Coding for kids in Shetland

The changing face of industry presents a number of challenges for the next generation. Many sectors will see a decline, while technological sectors will thrive. It’s never been more important for young people, and their parents, to embrace this change and start learning the skills that will help them in the careers of the future.

Children in Shetland are no exception, with opportunities abound to learn the skills that will set them up for the jobs that will be in demand in the future, especially computer programming and software development.

Code Club

Local software development firm Mesomorphic Ltd is leading the way with their innovative Code Club programme for schools. The idea is simple: Mesomorphic’s staff go in and deliver a six-week block of basic computer coding lessons during school time, engaging the children while training and empowering the adults at the same time. Then, Mesomorphic are able to step back and support from afar, as the school staff continue running the club with minimal input.

Maria Bell, Mesomorphic’s managing director, explained that while the project is providing primary-school age children with increasingly valuable skills, it’s also a long-term investment for the company:

“I guess you could argue it’s the world’s slowest recruitment plan,” Maria said, “encouraging children at a young age to start thinking outside the traditional roles you’d associate with people who enjoy maths, science, those types of things. The skills you’d learn with that, and analytical thinking, are actually quite prevalent in software development and the rest of the tech industry.

“It’s not really something that’s addressed a lot in school- and it’s great we’re now seeing schools become involved a lot in teaching Scratch and Thonny and using different tools online. But we’re using this as an opportunity to go in and just engage children at a younger age. We’re going for primary schools right through to secondary, and we’re forming links with Shetland College as well.

While it’s still in the early stages, Code Club is proving to be a success – the pilot scheme in Sandwick Primary School saw Maria and developer Tim Ash rolling out the course to eight children – followed by 42 children in Cunningsburgh Primary soon after. More sessions already planned for the North Isles in the next academic year.

The Code Club teaches programming with Scratch – a modular programming language aimed at children. The classes take the children through projects over three stages of complexity. The modular approach allows kids to see how code fits together without having to deal with the frustrations of syntax errors or an errant semicolon messing up the whole code. It’s a remarkably versatile bit of software, as Tim explained:

“Scratch is a simplified programming language, where instead of normal programming – typing things in – each of the programming structures has a ‘block’. So you have a block and you can clip things onto that.

“They’re all colour coded, so you’d have one for decisions, one for things that happen. And you can only join the right things together; ones that make sense... It is real programming, but you very quickly get a result. I think that’s the crucial part for Scratch.”

Tim, who leads on teaching the courses, said that the kids pick Scratch up in a very short amount of time, and can be capable of making some very surprising projects, ranging from simple platform games, to using a webcam to capture physical gestures for input.

“They were really good,” Tim said. “They got on quite hard and were producing some pretty interesting things… I’m quite excited, it’s something that all the kids seem to be interested in.”

Shetland Library

Mesopmorphic are by no means the first to roll out coding classes to Shetland’s youngsters. For the last few years the Shetland Library has run free Scratch classes after school in term-time, and condensed three-day courses in the school holidays. Classes fill up fast, and dozens of children have been through the courses already.

Louise Arcus, the library systems and learning assistant who runs the club, explained that the free classes have always seen an enthusiastic uptake:

““We have to do a bit of a push every time to get the kids,” she said, “and then we have a waiting list, then they’ll have enough to do a few clubs. And then when it’s done it’s ‘Right, where is the next lot coming from?’

“All the parents say how much they’ve enjoyed it. There hasn’t been anyone who didn’t turn up again; if they come for the first week, they come for the whole lot. The parents usually say they can’t wait for the next one to come.”

The library’s Scratch project plans come from the free website CodeClub.org. Louise said that the library runs as many sessions as they can, but can only take the kids so far in their learning; those who are keen to do more can access more advanced projects and tutorials on CodeClub.org at home, with projects available for both Scratch and more advanced programming languages such as Python.

Ultimately, Louise said, it’s important for parents to recognise that their kids’ fascination with computers is something that could open a lot of doors for them in the future:

“These are valid jobs as well, for kids for the future,” she said. “It’s a valid use of kids’ time, to learn coding.”

Digital isles

The two different programmes complement each other well, with both designed to act as an introduction to the varied world of coding and design. An expanding number of digital technology companies, such as Mesomorphic, NB Communication, JPL, HotGecko Media and Groundleader Ltd, are at the vanguard of what Maria refers to as the ‘Silicon Croft’ industry in Shetland. All are keen to recruit more technologically-skilled young Shetlanders to help strengthen this growing sector in the near future, and put the isles on the map as a key player in the digital field.

But the foundations of a strong economy tomorrow is imbuing young people with the relevant skills today, and kids in Shetland are off to a good start. After all, as Maria explained, living in Shetland is no impediment to learning or working in the digital sector:

“It’s a career that can be considered,” she said, “it opens up a world of opportunities. You can do software development anywhere in the world, really, when you’ve got an internet connection and electricity. It’s just another avenue for people to explore… It’s giving them the opportunity it be exposed to career choices they might not otherwise have thought about.

“The empowerment is the key thing, I think. It’s engaging the parents as well, and breaking down some of the more traditional thoughts about ‘you finish school, you go to university’ or ‘you finish school, you need to have a career plan in place’. Try different things, a different set of skills, and go from there.”