By Sylvia Carr, 12 February 2007 15:25
NEWS
A new government-backed competition has been launched to discover the most innovative users of IT in the next generation.
The Parliamentary Information Technology Committee (Pitcom) and e-skills UK are looking for projects from primary school students aged nine to 11 which show "initiative and imagination", make good use of the school's ICT resources and fit into the national curriculum.
The best projects will be selected on a regional and national basis to win cash prizes from £1,000 to £3,000.
e-Skills UK CEO Karen Price said technology can harness children's "natural energy and enthusiasm" and help them "make a positive contribution to their world".
Tim Boswell, Conservative MP for Daventry and a member of Pitcom's council, said using IT in primary schools can help children acquire "vital skills for the future".
Entries for the 'Made IT Happen' competition must be submitted by 3 July 2007. More details on submissions can be found here.
silicon.com's CIO Agenda revealed skills shortages are one of the main concerns for IT users this year - in part because there are too few IT graduates coming out of the education system. Our CIO Jury also complained that today's graduates lack fundamental skills such as writing and arithmetic.
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1. D Allcock
Do the Government really think this will inspire today's children to think about innovative IT applications in their own schools? Do they still think that they will expend effort for the school when there is little or nothing in it for them?
My experience with todays children tells me that they would rather spend time downloading off P2P networks than spend 1 minute thinking up ideas for this competition. If you want to appeal to these kids, even at this age, you have to ensure that there are clear benefits for the individual child, not for the childs school, which children today have little or no attachment to. Appeal to the childs greed, then you're talking, then you'll see real innovation and effort.