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BBC attempts to teach the world to code (again)

Hands up all those who remember the BBC microcomputer...

Yes, in the pre-PC era, the BBC micro was a pretty cool piece of kit, the design and manufacture of which is attributed to Acorn -- the company that went on to develop the now-trendy ARM processors.

Way back in the early 1980s, the BBC took on the ambitious challenge of teaching the UK all about these new-fangled computer things and even how to program them. This education was done through a number of TV series that were screened by the public broadcaster.

Pivotal to this "learn to program" initiative was the very powerful BBC BASIC language that was part of the onboard ROM memory in every machine.

Although widely accepted by schools in the UK (80% of schools had one or more), time eventually overtook "the Beeb", as it was oft-called and now computers are relegated to the role of "tools", nobody needs to learn to program any more.

Or do they?

In a decidedly "back to the future" move on the part of the BBC, the director general Tony Hall has announced that the broadcaster is going to have another go at introducing the UK public to the concept of writing their own computer programs.

Scheduled for launch in 2015, the initiative is supposedly designed to address the growing skills gap that is appearing in Britain's hi-tech sector.

The UK's Education Minister is reportedly right behind the move and says that he wants to see the teaching of coding skills given a priority in the nation's schools.

It seems that every man and his dog is coming out of the woodwork with support for the BBC's initiative... here are just a few of the quotes that have been flying around:

"We want to inspire a new generation to get creative with coding, programming and digital technology": Tony Hall, BBC director general.

"We want to transform the nation's ability and attitude towards coding": Ralph Rivera, BBC director of future media.

"This initiative represents a welcome return to computing education from the organisation that was responsible for my interest in the subject": Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton.

"From the point of view of getting people more inspired about IT and into that world, as such, it can only be a positive thing": Learning Tree International marketing director Christian Trounce.

The real question however, must be whether it is the job of a public broadcaster to also take on the role of public educator.

Well I think it is. In fact, I wish something similar would be done with the resources of TVNZ here in NZ. Let's face it, anything has to be better than "NZ's Got Talent" and "Survivor Otara" or whatever is this week's "reality TV de jour".

On the other hand, I really doubt that many people within the domain of "the general public" will want to get their hands dirty learning how to cut code.

Computers have come a long, long way since the early 1980s. Back then, most of us simply had no option but to learn coding -- if only because there was a dearth of decent software so many applications had to be hand-crafted out of necessity.

Today however, computers are tools and I suspect that just as most people don't care to become a mechanic simply to extract extra use from their cars, few people will want to learn C, Java or even BASIC simply to find new uses for their PCs or netbooks.

Of course most of the BBC's latest initiative will be focused on delivering quality educational material to schools -- but that would clearly not go down at all well here in NZ since it would be seen as an unfair use of public money in what ought to be a commercial marketplace (the supply of educational materials).

I will be watching the roll-out of this new push by the BBC with great interest and certainly hope that it does inspire new generations of people to dive under the GUI to learn more about programming and the power it offers.

How many Aardvark readers recall the BBC Micro?

Could the BBC repeat its educational success of the 1980s using the Raspberry Pi as the hardware this time -- or has programming become the blacksmithing of the 21st century -- an unnecessary skill for all but those who are professionals?

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