Next week my daughters turn five. They are growing up in a radically
different world to the one I knew when I was a kid. I was one of the
generation inspired by the first wave of home computers: I taught myself
to program on a ZX81, then a BBC Micro. Those early computers were
glacially slow, had almost no storage and you had to write code to get
them to do even the simplest task.
Today, I have a computer in
my pocket that is more than 100,000 times faster and has 10,000,000
times more memory than a ZX81. It is connected to every other computer
on the planet and can access virtually every piece of human knowledge
ever created, nearly instantaneously. The pace of change in computing is
extraordinary.
Britain has a proud history of excellence in computing. All modern computers are based on the theoretical and practical work of Alan Turing,
one of the true geniuses of the 20th century. The home-computer boom of
the 1980s set many of us on a course that would see Brits helping run
major technology companies across the world. The world wide web was
created by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
Somewhere
in the mid 1990s, we lost our way. The education system largely ignored
the explosive growth of computing and the internet, instead focusing on
teaching students how to write Word documents. Instead of a nation of
builders and entrepreneurs, we were content for our children to become
also-rans on the technology stage.
We at the Year of Code are going to help change that. The new computing curriculum
starts this September, and it puts coding at the heart of IT education.
Coding is the art of telling a computer how to perform complex tasks.
Once you know how to code, you can create virtual worlds within the
computer where the only limit on what is possible is your imagination.
We want to put this power into the hands and hearts of every child in
Britain.
Anyone can learn to code. In a few hours you can pick
up the basic skills and in a few weeks you will be able to build useful
applications and websites.
In the last few years, the UK has finally woken up to the importance of coding. Organisations like Young Rewired State, Code Club and Code Academy have led the way, helping young people learn these key skills.
Why
is it so vital that we teach our children to code? We are already
living in a world dominated by software. Your telephone calls go over
software-controlled networks; your television is delivered over the
internet; people don’t buy maps anymore, they use the web; we all shop
online. The next generation’s world will be even more online and
digital. Soon, your house will be controlled with software, some of your
medical care will be delivered over the web and your car may even drive
itself.
