Primaries & Programming

At the end of the last academic year I observed a discussion about IT in school between a head and an IT coordinator. Looking for opportunities to help schools, I then spent time thinking about IT in schools. I found a cheap copy of Achieving QTS : Primary ICT (eds Allen et al 2007 edition ; Learning Matters ISBN978 1 8445 094 7). I downloaded and practised Scratch from MIT. I bought Lego Mindstorms, not from the excellent Lego League point-of-view, but from the learning programming one. I tried to talk to colleagues who are currently involved, with both practitioners and children, in teaching & IT. I downloaded Bee-Bot and Turtle apps to my iPad. I joined the Computers in Schools community. I felt that I was at the forefront, ready for the new term, ready to help children and teachers. What a joke! Nobody seems to have the time to be interested. Even the "experts" don't want to move forward as the government can't clarify what they want.

A Picoboard will work with Lego

Sorry, I'm being unkind. The Computing at Schools community seems to want to progress IT. A trainee teacher I met had heard of and was interested in learning about Scratch. I'm sure there are lots of others but the scene seems fragmented.

Raspberry Pi

Do I feel resentful at spending time and money and getting nowhere? No. My choice and my problem.

Computers at School sends a weekly email update of activity on their site. Looking through at the new Scratch resources and references to other things such as Python, miniBasic and Raspberry Pi reminded me of Alice and other programmes. Then I remembered that I had downloaded Logo TNX (the next generation) and had a go. My heart sank. I couldn't get into Logo! But it's so simple and basic. Maybe when I was in primary school and rattling through books and books of Maths I would have coped and loved it but that was in the 1960's. I bottled out.
Really, I think I can learn it but I need someone (a teacher) to get me started, give me confidence and a reason to succeed. The reason to succeed is in-built, I'm a teacher and I want to teach relevant topics. I can do Science. I've lived Science. I can do IT (and programming). I live with IT. Where are the teachers to give confidence and build success?

Scratch Logo

We should be starting in primary. Why? The basic thinking skills are best learned young.
Just as with Science's basic principles of observation, questioning, investigating, measuring, fair-testing, concluding, the best time to provide the THINKING SKILLS is in young children.

BTW (which I've just learned means" by the way") with regard to CLEAR THINKING whenever I try to get a group of teachers to talk about putting Evolution and Dawkins into the primary curriculum they run a mile. Dawkin's letter to his daughter is, in my opinion, so important that it deserves to be read (and understood) by every child.

Lego Mindstorms

Got this far? Thank you.