Make random choices: Michael Gove to ask Google and Microsoft what should be taught in schools

How Michael Gove may ask Google and Microsoft what should be taught in schools.

Although it's decided that pupils should learn to code, I read that Mr Gove will be asking Google what sort of computing should be taught in schools.

Is there a definition of 'what is computing?'? Mr Gove and many start their thinking about computing with that box on a desk in a school IT room - so that's where I'll start.

If someone proposed a change to science teaching you would soon poll reactions from the community. Decades of research back them up. Set beside science, maths and traditional curriculum subjects, "computing" has zero pedigree. Without history as to what the 'computing' the subject is, people more follow and than lead when there's a strong lead on what to do. The British computer society (nee computer club), and others* ape the call to have kids code. Hence, 'computing' can be seen as the subject that has been made-up as it went along. 

Yet I've been waiting for anyone, even someone like Gove to say what a pile of pants ICT is. It takes no genius to observe that lessons based around the features of Microsoft Office are laboured. This Microsoft Office is taught through too many school years, over and over. For example, when Microsoft added new apps like 'Access', or 'OneNote' to Office, some schools thought it was another half-term module to teach. How sad. 

While few teachers are qualified to teach computing, there are teachers with vision. There are teachers and schools doing fabulous things with computers. There's a school getting their pupils to code and develop apps; it's given the kids a taste of entrepreneurship too; there are some who use blogging; video; collaboration tools; social tools and more. In short teachers are using things that seriously, creatively and entertainingly enhance the curriculum. Some are driven by the technology itself, but there is good practice galore. Schools and kids aren't getting credit for doing all this. 

Then Mr Gove picks one thing out of a hat of things to teach and says that's the good way to do it. He says schools should do "programming" and that's too random. And narrow. How sad it's been to hear people follow so readily. On the one hand it's a better choice than teaching Microsoft Office, on the other this will miss what good can come of using computers and computing.

So what can schools teach? 

• Teach kids how to design new systems that do things better. Read other pieces in this blog and you'll see the problem: you'll see how unclever is the way that technology has been adopted.
• Teach kids to design and critique applications and interfaces; understand and devise intelligent systems that know what you're looking for as you search; that know what you want to buy. And if you've the experience, teach them how to exist in the online world. 
• Don't teach kids to do much coding. Unless you're teaching maths, we don't gain by teaching kids a lot of coding. We really don't need that many coders. We more need people who can communicate with coders. We need coders who can understand human needs. Beside, coding has been outsourced to clever people in low-wage economies and it's not likely coming back. Most days of the week, coding is as useful as Latin.
• Teach kids to use ICT in their other subjects, solving problems; communicating; measuring; recording; analysing; calculating and doing other important processes.
• Teach kids about computers? It's worth a lesson or two
• Teach kids to use applications such as Office; Dreamweaver? Yes but only just enough.

*Why all our kids should be taught to code - The Guardian's John Naughton gets carried away and confused. If most computer apps were full of bugs we would need more better coders. Some kids could opt to be taught how to code. But for most of the population it's as soporific, and useful, as learning Greek.