What do you know about coding? Tell The Sunday Times for a chance to win a £250 John Lewis voucher NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

The Sunday Times have asked us to let Mumsnetters know that they’re running a Learn to Code series this weekend to coincide with the inclusion of coding in the national curriculum.

They told us: “With coding hitting the national curriculum this week, and our readers becoming more tech-savvy than ever, we will be demystifing computer programming in this weekend's edition of the paper. In partnership with Decoded, a company that specialises in digital training, the Learn to Code in a Day guide out this Sunday will take readers step-by-step through app-making.”.

“Editorial Director Eleanor Mills, who did Decoded's Code in a Day course herself, said: 'This is an exciting moment for us as we are the first British newspaper to offer a course like this. With five year-olds now learning computer programming in school, it is essential that adults keep up too.”

“If you’re nodding whilst reading the above then why not give it a go yourself? The easy guide will empower and equip you with the knowledge needed to tackle those potential conversations with your children over homework after school."

“Simply sign up to The Sunday Times for a £1 for 30-day trial and start learning now: thetim.es/1uD6qml”

So, what do you think about the addition of coding to the curriculum? Do you think it’s beneficial for children to learn this from a young age? Is this something you think you could get your head around when you were younger? Are there any other additions to the curriculum you feel are necessary for children to cope with today’s technologies?

Everyone who adds their thoughts to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £250 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

ds2 was learning about coding today online. I have no idea what he was doing.

What do I know about coding?

I know that it's important that children learn coding.
I know that the raspberry pi which is gathering dust somewhere can help us with that...but I don't know where to start. (I need a kit that spells it all out to me! If I'm told that I have to gather together bits and pieces to set up my raspberry pi it aint gonna happen).

I have looked at the curriculum and the hype around this entire fanfare. Sadly I think it is just yet another ill thought out initiative like knowledge economy or the silicone roundabout.

No one knows what our 5yo needs to compete in the global economy in 20 years time. It probably will not be coding. What we need to teach children is not the basics of coding but a love of learning. Britain's education has a fundamental problem of dismissing those who do well at studies. It also has a dismissive attitude towards science and technology.

As for whether it's something I could get my head around when I was younger? I didn't have a computer when I grew up. I took computer studies at secondary and found it easy. Then I did engineering at university and again found software way easier than electronics (I'm definitely no dyson). It is something very easy, natural and simple, if you are a very logical kind of person. The type that given a problem can easily outline the steps to solve it in an unambiguous way (aka break down problems into flow charts).

Maybe I'm old school but I think we should concentrate on the basics like maths and English. So many young people leave school without gcses. The coding bit is easy if they have a solid grasp of maths anyway. In addition it will probably provide a better base for the world of work in 20 years.

I know absolutely nothing about coding, and don't really feel I need to know, tbh. I didn't lay eyes on a computer until I was in my teens, and, although I am pretty computer-savvy now, I think this is definitely something for the next generation to take up and run with. DS is just starting his GCSE Computer Science course, and is quite looking forward to learning coding.

I would also like to point out that computer science graduates actually have the highest unemployment rate in the UK. No one is sure why that is the case. But it certainly point towards a fact that the UK doesn't actually need more coders. It really felt it's a sound bite from politicians because it appeals to parents
www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2013/sep/16/computer-science-graduates-unemployment-bme
www.software.ac.uk/blog/2013-10-31-whats-wrong-computer-scientists

My brother and I used to do a bit of programming on our old Commodore 64 (gives away my age) - my mum bought us a book of simple programmes for quizzes etc. We enjoyed making them and picked up a little of the coding and programming methods by doing these. We were aged 10/11 at the time and were able to understand and process what we were actually doing.

I also did a couple of html courses in my early twenties and found it very easy to pick up. So I don't think it is something that needs to be taught from an early age, to the detriment of learning basic, important literacy and numeracy skills.

I fully support the idea of it being taught, but probably not worth it until mid-late KS2. I can't see the benefit of teaching it to younger children and see it as another silly scheme from Whitehall.

I think it is a bit of a fad. I suppose that teaching logic, problem solving, following instructions etc is useful. Not sure it needs to be dressed up as coding, as they may put as many off as it attracts. Why not just keep up New Maths and include it in that? I think it is a knee jerk response to a perceived skills shortage VERSUS Singapore and China....and doesn't really contribute to a holistic education. It feeds the fantasy that we can all design apps and become billionaires.

I think it is a good thing and children will get a lot from it. Being able to use technology and understanding how it works is vital nowadays and thought at a early age makes it easy to learn.

I wish I had the opportunity to learning coding at school.

I've just been reading through the paper edition of today's ST and have kept the coding supplement for ds. Overall, it's a good idea to learn the basics of coding young, rather like its good to pick up basic French, German, Latin etc. if you get the opportunity.

Of course being able to build a simple app isn't the same as becoming a proper developer, but it helps to have an idea of what's required to develop code and maybe work out if it's something school age children want to study further.

I learnt to code (old skool, hardcore stuff like SQL, C, C++ etc) many years ago and have never once used any of it but it has still stood me in good stead for working in a technological environment.

I think it's great that it is part of the curriculum, I think the sooner it becomes a basic skill the better. If we don't start teaching our kids earlier we will fall behind. There are many simple skills a 5 year old can learn and it can be fun for them too.

Brilliant idea although I know absolutely nothing about it or really anything technological. With any luck the DCs can teach me and prove that an old dog can learn new tricks !

Very glad that this is now on the curriculum - I'm a woman in IT and there's going ro be a big skills gap in a few years - we need the next generation and a new perspective on innovation. Our children are experts at consuming tech, so hopefully they'll like creatung with it too.

I do wonder about the support given to teachers who are tasked with delivering the new curriculum though. It needs to be done well and given the passion and relevance it deserves.

I am too old to have done IT at school. I did a languages degree but for a year had to do a third subject. A couple of us off my course chose IT. It was all alien to me and my friend and I end bribed a nerd doing IT full time to do all our programming for us - the bribe being a few drinks!

I think there is no choice but for IT to be up there with reading, writing and maths given the way the world is going.

It's a really great idea, Kids love the simplicity of the straightforward logic of programming, I remember the days of programming on a Commodore 64 and how much I enjoyed that. Kids these days have the opportunity to do so much more with things like the Raspberry PI

Computer and coding stuff is great but only once the basics of reading/numeracy are established. So I'd say five to eight get a firm grip on letters, numbers, simple logic and exploration/fun. Then rock on with the coding when they can really get their teeth into it marhematically...

I have an engineering degree and learned to code in Fortran and C++ as part of my degree. I changed career paths to work in finance and I code in some shape or form just about every day. It's probably one of the parts of my job I enjoy most as I find it so satisfying. I think it's great kids are learning as the skill transfers to many career paths not just pure IT.

well I don't know a thing about coding and DD1 is in Y2 so will be learning it - so a coding for dummies course is a great idea for me. I'll probably sign up for it.

I'm glad it's only a pound though as I'm not overly keen on MurdochCorp having any of my hard earned money.

My 7 year old DD is very excited about learning to code at school. She's already done some coding using scratch and I'm regularly amazed by what she can produce using very simple tools, applied creatively.

I'm all for it :o

I think it's a good idea, ds1 is now in year 1 and he's doing two sessions of ICT a week with a specialist teacher and while initially I thought that was a bit much actually I would rather that he learnt how programming works and how to do it rather than just idly play computer games when he's older. Any profession he decides to go into (as well as day to day life) will require a certain level of technology skills and an underlying knowledge of how it works will help in acquiring specific skills in due course.

I taught myself a bit of basic on my old amstrad and creating (an extremely simple) game was really rewarding and I think that playing around with programming even at such a basic level means I find it easier to quickly grasp new technology concepts/programmes even though the actual coding now would be way way beyond me.

I'm tempted to have a go myself at a coding course just out of interest to keep up with ds1

My two can do a bit of Scratch, not much, but more than the teacher and that's the real problem.

If secondaries can't get IT teachers, i don't see how they are going to find people and time to train primary staff.

I'm a primary teacher and am teaching the new computing curriculum from this week. We've had no guidance at all from school or Local Authority but I'm making sure that I'm seeking out information, courses and training so that I'm equipped to teach it to the best of my ability. I wish I could say the same for other teachers I know! It's such a brilliant opportunity for children and I'm thoroughly enjoying learning before I teach and also alongside them as they always manage to surprise me no matter how well planned I think I am!
I teach a class with a huge range of ability so it's really important to ensure I have a good grasp of all the steps in each learning stage so pupils are both supported and challenged as appropriate - it's challenging me but I'm still loving it!

I think it's a great idea - wish I had had this chance at school. Children can pick up concepts at a surprisingly young age, so the earlier they can start, the better.

The problem will be for some of the teachers, keeping up! They already have enough to do - so I do hope they will be fully supported and offered all the help and training they may need.

Do you think there is a role for parent volunteers with a coding background to volunteer in schools? Not to teach in anyway but to support teachers faced with something very new?

Agree it's a great idea. I'm learning HTML, CSS and JavaScript at the moment and it's riveting. There's a real sense of achievement when the program works. As well as logical thinking, the close attention to detail and the patience to go back through the code and work out exactly what needs fixing are massively valuable skills in any career.

Mrscake there is stem net www.stemnet.org.uk/topboxes/stem-ambassadors/

There is no reason to single out coding as a more essential skill than stem in general. The entire area has problems with being uncool and unattractive to students.

There is a lot of work done to make young people see how technology is relevant. It goes beyond a web browser and an app.

I think it is a great idea! We (the UK) need to keep up with (and hopefully one day lead the way) in terms of all aspects of education be it mathematics, languages, computing, art etc. They are all important skills to have, even if it's just grasping the basics.
I don't know much at all about coding myself but imagine it is quite logical and will build on essential skills such as problem solving, IT, the digital world in general.
I'm all for it and think my DS would love it!