This week, the Guardian has an excellent series on digital literacy (on the heels of Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s harsh criticism of the current state of computer science education in the UK, last August). Industry is not being served and neither are students, in schools or in Higher Education and this is finally starting to get some exposure, though to anyone who is working in teaching and learning computing, this has been apparent for a long time. What might be surprising is how long it has taken the policy makers to figure out that this is a key area for economic growth in the UK. It is just a shame that awareness wasn’t raised long before more rash actions were taken, such as the closure of Becta.

What is to be done about this? There are many answers to this question and it’s one reason that the Guardian series makes for good reading. The series highlights the many aspects of the problem, from shortage of qualified teachers, to obliviousness of ministers, to programmes that don’t produce qualified candidates (apparently 14% of computer science graduates still don’t have a job after 6 months), to offshoring of key skills that industry needs, which I mentioned in this article.

The good news is that with the Eye of Mordor turning its attention to the subject, we might perhaps see more support given for improving both pedagogy and research in Computing education. I have my fingers crossed. If you have a moment, saunter over and get a good look, it will confirm your suspicions and just maybe, you’ll cross your fingers too.