Centre for the Edge is dipping our toe into the education waters again after last years report, , Redefining Education. We’re collaborating with Geelong Grammar‘s School of Creative Education to look into “Does everyone need to learn how to code?”
Computers are at the heart of the economy, and coding is at the heart of computers. Australia’s prosperity depends on equipping the next generation with the skills they need to thrive in this environment, but does this mean that we need to teach everyone how to code? Coding has a proud role in digital technology’s past, but is it an essential skill in the future? Our relationship with technology is evolving and coding, while still important, is just one of the many new skills that will be required.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called for the country’s schools to introduce IT skills to students much earlier than they do now, suggesting that children as young as five or six should be introduced to coding. President Obama affirmed the need for coding education in his final state of the nation address. Some educators, however, are already pointing out that that teaching coding on its own might not be enough.
We will be holding a series of round table discussions across Geelong, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth in May 2016 to explore the following questions:
- What is the intention behind “we need to teach everyone to code”?
- What educational and social outcomes we should be striving for?
- Are there key skills from “learning to code” not covered in the current curriculum?
- Is there a better definition for digital literacy?
- How does digital literacy relate to coding and the rest of computer science?
- How do we demystify digital technology and bring the community along?
Please contact me if you are interested in participating.
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To code or not to code, is that the question?
Image: Ruiwen Chua.