It took me a while to catch my breath from our first-ever Scottish Computing Science Week (from 15-19 May) but I was absolutely delighted with how it went - it was a week-long celebration of digital creativity across the curriculum.
In Education Scotland’s digital skills team, we work closely with schools across the country and offer a range of live lessons and interactive webinars throughout the year, but this time we were specifically looking for a way to inspire the next generation of digital creators.
We know that digital skills are crucial for the future success of our children and young people who face a rapidly evolving digital world, and we wanted to help learners to start their digital journey and build these important skills.
We decided that a week offering a wide range of events and activities focused on computing science would be the perfect opportunity to inspire learners, and we were pleased with the enthusiasm shown by partners who provided a rich selection of sessions throughout the week.
We are particularly proud of the collaboration with Mitch Resnick, LEGO Papert professor of learning research at the MIT Media Lab, who opened the week with an inspiring assembly where he answered questions from learners. His Lifelong Kindergarten research group developed the Scratch programming software and online community, used by millions of young people around the world.
Technology can be a force for good in the fight against climate change and this was the message underpinning several of our sessions, including the Micro:Bit Education Foundation’s “code along” to build data loggers that can be used to record environmental impact; Barefoot Computing’s live lesson on how to create a Scratch project that promises to take steps to protect the environment; and Tech She Can’s live assembly on technology to protect our planet. The National Robotarium brought into view the future of “soft robotics”, a field inspired by creatures in the natural world.
Apart from a few temporary glitches (everyone who works with computers will know that gremlins sometimes do occur), the event has been a great success. It has highlighted a real enthusiasm for computing science in nurseries and schools. The sheer number of sign-ups was surprising and wonderful. Indeed, over 11,000 learners and over 700 educators participated across the 11 events.
The feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive. There were over 1,000 mentions of the #CSscot23 hashtag on Twitter, with nursery, primary and secondary school settings sharing and celebrating their successes and achievements as digital creators and innovators.
After the fun of the event, we now start the process of considering what we could do next. One thing is for sure - Scottish Computing Science Week will now be an annual event. If you are a teacher we’d love to hear from you about which aspects of computing science you would like us to focus on next year. Please get in touch via @DigiLearnScot.
Louise Foreman is education officer for digital skills at Education Scotland
