Australia Labor Government: An education for the 21st century means teaching coding in schools

Australia may become the next country to teach computing in all schools, if a Labor Government gets elected.  I hope that, if it happens, it’s done well.  It’s expensive to get real CS education into every school.  It’s cheap and easy to declare that any course that teaches how to use software is “CS.”

Bill Shorten’s recent announcement that, if elected, a Labor Government would “ensure that computer coding is taught in every primary and secondary school in Australia” has brought attention to an increasing world trend.

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There is merit in school students learning coding. We live in a digital world where computer programs underlie everything from business, marketing, aviation, science and medicine, to name several disciplines. During a recent presentation at a radio station, one of our hosts said that IT would have been better background for his career in radio than journalism.

There is also a strong case to be made that Australia’s future prosperity will depend on delivering advanced services and digital technology, and that programming will be essential to this end. Computer programs and software are known to be a strong driver of productivity improvements in many fields.

via An education for the 21st century means teaching coding in schools.