Teaching computing

Over the last few weeks I have been taking the first part of the University of East Anglia's online course Teaching Computing.

The course is really aimed at teachers who will have to start teaching the new computing curriculum in the UK from September 2014.

But, although not a teacher myself, it has been very interesting to read the comments and concerns of teachers who will have to run lessons on the new syllabus.

Of course, there are several new phrases linked with the new curriculum. One of the most oft used in the course is "digital literacy", a phrase which is not that easy to say at speed without garbling it into one word "digitaliteracy".

The requirements for new entrants wishing to teach the computing syllabus are detailed and one wonders how many existing teachers who will be teaching computing from the autumn would meet the standard.

http://www.computingatschool.org.uk/data/uploads/CSSubjectKnowledgeRequirements.pdf

Judging by some of the comments left on the course's message board, some teachers are way out of their depth and will have an astonishing amount to learn before September if their pupils are to learn anything useful about computing.

By chance, I came across this article by Toby Young which offers his view on what is required to produce the next Mark Zuckerburg:

Want the next Mark Zuckerburg? Teach Latin! (Spectator, 18 January 2014, p60)

The weakness in his argument could be that there are even fewer teachers qualified to teach Latin well than there are to teach computer science.

FUZE Project 2: Money, money, money

Dunross Publishing's second project lesson for FUZE BASIC is now available on the website.

Download the lesson here:
https://sites.google.com/site/dunrosspublishing/home/project-lessons

Money, money, money creates a simple ATM/cash machine to discuss variables:

• Naming and assigning variables
• Tracking and updating the value of variables
• Using mathematical functions in computer programmes
• Thinking like a computer