[ubuntu-uk] (Marketing) Royal Society asks you - why IT is boring?

[Paul Tansom]

** Matt Sturdy <matt.sturdy at gmail.com> [2010-08-26 09:50]:
> On 26 August 2010 09:37, Matthew Daubney <matt at daubers.co.uk> wrote:
<snip>
> > My experience of GCSE IT was that it was "This is Microsoft Word, write
> > a 2 page document including a table, a graphic and a footnote." which is
> > _not_ what IT should be about. I lost _huge_ amounts of marks in one
> > part because the project was "Create 4 linked webpages in Microsoft
> > Front Page blah blah blah" which would have been a nightmare for any
> > sane person to maintain, so I wrote it in PHP with a SQL backend and
> > none of the markers understood it :(
> >
> > IT should be more about computers less about office work!
> >
> > -Matt Daubney
> 
> I attended an excellent school for GCSE/A-Level and had a very similar
> experience, and consequently had absolutely no interest in computing until
> after I had finished my degree.  The thing that got me hooked was problem
> solving.  Having an issue, researching it, and then fixing it is one of the
> most satisfying things for me, and I guess for a lot of you guys too.
>  Furthermore it teaches you to take any problem (even problems IRL!), and
> break it down into manageable, logical steps, and I think that's a great
> skill to foster.
> 
> I don't know, so I'm asking... Is there any time given to this in the
> current GCSE syllabus?  In my mind teaching kids an attitude and approach
> towards solving a problem is what should be concentrated on.
> 
> I think it could be difficult to assess and grade students on, and that is
> something that would need to be considered... and I guess there are plenty
> of other issues too, but I think it would be an excellent place to start.
> 
> Matt
** end quote [Matt Sturdy]