Not knowing how the Internet works and what it is based on is dangerous, says Ira Diethelm, Professor of Computing Science Education. In this interview, she explains why she considers compulsory computer science lessons in schools to be essential - and what its great opportunities are.
QUESTION: Ms Diethelm, Computing Science is a compulsory subject in the Netherlands, Poland and many other countries, and from the summer in the UK it will even be compulsory from the first grade. Why do you think Germany should definitely follow suit?
DIETHELM: The list of reasons is long, but I would first like to answer the question with a counter-question: Why do schools in Germany and elsewhere actually have compulsory science lessons? At the beginning of the 20th century, science became urgently necessary due to the changes in everyday life and academic appointments as a result of industrialisation. Many new academic appointments had emerged that were impossible or even dangerous without scientific knowledge. Computing Science is similar now. Our daily private and academic appointments are now permeated by IT due to the transformation to an information society and most people only have a vague idea, for example, about where my photos and messages are when they are in the cloud or using WhatsApp.
QUESTION: Why is it important to know more here? You could also say: I know how I store my photos and that's enough for me.
DIETHELM: Since most people don't know the principles on which the Internet is based, it is impossible to assess the effects and dangers associated with new applications. However, this is absolutely necessary if I, as a responsible citizen, am to decide on my behaviour and also, for example, in elections via parliaments and thus participate in democracy. Computing Science is the school subject that provides the necessary and long-lasting background knowledge. No other subject can do that.
QUESTION: There is still a prevailing image in Computing Science that you mainly write long computer programmes that are only understandable to insiders.
DIETHELM: That's no longer the case. In the past, computer science lessons were only aimed at a few interested people. On the other hand, programming was also necessary to use the computer at all. That has since changed. Programming will always be part of computer science lessons, however, as it allows students to experience first-hand how to design software and thus control the machine. Pupils learn first-hand how difficult and easy it is to create such programmes, but also that they can do it themselves and how. This is an enormous boost to their self-confidence in relation to IT and some of them discover previously unrecognised talents. I see the relationship between programming and Computing Science more like arithmetic and maths or experimentation and chemistry.
QUESTION: What is Computing Science then - to what extent do we understand the world better when we are proficient in the subject?
DIETHELM: Computer science lessons help us to better understand the world we live in today, with all the phenomena caused by IT, and to use and critically scrutinise it. And many would no longer stand by helplessly when, as is so often the case, technology fails. They would be more confident in dealing with technology and would have less fear and fewer questions because they would understand what is behind it.
QUESTION: Can you give an example from our everyday lives?
DIETHELM: Sure. For example, the beeping at the scanner checkout, the QR codes that are displayed everywhere, or when you're waiting for the bus and the next two buses are displayed on a board: Let's say for the first one there is a minute indication "5 minutes to go", for the second one the specific time "13:37". I've already had a pupil next to me ask his friend: "That's strange, why is it like that?". Computer science lessons could explain this phenomenon with the transmission of the bus signals: The first bus sends its signal, the second one has just lost contact, the time from the timetable is displayed instead. So I know that the second bus can arrive much later than indicated, but the first one will probably really be there in five minutes.
QUESTION: We are practically surrounded by this topic ...
DIETHELM: Yes, and if you know about the technical principles of the internet, you can also take a much more informed position in discussions on current issues - take the NSA affair or the role of social networks in political upheavals such as the Arab Spring. It is easier to judge whether it would be technically feasible to implement the internet marks that are repeatedly called for. Last but not least, I hope that people would handle their data on the internet more responsibly if they better understood how easily their data can be collected and analysed. But to do this, you first need to understand how it all works, and also what doesn't work and why.
QUESTION: What content should definitely be taught in the subject?
DIETHELM: Above all, the things from everyday life that are behind IT, and of course in an age-appropriate way. That's a broad field. But in the new core curriculum, which will come into force in Lower Saxony from the summer for all schools that already offer Computing Science as a compulsory elective subject in years seven to nine, for example, this has been solved well. The content and skills are summarised here in so-called learning fields. These are called "Data and its traces" or "Automated processes" or "Algorithmic problem solving". This covers how the internet works, how data is transmitted in encrypted form, where processes are automated in our everyday lives, at the scanner checkout, the deposit machine, the fax machine, but also the robot vacuum cleaner or large parts of the mail order business. With robots such as "Lego Mindstorms" or Arduino kits and simple programming environments such as "Scatch", but also a lot with role-playing games and tasks without computers, these processes can then be modelled and understood by pupils. Of course, basic skills in the area of "computer literacy" are also essential.
QUESTION: What about the legal basis for using the Internet?
DIETHELM: This is also very important and should be part of the lessons, especially informational self-determination and copyright. I would like to recognise a good choice of topics by the fact that the pupils then talk about them in the school playground with their friends or at dinner with their families and directly experience and even pass on their skills and knowledge. In general, it is important to give students a good sense of self-confidence that they understand technology and the Internet when they rediscover the principles again and again in other manifestations. For example, what are the differences and transitions between data and information, between pixel and vector graphics?
QUESTION: Are there actually any findings about which children have easier access to the material - presumably those who can spend a lot of time with their computer?
DIETHELM: Interestingly, this correlation has not been proven. In a recent study commissioned by the EU, no correlation was found between better computer equipment in schools, usage and confidence and attitudes towards IT. As long as 20 years ago, a colleague found that children who spend more time on computers do not automatically gain a better understanding of how computers work. Only those who are given systematic access through IT lessons have long-term advantages.
QUESTION: Who has the best access?
DIETHELM: The unbiased children in primary school and early lower secondary school with their honest, unbridled curiosity. These children dare to ask anything: "Will the data actually fall out of my USB stick if I don't put the lid on?" or "How does it work with the touchscreen, vibration and sound?" and "How can I talk to others safely?". Children ask an incredible number of questions that provide a natural introduction to different Computing Science lessons and are also interesting for many adults. My doctoral candidate Christian Borowski is currently researching possible computer science topics for primary schools with great success. In particular, we have noticed a great thirst for knowledge around the topic of security, as I said, even among primary school children, even before the NSA was in the news.
QUESTION: So you should start as early as possible?
DIETHELM: Exactly, we need to establish the same level of Computing Science education for everyone as early as possible. In addition, as pupils get older, the digital divide that arises from the family environment also increases. Some children are introduced to computers and digital media competently and responsibly by their parents. Others are left free to follow their inclinations and thus also their aversions to IT. Computer science lessons would also make a massive contribution to equality if all pupils, and therefore all girls, had them on the timetable.