Kids who don鈥檛 have tech skills will be viewed in the same way as those who can鈥檛 read or write, says the founder of children鈥檚 media company Bright Little Labs.
Sophie Deen聽wants to use the company鈥檚 first product, the Detective Dot book series, to make sure kids have the core skills of the future.
The books are coding adventure stories covering core curriculum聽subjects like computer science in a fun way.
鈥淜ids without digital skills today will almost be cast aside like people who don鈥檛 have basic numeracy and literacy 鈥� it鈥檚 the same thing to me,鈥� she told 老九品茶Cloud.
Supported by the Department of Education, Google and Code Club, Deen helped design training to explain the new computer science curriculum for teachers after it became compulsory in 2014.
It was while doing this that Deen realised the need for an accessible introduction to subjects like coding.
鈥淭he risk is that if you don鈥檛 know what it鈥檚 about you鈥檙e just going to have kids sitting in front of the computer for an hour,鈥� she said.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e five years old it鈥檚 really important to understand computational thinking, how we can we break things down into smaller parts and how can we solve problems 鈥� it鈥檚 more about those concepts.
鈥淩egardless of whether you think kids should be playing in a field or sitting in front of a computer doesn鈥檛 really matter because they are in front of a computer, so let鈥檚 reach kids where they are and let鈥檚 not blame tools but give kids cool stuff to do, wherever they are.鈥�
In the Detective Dot megapack children get a membership card to the 鈥楥IA鈥� 鈥� Children鈥檚 Intelligence Agency 鈥� and missions to complete alongside the book.
The reaction from the kids has been 鈥榳icked鈥�, says Deen, and the platform now has over 1,000 children registered.
鈥淭hey take the whole thing super seriously,鈥� she said.
鈥淭hey often don鈥檛 put stamps on their letters to us so we鈥檙e constantly going to the post office and spending weekends emailing back about invisibility machines. We get kids asking if they can use their CIA card to get on flights.
鈥淲e get kids to go through their schoolbooks and take data and get them to think about what they鈥檙e seeing.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had amazing comments like one seven-year-old boy who said he doesn鈥檛 think it鈥檚 fair boys are always the leaders because it puts a lot of pressure on them.鈥�
Diversity became a crucial part of the project for Deen after a stint working in Wembley as a play therapist.
Eighty per cent of the children she saw were from Asian or African backgrounds yet this was rarely reflected in the stories they read and shows they watched.
鈥淚n kids鈥� cartoons under three per cent of characters are black,鈥� said Deen.
鈥�73 per cent are white but only 15 per cent of the people in the world have white Caucasian skin. 93 per cent of female cartoon characters are underweight.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really subtle and no one鈥檚 doing it on purpose but what鈥檚 meant to happen to girls growing up with images that are so unhealthy?
鈥淚f kids can鈥檛 see themselves in their own stories because there鈥檚 not much visibility and representation then the media isn鈥檛 portraying a world we say everyone has access to.鈥�
To encourage diversity in existing tech companies, employers could look toward upskilling their existing staff rather than bringing in new blood.
鈥淚t would be cool if companies said 鈥榳e need digital skills, there鈥檚 a shortage, what can we do with the existing staff that know our business back to front?鈥� and upskill them rather than hoping for a graduate,鈥� said Deen.
鈥淚f not they will be losing a lot of their most valuable assets because tech is a tool. You need the human to think about what problem you鈥檙e trying to solve and then to employ tech to help with that.鈥�
Parents can also play a big part in the outlook children have towards technology, believes Deen, and shouldn鈥檛 be scared off if they don鈥檛 understand themselves.
鈥淛ust help them when they鈥檙e doing homework and take an interest,鈥� she said.
鈥淲eekend clubs like Code Club are good but not all families go to clubs. But if the kids come home with homework get stuck in as much as you would if it was English or Maths.
鈥淭hat subtle support is key and you see a drop-off because of the home school divide. However well it鈥檚 taught at school, if parents don鈥檛 support it that impacts kids a lot.鈥�