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Children

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CHILDREN AND TECHNOLOGY

 

Children lose interest in technology careers as they reach their late teenage years.

A study by firms Nominet and Parent Zone found 77% of children aged  of 11 to 12 are more inspired by IT and would like a career in it, as  opposed to only 63% at the ages of 17 to 18.

Development careers most interested children between the ages of 11  to 18, with almost a quarter wanting to be a games developer, 13%  wanting a career in apps development and 12.6% aspiring to be a web  developer.

Many believe that parents greatly influence the career choices of their children, with a most children asking their parents for career advice.

Vicki Shotbolt, CEO of Parent Zone, claimed children and especially  young women can be put off of careers in technology if their parents  advise them to look elsewhere.

Shotbolt said: “It’s easy for parents to slip into the trap of being  negative about technology, but it’s important they try to see it through  their children’s eyes and remember that technology is likely to feature  in their careers when they leave school.

"There are lots of resources available to parents when it comes to  cultivating their children’s interests in IT, so they should know that  help is available if they need it.”

 

Read more about careers in IT

 

  • Senior network architect at University College London Emma Cardinal-Richards discusses her career as a woman in IT and a dissolving of the “old guard”.

  • Around three quarters of firms think the technology skills shortage could be solved by employing apprentices.

 

 

The careers girls and boys want

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Interest in careers in IT and technology varied by gender, with only  a quarter of girls claiming they hoped to work in an IT department, as  opposed to 43% of boys.

But 12.3% of girls said their dream career would be in games  development – and 11.5% of girls claimed they wanted to be an  entrepreneur.

The most coveted job for girls between the ages of 11 to 18 was in  fashion design, with 13% of girls hoping this was their future career.  The top career for boys in this age group was games development, with  36.5% of boys wanting to pursue the career.

Shotbolt said: “Young women are strongly influenced by their school  years, what they learn and the role models they look up to. These  influences can clearly make a difference to the choices they make later  in life, so it’s paramount we do all we can now to ensure the success of  our future IT workforce.”

 

Industry collaboration with education

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In September 2014, the UK government made it mandatory for children between the ages of five and 16 to learn computing in schools.

But 45% of children said they wanted a better IT education to ensure  they have the skills to enter a career in IT; and 35% of children  claimed they were turning to advisors to help them understand how they  can work towards an IT career.

Russell Haworth, CEO of Nominet, claimed collaboration between the  IT industry and the education sector could help to ensure more young  people are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to pursue a  technology career, and claimed this is more important for girls.

Haworth said: “We’re putting the future of our digital economy at  risk if we recruit from only half of the talent pool and fail to  encourage more girls into IT. It appears that sustained collaboration  between schools and the IT industry is what’s required to ignite girls’  interest and to develop their skills.” 

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Learn More

The Future is Technology,Programming,Design and A.I

Teach your kids NOW so they have great jobs for the future. This article is from Computer Weekly 

FIND OUT MORE

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CHILDREN

 One of the best things about teaching very young learners is that they  are super excited to learn! They also love technology, but we must  ensure that children learn early on balance and digital safety. When a  child begins to use technology, especially technology connected to the  Internet, they must also learn how to protect themselves and learn  wellness. For the past 20 years, I have used technology to teach  children all over the world! Currently, I am the Computer and Technology  Teacher for over 450 elementary students at a STEM Charter School. I  also have an energetic and enthusiastic 2 year-old daughter who loves  technology, but enjoys playing and exploring more. Below I am sharing my  tips and resources that I feel are especially enjoyable and safe for  young learners (toddlers to 6th grade). For a quick view of my top tips  download my slide presentation free, Teaching the “T” in STEM! Using Technology with Young Learners.  All resources mentioned have a free version or trial for educators and  many are registration and ad free so that students don’t have to give  their private information. Remember to ask parent permission and have a Digital Use Policy signed by parents and students when integrating technology.

 

Top Tools and Apps

 

  • Buncee to  create digital stories, digital posters, and more! COPPA Compliant!  Students enter codes given by the teacher. Find over 20 activities and  examples here.
    My Story Book is an easy to use web tool for students to create digital story books,  no registration required and ad free.

  • Make Beliefs Comix is a website and app to create comics, no registration required.
    TinyTap is  a wonderful iOS app for even preschool children to create their own  games and quizzes.  You can click the website to play vocabulary games  designed by others.

  • ZimmerTwins is a fun way to animate a movie, no registration required.

  • ABCYA animator to create a movie or gif, no registration required.

  • Sketch.io is to create a digital poster with gifs and paint tools, no registration required.

  • Voki is a website for creating talking avatars. The free version only provides limited options.

  • Bubbl.us is a website for creating colorful concept maps, no registration required.

  • Class Dojo and Seesaw are my favorite web tools and apps for communicating with parents and creating student digital portfolios.

  • Read, Write, Think has several interactives for children of various ages to learn to read and write.

  • Brain Pop has awesome videos, learning games, and other resources.

  • National Geographic for Kids is a great website to research countries and animals.

  • Common Sense has a digital citizenship curriculum for K-2 and 3rd-5th with videos, printables, and engaging activities.

  • GSUITE Edu tools and apps offer children and teachers so many awesome ways to create, design, and learn!

  • Edublogs is a safe way for students to create blogs. 

 

 

STEAM Tools and Apps

 

Common Site Links

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