Southend teacher says video gaming is gateway to computer science

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Laura Foster and

Katy PrickettEast of England

John Fairhall/BBC Jude Nzemeke who has short black hair and a short black beard. He is wearing black-framed glasses, a navy jacket over a pink and white shirt, plus a blue tie. He is standing near a wall with a blurred out screen behind him. John Fairhall/BBC

Jude Nzemeke taught Year 6 pupils how to design an app, designed to keep them active while also having fun

Video gaming should not be seen as a waste of time but as a “gateway into computer science”, according to a teacher.

Jude Nzemeke was teaching Year 6 pupils from Prince Avenue Academy in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, how to make an activity app.

The project is a collaboration with Digital Schoolhouse, which uses play-based learning.

Mr Nzemeke, from Southend High School for Boys, said it was designed to bridge the gap between computer science in primary and secondary schools.

John Fairhall/BBC Four Year 6 boys wearing bright blue polo shirts and black trousers and shorts. They are dancing around in a classroom. Behind them is a long row of tables, each with a computer monitor and keyboard and in front of them chairs. John Fairhall/BBC

The primary pupils designed the games and wrote the programmes to control the computers

Mr Nzemeke, the high school’s leader of computer science, said he hoped negative attitudes towards video gaming were changing.

“What people don’t understand is that gaming opens a potential gateway into computer science, because behind gaming, we have got a lot of computational thinking,” he said.

He believes the more exposure students have to computer science at an early age, the more likely they are to cope with technology in the future – including technology that has yet to be created.

“They will be well equipped to challenge and use these systems adequately as their experience grows in the subject,” he said.

John Fairhall/BBC Shahneila Saeed, who has black long hair pulled back from her forehead. She is wearing a cream jacket over a black top and starting to smile. She is standing in a classroom, which is blurred out but tables and pupils in bright blue stops can be seen. John Fairhall/BBC

The games were in the style of RingFit Adventure or Just Dance, games where physical movement contributes to play, said Shahneila Saeed

Shahneila Saeed is head of education at Digital Schoolhouse which wants to engage the next generation of pupils in the computing curriculum.

She said computer science has been on the primary school curriculum since 2014, but “the way it is taught varies and we’d like to see more video games being used to help facilitate that learning”.

“Children love playing games – and that’s beyond video games, you see it in the playground – so tapping into that that is a great way to further their educational and academic development,” she said.

“And video games are such a fusion of creative and technological skills… they also encourage communication and teamwork, strategic thinking, problem solving and creative thinking.”

The Year 6 children were enthusiastic about their time in the computer class.

One described it as “really fun and exciting I loved how we made little mini games”.

Another said: “It’s really fun, it’s probably my dream job building games for all different ages and if I can have a chance to have a fun time, why can’t others?”

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