COMPUTER SCIENCE INCLUSION IN THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM

The 21st century is often referred to as the information age. The term means that it is no longer the most valuable equity ownership in the form of tangible assets, but the ability to acquire, process and use information. The pace of development in the acquisition and processing of information is enormous and computers have become part of everyday life of modern man. It is obvious that this situation must be reflected in schools. What and how to teach in schools in order to prepare students for everyday computer use is a question. We are trying to answer since its inception personal computers. No one doubts that such training is necessary, but the content and form of teaching changed over the years. Not always, however, it is developing for the better. Use of computers in schools associated with equipment used in schools, teacher training and skills of students. Finally, the situation has influence curriculum content.

Many years we focused on curriculum issues and in this article we want to provide information on the current situation in this area. To assess and compare the curriculum we chose the outline of the UK, the Czech Republic and the official curriculum K12 from the professional organization ACM.

We have two basic areas that we have to teach: Computer Science (CS) and Information and communication technology (ICT). CS and ICT are forming parts of a curriculum, which every young person should have the opportunity to learn from early years at schools. Computer science is the study of the foundational principles and practices of computation and computational thinking. Information and communication technology focuses on the creative and productive use of computers and application of technology and computer systems.

Area of CS and ICT at the high school builds on ICT in basic education focused on mastering basic level of information literacy which means to achieve the knowledge and skills necessary for the use of digital technologies. Informatics for high schools deepens the pupil's ability to use information and communication technologies, information sources and the possibility of application software to achieve a better understanding of the increasing amount of information while respecting the legal and ethical use of ICT resources. This is basic idea of curriculum, but it differs by countries. We will present evaluation of curriculums in UK and CZ comparing them with ACM-K12.

We also focus on curriculum consequences to school related there to teacher training and equipment in schools. Even the best outline can not overcome the objective problems which arise in their application. In conclusion, we will summarize the experience of teachers and a creator and we will bring recommendation for modifications to existing curriculums or building new ones.