B.C. government looks internally for important coding curriculum answers

This September, computer coding will be adopted into elementary and secondary schools in British Columbia for the first time.

Figuring out exactly how to do this has been a source of contention. Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act reveal that the B.C. government believes the best way to formulate a curriculum plan for coding is through internal means.

On March 4, when the Ministry of Education was deciding who to put on an advisory board to work on the coding curriculum initiative, David Morel, assistant deputy minister to the ministry of technology, innovation and citizen services, emailed two men with government ties.

Morel reached out to Greg Caws, then-president and CEO of the British Columbia Innovation Council (BCIC), a Crown-controlled organization, and John Jacobson, himself the former president and CEO of the BCIC.

In an email reply to Morel, Caws noted four traits a representative would need to satisfy:

• they need to have coded;

• they need to be raising or have raised kids in B.C.;

• they need to know about training or teaching; and

• it would be preferred if they knew about how to teach instructors.

Caws then listed companies to consider in order of preference: BCIC, MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates, Hootsuite, Slack, Global Relay, and Bench.

A search on the federal government’s website defines the BCIC as a “program or service that provides support to a wide range of firms, with no specific emphasis on innovation or technology”.

Caws recently left his position at the BCIC and, as of August 1, holds the title of technology and innovation advisor for the B.C. government.