Winners and Losers – Let’s Give Kids a Head Start in IT

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We’ve just been visiting the winners of the CleverBoxes Classroom of the Future   competition.

And I can tell you, handing over 25 free net books and two Lap Cabbies to a bunch of bubbly and hugely grateful primary school kids is a good way to pick you up for the rest of the day.

But I have to say there was a moment when I felt suddenly saddened by what I saw and it made me worry about how we’re preparing our youngsters for the future.

To see these young children (all eight and nine year olds), so full of fun and fired up with creative ideas and to talk to their teachers who were so infectiously enthusiastic, made me feel pretty humble.

What really saddened me though was when we came to do the photos after the presentation.

The winning kids had just three laptops between them before we handed them another 15. And when you looked at that class all proudly lined up with their new net books for the photo, it really hit home that even now half the class still don’t have computers.

To me, every child in that school – and in every school – should at least have a laptop, or a simple netbook like the ones we presented.

We talk about equipping kids for the future, driving innovation, the knowledge economy, helping creativity and innovation to flourish, but we’re not even giving them the basic tools early on. This sort of thing is no longer a luxury item, not in a first-world economy in the 21st century.

The lack of IT in schools is really nothing short of a scandal.  And such a waste!

On a brighter note, this competition was a great success. The entries were fun and packed with some really cute ideas and exhibited what even these very young children can do when given the tools and the inspiration.

CleverBoxes can’t solve the IT in schools problem single-handedly, but I do hope people will join me in banging on about the situation. And we’re definitely going to be running the competition again – just bigger next time!

Congratulations to all the kids at Coupe Green Primary School in Preston and their fantastic teachers. And, of course, to the runners up – the children and their teachers at Heskin Pemberton C of E Primary School in Chorley.

I’m going to be posting a big selection of all the entries this week, but, in the meantime, here’s Coupe Green Primary’s winning video. Great stuff!  Enjoy…..