Here’s an interesting paradox: as the use of computers has grown, the number of youngsters wanting to study them has fallen. This is leading serious [academic and political] concern about the loss of technology skills and future capability.
I have heard much talk recently about the apparent difficulty of attracting young people to computing. Some of the UK commentators hark back to the early 1980s, the heyday of the ubiquitous micro computers, such as the BBC Micro and Clive Sinclair’s budget computers (ZX80/81 and Spectrum).
The Micro generation of the early ’80s were keen to make computers do things, their boxes had to be programmed and the kids soon picked up the skills and the principles involved.
No wonder then that our schools responded to the technology bow-wave and brought computing to the classroom. The kit was there and the kids were there.
Thirty years on, though, the DIY micro has long since given way to the games console – plug-and-play devices which need no understanding of, or technical facility with, the technology.
So we have successive ‘Console’ generations who just like playing games and are less likely to want to know about making computers do things, apart from achieving a higher score, a higher level or perhaps an even quicker cheat.
If we really want to get back to fostering computing skills from an early age, we don’t need another games console. We need a ZX80 or BBC Micro for the 21st Century
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