What Went Wrong?

IT Capability (later ICT Capability) was an exceptionally well thought out and future proofed curriculum. Despite this, in September 2014, it was removed from UK Schools and replaced by a new subject called “Computing”.

Despite the name change, the four strands of IT Capability - communicating, data handling, modelling, and controlling are still there, though less clearly worded. The difference is that there is now a massive emphasis on that fourth strand, “Measurement and Control”.

There are several reasons for this dramatic change:

  • Computers have a dual role in schools - you must learn how to use them and they also suport wor kin all subjects. As the the years passed, the distincyion became blurred.
  • The dominance of Microsoft Office meant that ICT lessons increasingly became about learning how to use Microsoft Office and schools lost sight of the four strands of IT Capability.
  • The fourth strand, Measurement and Control, was the most difficult of the strands to teach and required extra equipment such as robots and input sensors. These were available from the early years and a lot of training and support was provided by Local Education Authorities, but even so, teaching of it was generally poor and needed to be improved.
  • The “mouse and windows” interface meant that children no longer found themselves progarmming computers as they had when the only thing on screen was a “prompt” as was the case in the early days.
  • The arrival of touchscreens made the distance between computer programming and the task in hand more obscure and children naver had the opportunity to program computers.
  • As the rest of the world became more adept at programming computers, it became clear that Britain was losing its advantage and slipping in the skills tables.
  • For a country to thrive in the modern world, it needs a skills base of people who can create the products we shall all buyin the future. This needs programmers, not just users of devices others have designed and built.

Now, every child must be taught how to program computers, from a basic grasp of what an algorithm is all the way to advanced coding in HTML, CSS, Javascript and beyond.


Next page: Computers Have a Split Personality

© Brian Smith 2015