A NEW BT programme which aims to help almost 170,000 pupils prepare for the digital world has been launched.
Education Minister Peter Weir was on hand to kickstart the initiative which helps bring computer science to life in the classroom.
The Barefoot Computing Programme was established in 2014 with the original aim of helping primary school teachers get ready for the computer science element of a new computing curriculum.
BT took over the lead and funding for the programme in 2015 and has been working to enable the resources and workshops to be available to all primary school teachers throughout the UK.
The free resource, which is available to all primary schools in Northern Ireland, aims to equip teachers with the confidence, knowledge, skills and assets to teach computer science to pupils from 5-11 years old including SEN.
Pupils use computational thinking in a fun and accessible way and the skills they develop can be used across the curriculum to help improve their maths, science and literacy.
The Barefoot Computing downloadable resources and lesson plans are available for use by over 8,000 teachers in Northern Ireland, who may not have specialist computing knowledge, to help them educate almost 170,000 primary school pupils in computer science.
Resources, which have been tailored to the Northern Ireland curriculum, focus on concepts such as algorithms, abstraction, programming and data structures and provide ideas on how they can be used in the learning environment.
"In today’s digital world, where business and social engagements are often conducted online, it is of paramount importance that young people learn computing skills from an early age so that they are equipped with the necessary tools needed to progress in our increasingly digitised world," Mr Weir said.
Mairead Meyer, managing director of Networks at BT in Northern Ireland, added: “Our children grow up surrounded by technology but often they do not know how it all works, nor do they fully appreciate how it will shape their lives.
“The Barefoot Computing programme is an excellent resource to help teachers communicate computer science to children in a fun and engaging way, whilst providing step by step resources and workshops to give teachers of all tech abilities the confidence to teach these skills to their classes.
“This resource is part of BT’s long-term commitment to help build a culture of tech literacy and to use the power of communications to make a better world.
"As our first goal, BT aims to reach five million children by 2020. We are looking forward to seeing the programme take shape in Northern Ireland and having a real impact in our primary schools.”
Hilary Cunningham, principal of Belfast's Fane Street Primary Schoo, whose pupils have been benefiting from the programme, added: “Barefoot Computing is an excellent resource that my teachers are currently using to teach computer science to our young pupils in a way that is exciting and interactive.
“Not only do pupils learn vital computer skills as well as computational thinking from a young age but the resources are also excellent in helping our teachers to understand computer science and to have the confidence to educate our pupils in this increasingly vital subject.”
:: To download resources and request a workshop, teachers can register at http://barefootcas.org.uk/
