ICT is Dead. Long live ICT

[elsiegee40]

There's now a petition to save GCSE ICT

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/111693

 

This bit rankles a little

"It will particularly affect girls, who are far more likely to choose to study ICT than Computer Science."

 

This girl loved coding when she got chance to do it (on punch cards) at university. What needs addressing is encouraging girls into STEM not tayloring qualifications for a perceived gender preference

 

And I'm sure @witch, @kaphc, @Little-Miss and @Joanne and some of the other female Edugeeks will agree

Edited December 12, 2015 by elsiegee40

[DJ-1701]

This bit rankles a little

"It will particularly affect girls, who are far more likely to choose to study ICT than Computer Science."

 

Yes, because everyone is an unrealistic stereotype... I don't understand generalisation like that, we are ALL unique (and before anyone else says it... yes... 'just like everyone else' ).

 

This girl loved coding when she got chance to do it (on punch cards) at university. What needs addressing is encouraging girls into STEM not tayloring qualifications for a perceived gender preference

 

My mother was a programmer and loved it, and that's how I got introduced into programming and IT. The joy and delight when you get something working, got to love it.

[halbaradkenafin]

The joy and delight when you get something working, got to love it.

 

It makes up for the hours of debugging and frustration.

[witch]

TBH though, GCSE IT was all about how to use Excel as a database (grrrr) and the A level was even worse. One of mine did AS IT and basically it was just an Excel project. When he found out that the A2 was going to be just an Access project, he packed it in.

His degree is in Politics and History but he has just started working as an application support programmer - think where he might be if he had done computing at school.

Both my schools are doing lots of Kodu, Scratch and other things that are beginning to show the children what programming is all about. This is up to year 8. Hopefully it will stand them in good stead in the future and they will ALL see how interesting it can be. I say this even though I have something missing in my brain and couldn't get past "if - then" in Basic

[Steve21]

TBH though, GCSE IT was all about how to use Excel as a database (grrrr)

 

Yep, total joke Didn't even bother with it as GCSE as seemed a waste of time to do what I already knew. All those who choose it said it was waste at end, so glad I did another subject haha

 

The sad part is even "Computer Science" is still a joke in most schools I've seen, Scratch "coding", or Dreamweaver "HTML" great... Because every developer needs to click on a Pink button to colour text, or drag a command in

 

Steve

[DJ-1701]

I say this even though I have something missing in my brain and couldn't get past "if - then" in Basic

 

We all have different skill sets, which is great because we all compliment each other . Your perseverance with IT issues is shown on the threads as well as your assistance (I remember you helping someone with 365 migration queries very recently), and I hear that you are fantastic when it comes to making sense out of CVs for people, which in itself shows wonderful communication skills (always useful in our field). Though I am sure given enough free time you could master the core principals of programming, I am also sure any of us here would be happy to help out if you ever needed it.

[witch]

 

The sad part is even "Computer Science" is still a joke in most schools I've seen, Scratch "coding", or Dreamweaver "HTML" great... Because every developer needs to click on a Pink button to colour text, or drag a command in

 

Steve

When they are 8 years old, yes, they probably do

[Steve21]

When they are 8 years old, yes, they probably do

 

They're still using the same at GCSE/A Levels though, obviously not saying every age should know how to do it At least from all my experiences. Even the latest courses some of our teachers are using even give the students pre-designed templates to edit in dreamweaver.

 

Prime example, one of my old teachers when I was at school started temporary work at the place I work now, and still uses the same stuff we were taught at school.

 

10-15 years down the line you'd hope the "Computer Science" teachers would move on with their knowledge (Yes one example I know but not everyone )

 

Steve

[Joanne]

There's now a petition to save GCSE ICT

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/111693

 

This bit rankles a little

"It will particularly affect girls, who are far more likely to choose to study ICT than Computer Science."

 

This girl loved coding when she got chance to do it (on punch cards) at university. What needs addressing is encouraging girls into STEM not tayloring qualifications for a perceived gender preference

 

And I'm sure @witch, @kaphc, @Little-Miss and @Joanne and some of the other female Edugeeks will agree

 

Naw I hate coding, find it really tedious and repetitive.

 

I did GCSE IT which was rubbish. I did As Level ICT which was rubbish (excel as someone mentioned earlier) and I did A-Level ICT which was a little better with the database, but still rubbish. I did NVQ in computer and network support, which was better for me, because it focused on hardware, which was where my love with computers lied. Then I got a job at a company repairing computers. I did training at Sony and it was amazing. I'd love to fix motherboards and solder stuff... really intricate work I love.

 

My job previous to this I got sent on a Huwawei switch programming course and OH MY DAYS it was so dull. Writing out lines to program switches and copying and pasting stuff on command line is definitely not my bag.

 

So to summarise, if a girl likes tech, she will find her way no matter what the courses are called. I managed somehow to snag my dream job (according to my personal statement written when I was 15) of 'ICT Technician' HAHAHAH!!

[pcstru]

What needs addressing is encouraging girls into STEM not tayloring qualifications for a perceived gender preference

I'd probably agree but I think the problem is, does anyone know what that looks like?

[Joanne]

I think we need to accept that most girls don't want to do STEM quals though. It's nothing to do with what they are called, just that they don't like the actual subjects.

[ButterflyMoon]

Am with @Joanne I wasn't interested in coding either and in fact rather like @witch my brain couldn't really compute codes (pardon the pun). I am a hardware lassie and happy inside the guts of a machine. Sadly these days though it is more mobile devices and such. If I was a student nowadays and having to learn coding like our Yr7's I would probably end up in AEN as my dyscalculia makes learning that stuff almost impossible for me. Edited December 14, 2015 by ButterflyMoon

[Joanne]

When I've been sat in on a class of Year 4's the STEM subject most girls seem to be into is Biology - because they want to be a nurse or a vet!

[witch]

It may well be that there is a gender-based reason why fewer girls do STEM subjects, but I am firmly of the opinion that it is important that the reason they chose not to do them is that of absolute preference, and NOT a perception that "girls don't do science".

To this end, we have STEM visitors in the school who are often women, and our teachers try their best to show why the STEM subjects are suitable for all.

I did Physics and Biology A Level (and Eng Lit, but I always was a bit weird) and most of my friends did science too, but I was at a single-sex grammar. I don't like single sex schools AT ALL but I wonder if there is some merit in teaching the sexes separately within a mixed school. There is evidence to show that if you do, more girls do STEM subjects and more boys do the non-STEM ones - I'll try and find the reports I read somewhere.

[elsiegee40]

I wasn't saying that all girls should enjoy coding, even the ines on here. I am saying that addressing STEM uptake among girks needs to be addressed rather than changing qualifications to "suit their preferences"

 

daughter went to a single sex grammar and the girls there were pretty evenly split between sciences and the arts at A Level. Maths was the most popular A Level by miles and there was more than one set for each of the sciences. There is definitely something that happens in a co-ed environment that makes STEM subjects less cool for girls.

Edited December 14, 2015 by elsiegee40

[witch]

I wasn't saying that all girls should enjoy coding, even the ines on here. I am saying that addressing STEM uptake among girks needs to be addressed rather than changing qualifications to "suit their preferences"

 

daughter went to a single sex grammar and the girls there were pretty evenly split between sciences and the arts at A Level. Maths was the most popular A Level by miles and there was more than one set for each of the sciences. There is definitely something that happens in a co-ed environment that makes STEM subjects less cool for girls.

 

That is what I was trying to say too. I do think co-eds need to address the issue though as I don't think single sex schools are great

[CAM]

That is what I was trying to say too. I do think co-eds need to address the issue though as I don't think single sex schools are great

 

Worked in two single sex schools, one boys and one girls. The subjects on offer were very different, textiles was popular with girls but not even offered to boys. PE and sport is big with boys but fairly small with the girls. Science was even over both genders with psychology/sociology being very popular with the girls (boys the department seems tacked on) but it is a compulsory subject throughout school so it sees a higher uptake in sixth form. Arts and Creative appear to be small in both schools, I think the creative area is dying overall as uptake drops in favour of more academic subjects.

 

The cultures of students are also very different. Behavioural issues with boys are far easier to deal with than girls who could be nasty pieces of work at the extreme end of the spectrum, but they are generally better behaved overall. Boys are also rowdier to the point I'm never sure if they are fighting or just playing and they mingle lots, whilst I observed the girls sitting in their groups in the playground with virtually no playfighting but a lot more noise at peak moments (usually over-excited screaming when the bell goes or a wasp flies into their circle...or in my case the school photo!).

 

This is all from observation BTW over just under a decade of working in single sex schools.