http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42655179

For this special day myself and Phoebe have written an article for digital world about why I’m studying computing science. Read them here:

http://futurescot.com/ada-lovelace-day/

https://digit.fyi/ada-lovelace-day-phoebe-quinn/

Learn more about Ada Lovelace and the international day celebrating her:

https://findingada.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts has a presence in 146 countries and is busy forging links with tech companies and organisations across the globe, including Microsoft and Google. For example, guides in Tanzania have hooked up with Techchix, a non-profit body that promotes science and engineering to girls at local secondary schools through mentoring programmes. And in India, girls have teamed up with US-based artificial intelligence giant, Nvidia, to boost female employability in the tech sector.

Piloted in the city of Pune, the Screen Girls project aims to deliver computer courses to 400 girls who have recently completed secondary school education. If successful, the project will be extended to other parts of the country. “Every country will have different approaches and where there is success we will showcase it to the rest of the world,” says Anita Tiessen, chief executive of the World Association of Girl Guides.

Read more about the Girl Guides Project:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40506620

Read More:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-40580758

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/science-teacher-shortage-government-relax-immigration-restrictions-foreign-education-department-a7547406.html

Frankly, this is fatal flaw in our society. With computer technology and artificial Intelligence exponentially advancing, there is a huge demand for programmers; this is so extreme that ethical hackers are being pulled out of university and straight into work before they’ve even finished their degree. It’s a programming epidemic. In schools across Scotland, subjects like English, Music, History, and Art are compulsory throughout education. Pupils learn about shading, accented notes, war, and the function of a colon. But so little of what we learn in these school subjects significantly helps us later in life. Our education system is hopelessly out of date.

Computing science is not even offered to pupils to National 4 level in many schools, yet it would be extremely beneficial if they were. This knowledge would significantly develop our problem solving skills, which can be applied to all aspects of life, and all careers. It sounds rather daunting that your children will be learning to code as they learn to read and write. But if we don’t teach them, they’ll be left behind, as computers are beginning to teach themselves. Of course, in the early years, pupils won’t be physically writing programs. Instead, they will practice computational thinking and problem solving, which is a key part in coding. The issue is that too many people think of programming in such a binary way: you either can do it or you can’t. But it is a skill, like any other, which can be taught and developed; children as young as five can and should be learning how to code.

For many, even just the word “programming” can switch them off because it’s portrayed as geeky, boring and difficult. But it is the key to the world. Everything we do revolves around coding: your phone, your dishwasher – and even your car is programmed nowadays! More often than not, our jobs require basic IT skills, so why can’t you write even a simple calculator program? 40% of people in the world having access to a computer and the internet, and yet only a mere 0.12% of people actually know how to code. I can’t even begin to comprehend this. In the next few decades – or even few years – your jobs will be taken by computers and robots and unless you have any idea how they work, you’ll be out of a job. Coding is a universal language: ones and zeros are understood by every computer. And if we aren’t using it to unite people and countries, we are doing something wrong. This could prove a devastating error.

Moreover, although significantly more women go to university than men, and are seen to perform better throughout education, far less women study STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects at Higher Education, and fewer women are studying computer science at UK universities than five years ago. According to UCAS figures, in 2014, 13% of UK computer science students were female, compared to 14% in 2010. This is despite huge efforts to balance the genders. Similarly, the percentage of women in computing careers has reduced in the past five years. Only a mere 3% of all IT and computing engineers in the UK are female. In the current climate, this is a disgrace and we must do something about it.

Introducing compulsory coding lessons in school would reduce these gender inequalities, as all genders would be equally encouraged to enter a computing related career. As STEM careers are generally some of the highest paid, this could potentially decrease the average pay gap. In the UK, the best paid women earn 20% less than the highest paid men. However, if women were to level the computing field, this gigantic inequality could be addressed. We could proudly maintain the legacy of the first ever computer programmer, ground-breaking Ada Lovelace – who was a young woman by the way.

Lovelace’s notes on Charles Babbage’s analytical engine eventually became the world’s first computer program. At the time, computers were only thought of as calculation machines, but Lovelace brilliantly realised the ability to code for pretty much anything: writing, music, art, and practically anything else. Unfortunately, she was a young, innovative woman in a time where women in science were completely ignored. Her gender and early death meant that the world didn’t come to appreciate her work until almost a century later. We cannot allow for more massively intelligent young women to be lost in a society where boys are much more encouraged than girls to explore the sciences.

I suppose the real question is, what is stopping us from doing this? Money, of course. Without money, we don’t have the resources to give our children these vital skills. However, investing in these classes would have huge economic benefits as our country would be fully equipped with computational skills which would attract big companies to Scotland. For example, Grand Theft Auto was initially created in Dundee and it has become a hub for gaming across the world; an increase of skilled technologists would only increase our potential. Scotland has a great innovative history, but children’s creative minds are limited by their knowledge and opportunities. With these compulsory classes, their inventive minds would explore the computational world – leading to new, economically beneficial and life-changing inventions. Currently, we are restricting this potential for growth. The European Commission urged people to learn how to code in 2014 as the lack of coding skills could lead to a shortage of up to 900,000 IT professionals in Europe alone. Coding is the literacy of today: it is the language which can enable the digital revolution, and these classes are the catalyst.

Ultimately, if future generations are not taught to code from a young age, we will struggle to advance our technology – and limit the presence of cyber companies in Scotland. So far we have a decent track record with technology. But it isn’t good enough. As a country and generation, we are disadvantaged and will continue to be until we introduce compulsory coding classes to all schools. England has already begun implementing coding classes to primary schools; we are going to be abandoned in the dark ages if we don’t join them, stunting a generation by the lack of knowledge. In an attempt to encourage more children to be programmers, Raspberry Pis (computers the size of your credit card) have been given to children across Scotland for free. However, this is completely and utterly useless if nobody actually knows how to use them.

The arguments are compelling. Join the technological revolution.

Learn how to code.

Sources:

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/04/coding-school-computing-children-programming

http://www.123helpme.com/computer-education-should-be-compulsory-view.asp?id=159473

http://theinstitute.ieee.org/career-and-education/preuniversity-education/computer-science-classes-for-kids-becoming-mandatory

http://time.com/2881453/programming-in-schools/

http://www.inc.com/howard-tullman/the-real-benefits-of-coding.html

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240225794/Lack-of-coding-skills-may-lead-to-severe-shortage-of-ICT-pros-in-Europe-by-2020-warns-EC