«Most of our children's professions don't even exist yet»
«Computational thinking» is on everyone's lips today. Do we have to think like computers today?
"Computational thinking combines analytical and creative thinking with natural sciences, engineering and other applications. Computational thinking is therefore a collection of several competences: correctly understanding problems, designing, planning and implementing creative solutions, observing and improving attempted solutions and, last but not least, programming robots, for example.
Computational thinking focusses on how people can approach and solve problems. It does not endeavour to make people think and act like computers. Accordingly, computational thinking is a universally applicable attitude and skill that everyone should be able to learn and use directly or indirectly in life.
Why is computational thinking so important?
According to the «WEF Report on the Future of Work», the general ability to solve complex problems is the most important skill. This is hardly surprising when you consider that, according to estimates in the same report, around 65 per cent of the professions that today's primary school children will do one day do not even exist. In addition, digitalisation is changing more and more professions that we know today.
Computational thinking can be used to formulate a problem in such a way that a computer-aided solution can be found. Computational thinking thus ideally prepares young people for a future characterised by digital transformation. And so the future becomes more of an opportunity than a threat.
«With computational thinking, the future becomes an opportunity instead of a threat.»
Christian Lundsgaard, project manager of the Digital Day Switzerland 2018
Can you be a little more specific?
Just as the first industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries created the basis for the jobs we know today, the digital revolution will also give rise to completely new professions that we perhaps cannot even imagine today.
How can «Computational Thinking» be incorporated into lessons?
Tasks with educational robots such as the Thymio are very suitable for this. This robot has wheels and numerous sensors. One task could be for a group of pupils to use this robot to push a toilet roll out of a circle. However, the robot itself must not leave the circle.
The pupils can collaboratively consider how they can solve this task using the robot's technical capabilities. At this point, the robot is more or less a blank slate.
The robot's sensors can be programmed using an intuitive, easy-to-understand visual programming language so that it recognises the circle drawn on the table and moves in a different direction. The robot repeats this process until it recognises the toilet roll in front of it. It then moves the toilet roll in front of it until it bumps into the circle again.
Programming courses for children are booming. But not all parents can afford these courses. How can they support their child in other ways?
It is unacceptable that only some children are able to deal with important future skills such as programming and computational thinking. For this reason, we have launched the «Computational Thinking Initiative CTI» together with EPFL, various universities of teacher education and Swisscom. The initiative is a collaboration between public educational institutions and the private sector and aims to help ensure that computational thinking can be taught in compulsory lessons at all schools in the future - accessible to all.
Among other things, we are starting with the development of further training for teachers and even with very specific projects at primary schools. We want to share the experience we have gained with all interested stakeholders in the education system.
More information and the programme for Digital Day Switzerland on 25 October 2018: www.digitaltag.swiss
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