This is what school computing classes should be like, according to maker space FabLab's co-founder Tony Fish: students jumping up from excitement because their robot did as it was commanded, high-fiving each other because their code made LEDs light up, and proudly parading around draped in wearables of their own creation. That was the cheerfully noisy scene at FabLab's Maker Space at WIRED 2015 NexGen. But due to the year-old curriculum's focus on coding, and not things, that's often not the case in classrooms, according to Fish. "Teachers have converted it to something dull, when it's supposed to be inspiring," Fish said of the new computing classes, admitting that he was "one of the idiots helping to write the syllabus," but said it was "massively mistranslated" to teach programming rather than "computational thinking".
To help inspire students, computing classes should include everything from art to engineering -- cornerstones of the maker movement. That will help students learn more than simply how to get a job in IT, he said, but teach them how to use their creativity to start their own businesses. "What we're trying to do is turn kids from consumers to creators," Fish added.
Primary schools may not find it easy to extend their lessons from coding at laptops to creative engineering and working with hardware, as high-level tech skills aren't always in high supply among teachers. But groups such as FabLab are stepping in to fill the gap, bringing a miniature version of its workshop to schools in a trailer pulled by a bicycle, giving students a chance to try out 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC milling, robotics and even programming. "It's a bit like Tony Stark's lab on steroids," said co-founder Ande Gregson.
Gallery: Fab Lab want to give every student Tony Stark's laboratory
The Raspberry Pi is also popular in schools, and additional tools have been created to make it easier to teach with, such as Fuze, a box that lets students plug in bits of hardware to programme. "Primary schools generally don't have teachers with digital skills, so they're having to scramble around," said Fuze creator Jon Silvera.
>Plus, year seven students are set to be handed a free BBC micro:bit, a low-cost computing board they can programme via Scratch -- although that programme has been delayed by manufacturing issues. Several micro:bits were in use by students in the FabLab Makers Space, making the case for hands-on hardware by enthusiastically programming the computing cards -- despite this being a Saturday. "Kids love things to touch and hold," said Laura Flack, one of the volunteers at Digital Eagles, the computing group running the micro:bit table.
All of those efforts should help make Britain's computing classes look and feel a bit more like maker spaces or workshops to help inspire students. It appeared to be a success at WIRED NextGen, where students created bandanas with circuitry that lights up; one young girl said she'd see how it fashionable it looked before she agreed to wear it in public, a lesson smartwatch makers took years to learn. A few feet away, a pair of year six students high-fived each other for making their Raspberry Pi-powered Fuze light up a series of LEDs, saying it was easy after learning Python in school -- suggesting perhaps a bit of both coding and engineering is what the curriculum really needs.