The lessons would instead focus on computer science and programming, designed in conjunction with universities and industry. Kids are ”bored out of their minds” with ICT today.
The UK video games industry will be extremely pleased as they’ve been campaigning for programming to become a staple part of the national curriculum. ICT is no longer relevant.
”Imagine the dramatic change which could be possible in just a few years, once we remove the roadblock of the existing ICT curriculum,” said minister Michael Gove, secretary of state for education.
”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 continued.
Eidos life president Ian Livingstone has been an advisor to Michael Gove, and hopes that a new curriculum could have 16-year-olds creating smartphone apps and 18-year-olds writing their own simple programming language.
”The current lessons are essentially irrelevant to today’s generation of children who can learn PowerPoint in a week,” said Livingstone, co-author of 2011’s Next Gen report.
”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,” added the games industry vet.
A public consultation period will be starting shortly and run for 12 weeks before the ball gets rolling. Kids in this crazy digital age can pick up the use of Word or Excel within days, if not hours, so it’s right that ICT’s antiquated methods are taken out back and shot. Hopefully within 10 to 20 years we can be churning out more British studios!
