Never mind the technology, where’s the learning?

Next month will see the fiftieth anniversary of the BCS (British Computer Society) which describes itself as the leading body for those working in IT. It has 60,000 members in over 100 countries and its objects are to promote the study and practice of computing and to advance knowledge of and education in IT for the benefit of the public. BCS has moved a long way from its origins as a group of scientists to have members from all areas of computing and IT. Its website articles offer a range of advice in all subject areas from digital music to outsourcing and games.

The BBC Today (which also celebrates its 50 anniversary next month) programme ran a short piece on BCS this morning [listen here about 20 minutes in] which concentrated on what we can expect over the next half century, rather than what we might have learnt from the last. There were the usual predictions and mention of Moore’s Law, and although I rather liked the ‘piece of cloth’ analogy for the growth of information, I doubt whether a lot was gained by the listener. No real mention of the opportunities for learning, the inequities of the global digital divide, the change from commercial to open source models or the environmental cost of the information revolution. To me, these might be the issues to debate as we look forward to the society’s next 50 years.

Blogged with Flock