidance on
> lesson content," he said.
>
> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
>
> ⁠
> End.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Sent from my BlackBerry®
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk>
> Sender: kictanet-bounces+bitange=jambo.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.keDate:
> Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:18:19
> To: <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
> Reply-To: robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk>
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Subject: [kictanet] Technology & the 2012/3 elections
>
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> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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