#ICT500 Rethinking ICT

There is one key difference between ICT and most other subjects, the content and field of ICT is evolving much quicker than any other subject. The events leading up to WWII and the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan have happened and very little new information is going to be gleaned from these events, with the exception of new interviews and new case studies. These events which are core to History and Geography have happened and they are not changing, events do not evolve.

Contrast all other subjects and fields to ICT- forms of information are constantly evolving, five years ago, infographics were neither common, nor fashionable. Data visualization as a field did not exist. In terms of communication, VoIP and Microblogging were once used by a small minority during a time when text messages and e-mail were replacing office memo's. In terms of technology, a clear trend in the 90's was the shrinking of mobile devices-we all wanted something more compact, smaller, thinner. The use of mobile technology changed however when mobile access to the Internet meant people were quite happy with a larger device with a larger screen.

With so many changes, you would think that ICT as a school subject would have also evolved, kept up with these changes. Unfortunately, it hasn't. It apparently takes a few years for new Specifications to be approved and maybe for this reason, ICT remained focussed around (Microsoft) Office applications. There was no motivation to change, teachers were fairly content, students knew no better and accepted the system. The system however did not evolve-in 2001, when I did my GCSE, the only way of apparently demonstrating understanding was through printscreens and annotation. Despite screen capture software and free audio capture/editing software such as Audacity now prevalent, relatively little has changed in the way we assess work.

In rethinking ICT, we need to look at the real world. Not just an office environment using Microsoft Office. What do film studios, software companies, startups, mobile phone companies, game designers, web designers and network engineers actually use? What skills do they need? We need to work backwards from there. We need to respond by improving our curriculum so that it prepares our learners for the real working world.
We need to seek support from industries and we also need to teach a wider variety of technical skills alongside a wider variety of approaches and thinking skills. Learning skills is one thing, knowing how to approach a problem, knowing who you need in a team are other key skills. The importance of the team cannot be underestimated, very rarely do people in ICT work alone. Group projects would bring a more balanced and realistic dynamic. Students should be able to experience more streams/types of ICT and then choose which one(s) to pursue in more depth. A modular approach like A-level Maths is probably more suitable than a prescriptive one-size fits all approach.