(public).sospep.subjects ~ view article ~ BC-gov-to-add-coding-to-school-curriculum

<h1 style="text-align: center;">BC to add computer coding to school curriculum</h1>
<h2>[WHAT]</h2>
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<li>] by Sean Silcoff @ theglobeandmail.com - &nbsp;Silcoff reports on the BC governments announcement that it will add mandatory coding classes to the public school curriculum.</li>
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<h2>[WHY]</h2>
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<li>]&nbsp;</li>
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<h2>[WHERE]</h2>
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<li><strong>] READ THE FULL ARTICLE</strong></li>
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<li>]&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/bc-government-adds-computer-coding-to-school-curriculum/article28234097/" target="_blank">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/bc-government-adds-computer-coding-to-school-curriculum/article28234097/</a></li>
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<h2>[WHEN]</h2>
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<li>] 2016-01-18</li>
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<h2>[EXAMPLE]</h2>
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<li>]&nbsp;The <strong>B.C. government unveiled plans Monday to introduce computer coding in its school curriculum</strong>, addressing <span style="text-decoration: underline;">a chronic skills shortage</span> in one of the few areas of the Canadian economy that is doing well &ndash; technology.&nbsp;</li>
<li>]&nbsp;&ldquo;Every kindergarten to grade 12 student will have&hellip;the opportunity to learn the basics of coding,&rdquo; Premier Christy Clark said at the opening of a two-day provincial government-backed summit on technology in Vancouver.&nbsp;</li>
<li>]&nbsp;part of a broader strategy to deliver more support to the province&rsquo;s tech sector. It&rsquo;s a shift for a government whose economic agenda has largely focused on natural resources, though B.C.&rsquo;s flourishing tech sector employs 86,000 people &ndash; more than forestry, mining and oil and gas combined. The government unveiled the first piece of the strategy last month, creating a $100-million venture fund to finance startups.</li>
<li>] Canadian political leaders have increasingly <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/trudeau-lends-star-power-as-google-canada-launches-new-headquarters/article28187907/" target="_blank">championed the digital economy</a> after largely overlooking the sector in recent years. With oil and other commodities trading at multiyear lows, the economy teetering and a new class of startups gaining traction and disrupting traditional industries, Canadian politicians are hearing they need <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/executive-insight/liberal-party-needs-to-rethink-its-tired-response-to-canadas-innovation-woes/article27084058/" target="_blank">new, effective approaches to foster innovation</a> and support tech startups.</li>
<li>]&nbsp;Meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/vancouver-tech-scene/article25885653/" target="_blank">a chronic skills and talent shortage</a>&nbsp;is expected to worsen, with Canada forecast to be short more than 180,000 information, communications and technology workers by 2019, according to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.digcompass.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Labour-Market-Outlook-2015-2019.pdf" target="_blank">one recent report</a>.(PDF)</li>
<li>]&nbsp;&ldquo;Computer science skills &hellip; are increasingly critical as technology is where all future job growth lies,&rdquo; said Jeff Booth, CEO of Vancouver&rsquo;s BuildDirect Technologies Inc., a web platform for ordering construction materials with 330 employees. &ldquo;There is already a war for talent in technology that has companies like ours searching the world for the best engineers. &hellip; It&rsquo;s very possible that computer coding and other technology skills may become as critical as reading and writing.&rdquo;</li>
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<h2>[HOW-TO]</h2>
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<li>]</li>
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<h2>[REFERENCE]</h2>
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<li>] SRC = /r/canada, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/41j2zp/bc_to_add_computer_coding_to_school_curriculum/" target="_blank">comments</a></li>
<li>]&nbsp;https://bctechstrategy.gov.bc.ca/&nbsp;</li>
<li>]&nbsp;</li>
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<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Last week, during a visit to Google&rsquo;s new Canadian operation in Waterloo, Ont., Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged, &ldquo;We need to do a lot better job of getting young people to understand what coding is and how it&rsquo;s important.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">The new B.C. coding curriculum <strong>will be introduced across all grades over the next three years,</strong> featuring new standards in mathematics and sciences and a new and redesigned &ldquo;applied design, skills and technologies&rdquo; (ADST) component to improve students&rsquo; abilities to solve problems and think creatively.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">The way students are taught will change starting in kindergarten, through &ldquo;exploratory and purposeful play&rdquo; that stimulates an aptitude for ADST. As they age, B.C. students will learn about computational thinking and learn the various aspects of programming. <strong>By the end of Grade 9, the government &ldquo;students will also be able to experience basic coding,&rdquo;</strong> a government source said.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Ms. Clark said it&rsquo;s her goal to ensure coding education &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t just become an opportunity for every child to take part in, but to ultimately make it <strong>mandatory for every child from kindergarten to grade 12 to learn about coding and how it works.</strong></p>
<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Students in middle grades will learn how to code, debug algorithms and use various coding techniques, including visual programming, while high-school students will have the opportunity to specialize in particular areas of technology.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><strong>B.C. follows Nova Scotia</strong>,&nbsp;<a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: #da161f !important; background: transparent;" href="http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1317948-n.s.-making-plans-to-teach-coding-to-students-in-every-grade" target="_blank">which announced last October</a>&nbsp;it will introduce coding to the curriculum this fall. Coding was also recently added to school curriculum in Britain and is coming in Australia.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">While most Canadian provinces offer some computer-science classes and technology in classrooms, the net result is a patchwork, bolstered by outside initiatives aimed at addressing the coding deficiency in schools, such as&nbsp;<a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: #da161f !important; background: transparent;" href="http://actua.ca/en/programs/codemakers/" target="_blank">Google-backed program Codemakers</a>, which seeks to expose 100,000 Canadian children to programming.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Members of the Canadian tech community praised the coming B.C. initiative. &ldquo;Providing a science, technology, engineering and math curriculum early in a child&rsquo;s education is fundamental in advancing Canada&rsquo;s innovation agenda,&rdquo; said John Ruffolo, CEO of OMERS Ventures, a leading Canadian venture-capital fund. &ldquo;Hopefully, the rest of Canada will follow [B.C.&rsquo;s] lead.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Canadian tech entrepreneur and investor Jevon MacDonald said, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing to see different provinces taking the initiative to include computer programming in our public-school curriculum,&rdquo; and called on provinces to jointly develop national coding education standards. &ldquo;This would mean that no Canadian child would miss out.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Tobi Lutke, chief executive officer of Ottawa-based Shopify Inc., one of Canada&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; color: #da161f !important; background: transparent;" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/shopify-blows-past-forecasts-in-first-quarter-as-public-company/article25770585/" target="_blank">most successful startups</a>, said it&rsquo;s essential to vanquish &ldquo;one of the greatest generational divides in history&rdquo; by encouraging widespread computer literacy. &ldquo;To the initiated, computers can solve nearly any workflow problem,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There is a reason why almost all entrepreneurs are &lsquo;techies&rsquo; these days &ndash; they are the only ones that can teach computers new things. It&rsquo;s an unfair advantage and entirely unnecessary. Computer programming is not hard and it is a whole lot of fun.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><strong>&ldquo;Essentially every company in the world is either turning into a software company or is in the process of dying because of a software company,&rdquo;</strong> Mr. Lutke added. &ldquo;In this great reshuffling of the business world, we need Canada to end up with a good share of the newly created and scaled companies. There is tremendous upside for Canada in making computer literacy part of the core curriculum. &hellip; Whoever figures out how to teach computer literacy first will have by far the most prepared work force. It&rsquo;s hard to overestimate the potential of that.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="selectionShareable" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.5; font-family: Garuda, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">The B.C. government announced other initiatives to support the tech sector, including making it easier for tech firms to sell to government.</p>
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<h1 style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</h1>

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