Google Chairman Eric Schmidt made many interesting observations when delivering the MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival recently.
“The UK is home of so many media-related inventions. You invented photography. You invented TV. You invented computers in both concept and practice.”
He said he had been flabbergasted to learn that computer science was not taught as standard in UK schools, despite what he called the “fabulous initiative” in the 1980s when the BBC not only broadcast programmes for children about coding, but shipped over a million BBC Micro computers into schools and homes.
“Your IT curriculum focuses on teaching how to use software, but gives no insight into how it’s made. That is just throwing away your great computing heritage,” he said.
I’ve witnessed the results of many students obtaining high grades with ICT OCR Nationals et al. over the last few years and have much sympathy with Eric’s views!
