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Teaching creative computer science: Simon Peyton Jones at TEDxExeter
TEDx Talks
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- Recommended by 2 people: 2 on Lobsters.
- Presented by Simon Peyton Jones, Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research
- An opinion. It argues one side of a question engineers disagree on.
Beginner. No background in the topic needed.
129K views12 years ago2 recommendations
Computer scienceCareers and interviewsComputation and complexityThe tech industry
Simon Peyton Jones argues that children should learn computer science to become creators of technology rather than just passive consumers.
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Simon Peyton Jones wants children not just to consume technology, but to be creative with it. What does that mean for teaching computer science in schools, and why is the rest of the world watching England? Simon Peyton Jones is a principal researcher at Microsoft Research in Cambridge. His research focus is in programming language design and implementation, and the purely-functional language Haskell in particular. He is a founder member and current chair of the Computing at School working group, which has played a central role in the recent reform of the school Computing curriculum. At TEDxExeter 2014 our speakers and performers connected us with other worlds. Our talks exposed corruption in big business, shared effective approaches to tackling social inequality and gave a voice to those whose human rights are under threat. We explored the impact of fast changing technologies on all our lives. We journeyed through fire and forest to frozen landscapes. We were challenged to consider worlds of extremes, cutting edge controversies and risky opportunities. twitter.com/simonpj0 Video Production Chromatrope (chromatrope.co.uk/) Production Manager Andy Robertson (youtube.com/familygamertv) About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)Why it's here
2 people recommend thisWhat people say. Recommended as an inspiring talk on the importance of computer science education in schools.
u/barsoapin r/compsci • Mentions
On “BBC begins kids coding push with Bitesize and TV shows”
I'm jealous.
FYI: The whole thing is the brainchild of the right kind of people. Have e.g. Simon Peyton Jones of GHC fame and one of the main people behind it be his usual enthusiastic self about it on TED. Raspberry Pi also belongs to the general push.
In particular, it's not based on "teach them how to code" as much as science education isn't about, or based on, "teach them how to solve Hamiltonians".
Or have a longer fix, also by SPJ.
u/k-bxin r/haskell • Mentions
On “Tutorial request: explain Haskell to complete noob”
While not related to Haskell, here is a counter-example. SPJ in less than 15 minutes manages to make a very strong point of bringing the whole new curriculum to all schools of England: link to this video
If he could do that, why can't we do something "as simple" as creating a feel of why Haskell is powerful? I'm not asking to show every feature out there, just one or two examples might work. For example, showing "Maybe a" (and how Haskell solves "null" problem) type is very good, at least one of bright spots in my experience.
u/_marzipankaiser_in r/ProgrammingLanguages • Mentions
On “Do you guys think they should teach simple programming in schools?”
…nce (for lack of a better name) is part of the curriculum early enough, this could also benefit the understanding in other subjects, e.g. implementing some simple programs in maths class can make some abstract topics more concrete, and thus easier to understand.
There is a great talk by Simon Peyton Jones (one of the main developers of Haskell): [video…
u/barsoapin r/compsci • Mentions
On “In 28 states, computer science doesn't count towards high school graduation math or science requirements.”
> If coders, who are very logical and analyitical, were working in a 'scientific' mindset I think there would be a lot more well documented code and decent documentation for more projects.
Have you ever seen code written by physicists, or chemists? It is *abysmal*.
> CS, as it is taught today(even at a college level) cannot replace science and mathematics in teaching that.
I agree there, it's not even CS. This is how it ought to be done.
But would it really be a bad idea to, say, get rid of most of calculus and teach discrete mathematics, instead?
If we get to nudge students' minds in younger years enough into the right patterns to be later able to properly grok discrete maths and com…
u/quiteamessin r/haskell • Mentions
On “How does it happen that the (the majority of the newer) papers about Haskell are paywalled?”
Yes, I totally agree, paywalls are bad. This is my opinion, most likely the opinion of everybody else in the Haskell community and the opinion of most scientists. Publisher like paywalls, scientists don’t. Go to your local university and ask a random professor if he likes paywalls. The answer will most likely be no.
Is the reason for FP ideas not being widely adopted that knowledge is guarded by some elite community? No this is not the reason. As numerous people in this thread have pointed out the information is all there, on arxiv and in preprints.
Speaking of “making ideas available to the general public”. Simon Peyton Jones is working hard on it..