Linda Liukas is a prominent figure in the computer programming world and is working with educators around the world to change the way people think about computer programming. She's the founder of Rails Girls, "a global phenomenon teaching the basics of programming for young women all over the world", was named the Digital Champion of Finland by the EU Commissioner for Digital Agenda and her TED Talk "A delightful way to teach kids about computers" has over 1.5 million views. She was just recently in Melbourne to present a keynote lecture at the National Gallery of Victoria about the changes of creativity and innovation in a technological era. Linda will be back in Australia in December 2017 for a three city tour (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane), working with teachers and helping them think about computing education.
My name is Linda Liukas. I'm a children's book author, illustrator and programmer, making the world of technology more whimsical, fun and approachable for kids around the world.
I think the thing with us humans is that we are not binary - we are not like computers, ones or zeroes, on or off. We can be many things at the same time. We contain multitudes. My work is about combining education, creativity and technology. It’s a profession I never anticipated having 10 years ago, but now in hindsight it’s easy to connect the dots and see that this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing. That being said, I have no idea where my career will take me in next 10 years, but I feel very fortunate that I found early on the intersection of things I want to be working on and feel no rush.
I started a non-profit years ago that teaches young women programming in a weekend workshop. Rails Girls has been very popular in Australia and as a result I was invited a few years ago to speak in RubyConf, a programming conference in Melbourne. I fell in love with the country and have been trying get back ever since. The National Gallery of Victoria was kind enough to invite me to their inaugural technology and creativity event, so I happily accepted. When my book Hello Ruby came out, Penguin Random House was among the first to purchase the rights. The second book is coming out in October 2017 and I’m looking forward to getting to visit again in the summer!
In Finland we’ve been teaching programming as a part of the core curriculum since fall 2016. Programming education in primary school is mainly teaching computational thinking: being able to decompose a problem, give clear commands to a computer and think sequentially. This is the approach Australia has also taken with their curriculum: the material I've seen is a really fascinating and creative computing curriculum, which includes a lot of multi-disciplinary elements.
The problem for us both, as in almost every country, is the lack of teachers, curriculum and pedagogical experience when teaching the whole age group. Finland is also much smaller as a country and our school system is more homogenous; we have almost no private schools.
I think the most important choice we both made was NOT to make programming into its own subject, but to implement it across the curriculum. This means kids grow up using programming as one more tool of problem-solving and self-expression alongside paper, ruler, pens and movement. Programming is taught in math, biology, arts and crafts, and even physical education.
I think every country is unique and the more I’ve worked with different countries (the book has been translated into 20+ languages) the more I realize there is no panacea for education. I’m often asked how would I implement coding in a given country and I think it boils down to having those difficult discussions of how we want our kids to be educated, and what kind of citizens come out of the education funnel. I used to be very frustrated at how slow the change is in education, but now I’m glad that it’s a system that doesn’t change too easily. It’s important that different stakeholders get to voice their opinions and that understanding is formed through communications.
I grew up with Tove Jansson's Moomin-series and Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstockings - Scandinavian storytelling is something I look up to a lot. There are definitely many ways in which Northern Europe has influenced me; I think our culture in technology tends to be a little bit more compassionate and open. It's not a coincidence that so many of the open source works of the world (Linux, Git, SSH, IRC, MYSQL, PHP, Rails..) come from our Northern latitudes.
Many of my own favourite exercises start with kids posing questions that interest them like “What kind of a computer would a dolphin doctor need?”, “What is the world's most dangerous animal?” or “What if my paper computer could print candy?”. Throughout the process of exploring and experimenting they learn about abstraction, collaboration, media literacy, and develop a plethora of powerful ideas I would never have anticipated. That’s why most of the exercises include discussion points and very few of them have right or wrong answers. I think it’s important to give kids permission to trust themselves and allow for many right answers to a question.
I’ve always loved the idea of programming as the Lego block of language. You basically create something out of nothing: build ever more complicated worlds and structures without the need for physical components. Most children feel somewhat powerless in their lives. Someone else comes up with the rules. Not in programming - you’re the king of your own universe.
I consider myself to be a fairly novice visitor to Australia, so I don't know if I can yet compare the two countries. But I look very much forward to getting to know the country more! I’ve really enjoyed getting to know people in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane and look forward to working with both programming and teaching communities in the future.
You can find out more at the links below:
Linda's TED Talk – A delightful way to teach kids about computers
Updated 4/3/2017
