Google powers Cambridge computer initiative | Business Weekly ...

The Centre for Computing History in Cambridge has announced an educational partnership with US powerhouse Google. This will involve an exciting new initiative to introduce computer programming to children across the UK.

Museum director Jason Fitzpatrick explains: ?Our primary purpose with the Road Show is to expose students to the beauty and joy of computing. This will include a fresh and unusual, multi-faceted introduction to coding. We?ll be working with the National STEM Centre when the whole venture kicks off in the autumn at York University.

?We?re very grateful to Google whose generosity has made the whole enterprise possible. With their help and that of other supporters like Samsung we hope to reach as many children as possible.?

Google?s funding occurs as schools across the country face a radical overhaul of the ICT curriculum, due to come into force in September 2014. The restructuring of the subject, which will affect children from the age of 5 upwards, will see the term ICT replaced with computing and a much stronger emphasis placed on the principles of computer science and practical programming.

Fitzpatrick welcomes the changes: ?Just using a computer is only a small part of the picture. So much of the joy comes through direct experience of writing programs, persevering to overcome problems and finally producing code that works. The real transformative and empowering experience comes when one learns how to turn ideas into code.?

The Computing History Road Show will introduce children to programming in several practical and fun ways using both vintage machines and Raspberry Pi. Fitzpatrick says: ?We aim to put the pizzazz into programming and cool into computing! In our programming workshops we introduce children to BASIC, one of the friendliest programming languages ever invented. They use this on vintage BBC Micro machines.

?There are several reasons for our choice of machine. Not least, it?s fun for children to encounter these machines, learn about their capacity and where they fit into the history of computing. However, where coding is concerned the BBC Micro has two key virtues: its lack of speed and the direct connection it has with the user. Students encounter an unfamiliar screen full of text where they can see their instructions happening for real.

?They quickly discover that however simple a program appears it doesn?t mean the underlying code is plain or obvious. The BBC Micro also offers an unforgiving programming environment. Get something wrong and the program will display an error message or crash!

?With BASIC if you make a mistake it takes time to go back and fix it. You can?t just take out sections and move them around as you can with Scratch.?

At the other end of the scale, the Road Show will fast forward with Raspberry Pi and Python workshops. The Raspberry Pi is an inexpensive, credit card sized computer that plugs into a TV or a keyboard and is ideal to help children learn programming skills. Python is considered a good programming language for novices to tackle.

Fitzpatrick added: Our coding workshops won?t just be about children learning to program though; the entire experience has been designed to hone their reasoning and analytical skills, as well as encourage them to see that computational thinking provides unique insights far beyond the subject.

?We want to break down the perceived complexity of computers into easily understood components that children feel they can master. We want to demonstrate the enormously creative processes behind making electronic circuits and writing computer programs.?

Peter Baron, director of external relations for Google says: ?We?re delighted to support this innovative programme, bringing a hands-on experience of computer science to children in areas of the UK beyond easy reach of a computing museum.?

? PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: A moving experience for Jason Fitzpatrick, Bruno Janson of sponsor company ARM and Dr Hermann Hauser, patron of the Centre for Computing History

Source: http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/hi-tech/15583-google-powers-cambridge-computer-initiative

national margarita day Ronda Rousey Cecil Hotel Cressida Bonas Kenny Clutch Edward Gorey amber rose