High-quality professional development (PD) is one of the most effective ways to improve your students’ outcomes, and participating in PD is a core part of being a teacher. By changing and refining your teaching practices, you can create a direct, positive impact on the young people we teach.

In this blog, we share our new professional development Quick Read, which you can download for free to:

• Find practical tips for how to use and design effective professional development opportunities
• Read a summary of the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 behind effective PD

The unique impact of professional development for computer science educators

Professional development is vital for anyone teaching 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频. In many subjects, the 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? stays the same for decades. Computer science, however, can change quickly — as with the development of new technologies such as AI and quantum 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频, and new hardware — and PD can help you stay up to date.

Another challenge is that many educators who teach 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 are not necessarily subject specialists. So educators often benefit from building their own subject knowledge and learning new 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频-specific pedagogical approaches through PD.

What makes effective professional development?

Drawing on academic 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 and our own expertise, we’ve identified several key principles that make professional development effective for computer science educators:

• Learner-focused and 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频-informed: PD should be based on evidence and equip you with the skills and confidence to make real changes in your practice
• Sustained and actionable: The best outcomes happen when you can select your own learning pathways and you’re given the time to test, adapt, and reflect on new approaches
• Collaborative and contextual: Sharing ideas and new ways of thinking with other educators in a low-stakes environment can help you and your peers benefit from different perspectives and 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?s

There may be factors that influence your teaching that you have little control over: you might teach 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 as a standalone subject, or you may be required to weave computer science into other lessons across the 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?. Or you might be working with older devices or limited internet access, all of which have an impact on your practice.

Effective PD should recognise these realities, and offer practical tools that work for your specific classroom and students.

How to find or design PD for 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 educators

You can use the principles in our latest Quick Read when you’re looking for your next training course or if you are designing a session for your team. The full list of principles is available in our Quick Read, but here are some ideas for you to consider:

• Focus on small, manageable changes: Rather than trying to overhaul your entire teaching practice at once, reflect on one approach at a time and adapt it as necessary before moving on to the next
• Encourage low-stakes rehearsal: Practise new techniques with peers before implementing them in a live lesson
• Align with school priorities: Ensure your self-directed learning also meets the wider needs of your department or school

You can read more about the principles of effective PD in our Quick Read.

The benefits of professional development

Potential benefits for teachers:

• Provides a clear structure for updating your subject knowledge and teaching methods
• Helps you feel more confident teaching 
• Allows you to take ownership of your career journey and focus on what matters most to your students

Potential benefits for learners:

• Improved learning outcomes through:
  • Higher quality lessons
  • More engaging lessons 
  • Lessons better suited to their individual needs

Our new Quick Read shares tips on how to best use these principles in your setting.

The post Professional development: How to stay ahead in a fast-changing subject appeared first on 小s货又想挨c了叫大声点.

We have learned a lot from 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? and from learner feedback, and we want to share this knowledge with others. We’re also aware there’s always more to learn from people across the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 education community. That’s one reason we’re continually working to broaden the range of educators we work with. Another is that we want all learners to see themselves represented in our educational materials, because everyone belongs in computer science.

To make progress with all these goals, we ran a pilot programme for educators called Teach Online at the end of 2021 and the start of 2022. Through Teach Online, we provided twelve educators with training, opportunities, and financial and material support to help them with creating online educational content, particularly videos.

Over five online sessions and a final in-person day, we trained them in not only the production of educational videos, but also some of the pedagogy behind it. The pilot programme has now finished, and we thought we’d share some of the key points from the sessions with you in the wider community.

Learning to create a great online learning 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?

When you learn new skills and knowledge, it’s important to think about how you apply these. For this reason, a useful question you can use throughout the learning process is “Why?”. So as you think about how to create the best online learning 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?, ask yourself in different contexts throughout the content design and production:

• Why am I using this style of video to illustrate this topic?
• Why am I presenting these ideas in this order?
• Why am I using this choice of words?

For example, it’s easy to default to creating ‘talking head’ videos featuring one person talking directly to the camera. But you should always ask why — what are the reasons for using a ‘talking head’ style. Instead, or in addition, you can make videos more engaging and support the learning 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? by:

• Turning the video into an interview
• Adding other camera angles or screencasts to focus on demonstrations
• Cutting away to B-roll footage (additional video that can provide context or related action, while the voiceover continues) or to still images that help connect a concept to concrete examples

Planning is key

By planning your content carefully instead of jumping into production right away, you can:

• Better visualise what your video should look like by creating a storyboard
• Keep learners engaged by deliberately splitting learning up into smaller chunks while still keeping a narrative flow between them
• Develop your learners’ understanding of key 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 concepts by using semantic waves to unpack and repack concepts

The Teach Online participants told us that they particularly enjoyed learning more about planning videos:

“I now understand that a little planning can make the difference between a mediocre online learning 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? and a professional-looking valuable learning 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?.” – Educator who participated in our Teach Online programme

“Planning the session using a storyboard is so helpful to visualise the actual recording.” – Educator who participated in our Teach Online programme

Considering equity, diversity, and inclusion

We are committed to making 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 and computer science accessible and engaging, so we embed measures to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout our free learning and teaching resources, including the Teach Online programme. It’s important not to leave this aspect of creating educational content as an afterthought: you can only make sure that your content is truly as equitable and inclusive as you can make it if you address this at every stage of your process. As an added bonus, many ways of making your content more accessible not only benefit learners with specific needs, but support and engage all of your audience so everyone can learn more easily.

Best practices that you can use while creating online content include:

• Reducing the detail on the screen at any one time, to reduce cognitive load
• Creating closed captions and transcripts for videos, and including informative alt text for images
• While modelling coding, explicitly leaving in moments where you make mistakes and need to fix them, to show that this is normal

Connecting with your learner audience

One of video’s key advantages is the ability to immediately connect with the audience. To help with that, you can try to talk directly to a single viewer, using “you” and “I” rather than “we”. You can also show off your personality in the presentation slides you use and the backgrounds of your videos.

“[I will use my learning from the programme] by adapting teaching and learning to actively engage learners.” – Educator who participated in our Teach Online programme

It’s important to find your own personal presenting style. There is not one perfect way to present, and you should experiment to find how you are best able to communicate with your viewers. How formal or informal will you be? Is your delivery calm or energetic? Whatever you decide, you may want to edit your script to better fit your style. A practical tip for doing this is to read your video scripts aloud while you are writing them to spot any language that feels awkward to you when spoken. 

“It was really great to try the presenting skills, and I learned a lot about my style.” – Educator who participated in our Teach Online programme

Connecting with each other

Throughout the Teach Online programme, we helped participants create a community with each other. Finding your own community can give you the support that you need to create, and help you continue to develop your knowledge and skills. Working together is great, whether that’s collaborating in-person locally, or online via for example the CAS forums or social media.

“I very much liked the diverse group of educators in this programme, and appreciated everyone sharing their 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?s and tips.” – Educator who participated in our Teach Online programme

The Teach Online graduate have told us about the positive impact the programme has had on their teaching in their own contexts. So far we’ve worked with graduates to create Isaac Computer Science videos covering data structures, high- and low-level languages, and string handling.

What do you want to know about creating online educational content?

There is a growing need for online educational content, particularly videos — not only to improve access to education, but also to support in-person teaching. By investing in training educators, we help diversify the pool of people working in this area, improve the confidence of those who would like to start, and provide them with the skills and knowledge to successfully create great content for their learners.

In the future we’d also like to support the wider community of educators with creating online educational content. What resources would you find useful? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

The post How to create great educational video content for 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 and beyond appeared first on 小s货又想挨c了叫大声点.

Today, part of our team is attending WeAreTheCity’s WeAreTechWomen conference to spread the word about our free programming courses and encourage more women to share their digital skills with the next generation.

I asked Carrie Anne Philbin, our Director of Educator Support, and Vanessa Vallely OBE, Managing Director at WeAreTheCity, about their thoughts on how we can make the tech sector more diverse, and what part role models, education, and professional development play in this.

Vanessa, WeAreTheCity helps organisations foster a strong female workforce, and provides opportunities for women to network and develop their skills. Why do you think it’s important for women and people from minority backgrounds to support each other in the professional world?

Vanessa Vallely: I believe it is important for everyone to support each other. It is important that we work as a collective and collaborate, as at the end of the day we are all trying to achieve the same goal. 17% women in tech [in the UK] is not enough.

“We want more women in tech, and we want them to represent all aspects of society.” – Vanessa Vallely OBE

We cannot be what we cannot see, therefore asking women who are already working in tech to stand up and own their role model status is a great start.

What can individuals do to address the lack of diversity in the tech sector?

Carrie Anne Philbin: Firstly, let’s recognise that we need the tech sector to be more representative of the population of the world. It’s problematic to have a small subsection of society be the controllers of a growing digital world.

Then, we need to be the change we want to see in the industry. Let’s try different avenues and then let’s be open about our challenges and successes.

VV: I believe every woman in the tech sector is a role model to future generations. There are a number of things individuals can do, for example go back to their schools and tell their tech stories, or contribute/write blogs. This doesn’t just raise their profile, it puts their story out there for others to aspire to. I think this is really important, especially if the individual is from a background where role models are less visible. There are lots of different organisations and networks that facilitate individuals getting involved in their school or early career initiatives which has made it easier to get involved and give back.

CAP: As a woman in the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 field, I think it is important that I hold the door open for other women coming through in my wake, and that I highlight where I can, great work by others.

Ever since I realised that my skills and knowledge in 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 were useful and allowed me to be creative in a whole new way, I’ve championed computer science as a subject that everyone should 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?. Once you’ve created your first computer program or built your first network, you’ll never want to stop.

Carrie Anne, how does your coding session at WATC’s WeAreTechWomen conference today tie into this?

CAP: At the 小s货又想挨c了叫大声点, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to teach 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 well, and about how young people can have great learning 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?s so they can become the makers and creators of tomorrow.

“Technology is not a mystery, nor is it hard to learn. I want to dispel this myth for everyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, or economic status.” – Carrie Anne Philbin

During my session at WeAreTechWomen, I hope to support attendees to write their first creative Python program, based on a project I wrote for Code Club to create a virtual pet. It is my hope that the session will be the spark of inspiration that gets more women and men from diverse backgrounds excited about being creators of technology.

You’ve built a career in tech education as a teacher, YouTuber, and Director at 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi. How can beginners get comfortable creating with tech?

CAP: There isn’t anything magical about technology, and once you know this, you can start to explore with confidence, much like our ancestors when they learned that the earth was round and not flat.

“Phrases like ‘I’m not good with technology’ or ‘It’s all too complicated for me’ are reassuring to say in a society where the accepted view is that maths and science are hard, and where this view is reinforced by our media. But it is OK to be a beginner, it is OK to learn something new, and it is OK to play, explore, fail, and succeed on the journey.” – Carrie Anne Philbin

However you like to learn, be it on your own or with others, there is a way that suits you! I’ve always been quite project-minded: I have ideas about things I want to make, and then go and see if I can. This is how I stumbled across the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi in 2012 — it seemed like an accessible and cheap way to make my automation dreams come true. It also wasn’t too bad at randomly generating poems.

Aside from teacher-led instruction or independent exploration, another way is to learn with others in a relaxed and informal setting. If you’re a young person, then clubs like Code Club and CoderDojo are perfect. If you’re an adult, then attending a 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Jam or conferences like WeAreTechWomen can provide a supportive environment.

“By being kinder to ourselves and seeing ourselves as life-long learners, it is easier to overcome insecurity and build confidence.” – Carrie Anne Philbin

A great way to approach new learning is at your own pace, and thanks to technology, we have access to online training courses with great videos, exercises, and discussion — many of these are completely free and let you connect with a community of learners as well.

How do you think educating the next generation about 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 will change the makeup of the tech sector?

CAP: We’re in an exciting phase for 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 education. The world has woken up to the importance of equipping our young people with the knowledge and skills for an ever increasing digital landscape. This means computer science is gaining more prominence in school curricula and giving all children the opportunity to discover the subject.

“Education can be democratising, and I expect to see the makeup of the tech sector reflect this movement in the next five to twenty years.” – Carrie Anne Philbin

Unlike physics or music, 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 is still a relatively young field, so we need to do more 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 into what is encouraging and what isn’t, particularly when we work with young people in schools or clubs.

We’re still learning how to teach 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频, and particularly programming, well to encourage greater diversity, so it’s great to see such a vast Gender Balance in 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 project underway as part of the National Centre for 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Education here in England. It’s not too late for schools in England to get involved in this project either…

What can I do today?

• If you want to start learning about coding and 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频, sign up for one of our free online courses
• If you want to become a role model for the next generation, start volunteering at a Code Club in your child’s school, or at a CoderDojo in your local community
• If you’re working in a school in England and want to help us find out how to engage more girls in 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 as a school subject, register your interest to participate in our Gender Balance in 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 project
• If you’re a teacher in England and interested in how to teach 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频, make use of the free training and resources we provide for you through the National Centre of 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Education

The post “17% women in tech is not enough” appeared first on 小s货又想挨c了叫大声点.

Our courses begin on 20 February 2017, but you can sign up for both of them right now. To anticipate some of the questions you might have about them, we’ve put together this handy set of FAQs.

If you want to sign up, go to the 小s货又想挨c了叫大声点’s page on FutureLearn.

Who can I speak to about online training?

Send us an email at onlinelearning@极品粉嫩国产18尤物在线播放.org and one of the teacher training team at 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi will get back to you.

What can I expect from the two courses that start in February 2017?

Teaching Physical 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 with 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi and Python: this four-week course will introduce you to physical 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频, showing you how easy it is to create a system that responds to and controls the physical world, using computer programs running on the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi. You’ll apply your knowledge to a series of challenges, including controlling an LED with Python, using a button press to control a circuit, and making a game with buttons and LEDs. If you’re a teacher, you’ll also have the chance to develop ideas for using the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi and Python in your classroom, and to connect with a network of other educators.

Teaching Programming in Primary Schools: this four-week course will provide a comprehensive introduction to programming, and is designed for primary or K-5 teachers who are not subject specialists. Over four weeks, we’ll introduce you to key programming concepts. You’ll have the chance to apply your understanding of them through projects, both unplugged and on a computer, using Scratch as the programming language. Discover common mistakes and pitfalls, and develop strategies to fix them.

How long will the courses take?

Both courses are four weeks long. Each week has around two hours of content for learners to work through. It’s absolutely fine to take more time to reflect and learn at your own pace, though.

Do the courses cost anything?

No, the courses are completely free. If you want a printed certificate to prove that you have completed the course, this is available through FutureLearn for a small fee.

Do I need to be an educator to sign up?

Everyone is welcome to sign up for the courses, though they will be of particular relevance to educators.

Teaching Programming in Primary Schools is designed for non-subject-specialist primary or K-5 teachers. You don’t need any prior 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? of programming to take part.

Teaching Physical 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 with 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi and Python is designed for anyone interested in physical 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频. It will be of particular use to non-subject-specialist teachers, 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 teachers, and design and technology teachers who are interested in using the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi and Python in their classroom.

I don’t know anything about digital making. Can I still sign up?

Yes! You don’t need any prior 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? of programming or physical 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 to take part.

Do I need any specific kit to take part?

To take part in Teaching Programming in Primary Schools, you’ll need a computer and access to Scratch.

To take part in Teaching Physical 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 with 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi and Python, you’ll need:

• a 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi (any of the models from the B+ through to Pi 3 will be fine)
• a micro SD card (8GB minimum) with our Raspbian operating system installed
• a monitor and HDMI cable (or VGA adaptor)
• a USB keyboard and mouse
• some general craft material (glue, scissors, tinfoil etc)
• a breadboard
• three LEDs
• a button
• a buzzer
• some 330Ω resistors
• jumper cables

You can purchase the last 5 items individually or as a bundle such as the CamJam Edukit 1.

What if I have questions about using a 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi?

You can find answers to questions about getting started with 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi on our help page.

Where do I find resources to use the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi in the classroom?

We provide a wide selection of free resources for teaching, learning, and making on our Resources pages.

How do I apply for Picademy, the 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?’s face-to-face training programme?

Picademy is a two-day course that allows educators to 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? what they can achieve with a little help and lots of imagination. Through a series of workshops, we introduce a range of engaging ways to deliver 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 in classrooms all over the world. Highlights include using physical 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 to control electronic components like LEDs and buttons, coding music with Sonic Pi, and terraforming the world of Minecraft. On the second day, attendees have the opportunity to apply what they learned on the first day by developing their own project ideas, learning from each other and our experts.

You can find out more about our Picademy courses in this post.

张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi’s free training makes educators happy

We hope this has answered any questions you have, but remember you can always contact us at onlinelearning@极品粉嫩国产18尤物在线播放.org. So, what are you waiting for? Sign up now, and get ready to get learning!

The post New online training courses: your questions answered appeared first on 小s货又想挨c了叫大声点.

Our aim was to give teachers the skills and knowledge they need to get creative with 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频, no matter what their level of 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?.

Educators teach, learn, and make with us at Picademy

Two years on, there are now over 700 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Certified Educators around the world, working with tens of thousands of young people. We know that many of our Certified Educators have gone on to become leaders in the field, helping to train other educators and build a movement around 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 and digital making in the classroom.

Based on the huge volume of questions and enquiries we get from people who want to get involved in Picademy, we think we’re onto something, and we’re developing some exciting plans for the future. For now, I wanted to answer some of the most commonly asked questions about Picademy.

What is Picademy?

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Picademy is a two-day course that allows educators to 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? what can be achieved with a little help and lots of imagination. Through a series of workshops, we introduce a range of engaging ways to deliver 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 in classrooms all over the world. Highlights include using physical 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 to control electronic components like LEDs and buttons; coding music with Sonic Pi; and terraforming the world of Minecraft. On day two, attendees have the opportunity to apply their learning by developing their own project ideas, learning from each other and our experts.

Each cohort that attends contains a mix of primary, secondary, and post-16 educators, representing many different subject areas. One of our aims is to create leaders in education who are equipped with skills to train others in their community. Attending our training is the first step in that journey.

When are you bringing Picademy to [insert name of place here]?

This is by far the most common question. There’s clearly a huge demand for the kind of professional development that Picademy offers.

So far, we’ve been mainly focused on the UK. The first wave of events were held at Pi Towers in Cambridge. Over the past year, thanks to the generous support of our friends at Google, we have been able to bring Picademy to cities across the UK, with events in Leeds, Birmingham, and Manchester. In the next few months, we’ll be running events in Newcastle, Liverpool, and London. The venues are part of the Google Digital Garage initiative, and we’ll be running Picademy sessions with them until at least April 2017, so we hope to pop up in a city near you soon!

This year, we launched a pilot programme in the USA, with our first ever Picademy training events outside the UK taking place in California in February and April, before heading to Baltimore in August.

We don’t currently have plans to launch Picademy in other parts of the world. We’d love to, but we just don’t have the capacity. We’re brainstorming ideas for how the 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? can better support educators globally and as those ideas develop, we’ll be looking for your input to help shape them.

We often get asked whether we will partner with organisations in other parts of the world who want to run Picademy on our behalf. We aren’t currently considering those kind of partnerships, but it’s one of the options that we will be looking at in the long term.

I’m not a teacher, but I want to learn about 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi. Can I attend?

Picademy is designed for teachers. The aim is to equip them with the best possible pedagogy, strategies, tools, and ideas to bring digital making into the classroom. It’s also about building a community of educators who can support each other and grow the movement.

It’s not a “How to use 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi” course. There are lots of websites and video channels that are already doing a fantastic job in that space (see our Community page for a small selection of these).

We know that there are lots of people who aren’t formal teachers who help young people learn about 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 and digital making, and we’re working hard to support them. For example, we have a huge programme of training for Code Club volunteers.

For Picademy, our priority is to support the people at the chalkface, where access to professional development is problematic and where up-skilling in digital making is needed most.

The first Picademy USA Cohort – our largest ever, totalling 40! © Douglas Fairbairn Photography / Courtesy of the Computer History Museum

We have accepted applications from people in other roles, like teaching assistants and librarians, who work with children every day in schools or other community settings, but the vast majority of participants have been qualified, serving teachers.

If you want to learn about 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi, one of the best places to start is a 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Jam. There are now hundreds of Jams happening regularly around the world. These are community events, run by brilliantly talented volunteers, that bring together people of all ages to learn about digital making.

Can I have access to the course materials?

All our Picademy sessions are based on resources that are available for free on our website. Some of the most common sessions are based on:

• Getting started with Physical 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 in both Scratch and Python
• Sonic Pi lessons
• Getting started with Minecraft Pi
• Getting started with the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi camera
• Spinning flower wheel
• Sense HAT pixel pet

Our focus is on collaboration, making, project-based learning, and 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 – similar to most 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Jams, in fact. If you are super-interested in STEAM, project-based learning, and digital making (the pillars of Picademy), then I’d recommend the following reading as a starting point:

• Young Digital Makers Report by Oliver Quinlan
• Mindstorms by Seymour Papert
• Invent to Learn by Sylvia Libow Martinez and Gary Stager

The materials and reading are part of the recipe of a successful Picademy. What’s harder to share is the energy and atmosphere that’s created.

https://twitter.com/Miss_G_Y6/status/705027995543707648

Our trainers all have 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? of teaching in formal contexts, have good subject knowledge, and have a super-supportive manner. They share their expertise and passion with others, which is inspiring and infectious. The educators that attend are open-minded, imaginative, and curious. Together, we have a lot of fun.

Who can I speak to about Picademy?

The teacher training team at the 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? consists of three full-time people: Picademy Manager James Robinson, Code Club Teacher Training Manager Lauren Hyams, and Education Team Co-ordinator Dan Fisher. Do reach out to us via the forum or social media.

We’re supported across the 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? and our wider community by an awesome team that helps us design and deliver the events.

Without the support of all these people, we would not be able to run the volume of events that we do – I’d like to give a huge thank you with bells on to all our helpers!

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Thanks to our partnership with Google, the event is free to attend, with lunch included both days, as well as a group dinner on day one. Accommodation and travel is not covered, and will need to be arranged by you or your workplace.

Location:  Manchester Central Library

Dates

• 15/16 February 2016
• 01/02 March 2016
• 14/15 March 2016
• 21/22 March 2016

Apply for this event

About Picademy

Here’s some video we shot at Picademy Leeds.

https://vimeo.com/136878145

On day one, expect to get stuck in to a range of workshops that introduce you to physical 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 by using the General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) pins to control simple electronic components and motors. Explore the camera module attachment, make music with Sonic Pi and terraform the world of Minecraft using the Python programming language.

This is my Traffic Light. There are many others like it, but this one is mine.

However, the real fun begins on day two. It’s now up to you to use your newly learned skills to build your own projects. These typically range from the delightful to the ‘dear-lord-you-made-WHAT-now?’ sort of category. Previous #winning projects have included: killer robots, a ‘weeping angel’ simulator, a mobile phone-controlled car, Christmas jumpers with flashing LEDs, treasure hunts in Minecraft, a speed detector that cheers when you’re running fast enough, and many more. We like our educators to go crazy and flex their creativity muscle. By taking ownership of a project, you reinforce the skills you learned on day one while acquiring new ones such as decomposing problems, testing and debugging, and building resilience.

As a recent Picademy graduate and general 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi beginner, I was surprised at how much I picked up on the first day and was able to use in a real project for the final show and tell. Also, you really don’t need to worry about not getting understanding something or making mistakes – everyone is super supportive and will happily go out of their way to help you out. In fact, it’s a really important lesson to learn and pass on: that failing to do something perfectly first time is something to be embraced rather than be afraid of.

By the end of the two days, you leave as a 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Certified Educator, ready to go on and spread your new-found enthusiasm to other educators and, of course, to a whole generation of children. All graduates also get access to post-Picademy support in the form of our exclusive Certified Educator community forums.

A cohort of newly-minted 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Certified Educators.

To apply for this event, visit our Picademy Manchester application page.

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Skycademy CPD – August

We started back in February with the idea that we’d like to train 24 educators to launch a HAB flight with their students. We wanted to engage and inspire those that attended and through them reach young people across the UK and set them the challenge of reaching near space.

Here’s a short (and, we think, appropriately dramatic) video to give you a flavour of the three days.

https://vimeo.com/142129884

During their time with us our educators received some intensive training from both Dave Akerman and myself, and in teams were provided with all the kit they’d need for their flight. The plan was for each of our four teams to launch and recover a flight the following day.

Leading up to the day we were a little nervous. With strong easterly winds, there was a high risk of us losing payloads – if we were even able to get them off the ground!

Come on nearly there, bit more west would be great! #skycademy pic.twitter.com/yUwmRAb4DU

— James Robinson (@LegoJames) August 21, 2015

However, thanks to an slight easing of the weather conditions and us finding a more westerly launch site, we were thankfully able to launch five flights in quick succession, starting with a demo launch by Dave and me. We packed our flight with a GoPro camera to capture some amazing footage.

First balloon away! #skycademy pic.twitter.com/LbmrhjUhMV

— Richard Hayler ☀ (@rdhayler) August 25, 2015

Quick take-off from the #skycademy launch pads pic.twitter.com/2SMNJYH0Q9

— Dave Akerman🎈 (@daveake) August 25, 2015

Almost as soon as we’d released our balloon, the teams quickly got to work readying their flights. We (like the balloons) were blown away by the confidence on the teams; the first two teams were ready so quickly that we launched them simultaneously.

Simultaneous balloon launch #skycademy pic.twitter.com/ibcTWUvxAe

— Andy Batey (@AndyBateyPi) August 25, 2015

Something we were a little nervous about doing again….

Teams then leapt into their cars and sped away to intercept their payload at their predicted landing site. Back at HQ we watched with equal amounts of excitement and anxiety as our first-time HAB trainees gave chase!

We received a whole host of amazing images from our flights as they rose to 33km

Giving our starting point of being concerned about whether launches would be possible, we were over the moon to launch all five payloads and recover…four.

Our penultimate payload, RPF-A2, was sadly under-filled with helium, which, whilst giving it a nice gentle climb to an impressive 32km, also extended its flight path out to sea. We’re hoping that one day it might be washed up on a beach and returned to us.

Nnnoooooooooo #skycademy pic.twitter.com/tXzN6v5bjD

— Helen Lynn (@helenlynn) August 25, 2015

RIP #TeamAlto #skycademy Lost at sea :(
Raiding a toast… pic.twitter.com/SZBXRBM07F

— Steven Jenkinson (@stevenjenkinson) August 25, 2015

Our final day saw our teams tasked with evaluating their first launch and planning their next. Over the course of the next year we will be support and funding each teacher to carry out their own independent launch with young people back in their schools and clubs.

We were so impressed by their presentations, with ideas for student engagement, plans for testing, kite flights, collaborative launches and more.

Watching #skycademy presentations pic.twitter.com/UuyIhNFmnn

— Dave Akerman🎈 (@daveake) August 26, 2015

We are incredibly proud to have certified our first Skycademy cohort, and are excited to see what they accomplish over the next year.

I've passed #Skycademy !! Special thanks to @daveake @jrobinson_uk & all at @张津瑜vs吕总完整视频_Pi for a brilliant HAB course. pic.twitter.com/b3KxbH95UI

— jonathanfurness (@jonathanfurness) August 26, 2015

If you want to find out more about our Skycademy CPD event, then you should check out the following:

• Visit Twitter and look back over our #skycademy hashtag
• Richard Hayler has written up a blog post about his 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?
• Nic Hughes has also written about Skycademy in his blog
• You can hear all about it in a piece that the BBC’s The Naked Scientists recorded about the changing nature of science education.

Pycon UK Launches

A few weeks after our Skycademy event, the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Education Team attended Pycon UK in Coventry, where we met up with lots of our Certified Educators and several of our Skycademy graduates. We’ve previously blogged about our Pycon activities, but it’s worth talking a little more about the flights we launched there.

On the kids’ day, a group of our Skycademy cohort launched an independent flight from the nearby National Space Centre (which is awesome, btw). They carried out their launch like seasoned pros, and chased down their balloon, recovering it a few hours later.

The following day, Marc and I launched the first Sense HAT on a HAB flight, again from the National Space Centre.

Good to see #PyConUk PyCon1 Balloon is up and away. @andybateypi Track it here http://t.co/vE6S78SCR4 #skycademy pic.twitter.com/m25WsuiGe7

— WeatherPi (@benbrpi) September 20, 2015

We had a couple of technical issues on the morning, which meant we struggled to receive data once our flight had taken off. However, the fantastic UKHAS community were on hand as usual to help out and ensure our balloon wasn’t lost. Our flight reached a whopping 36km; along with recorded data using all the Sense HAT sensors resulting in 200,000 lines of data, which I’m yet to analyse.

Thankfully our payload landed 20m from a little single track road, from where we were able to spot it – having narrowly avoided a parachuting centre and some wind turbines.

Done! #pyconuk #skycademy #pycon1 #ukhas pic.twitter.com/e4V2OE5sI5

— James Robinson (@LegoJames) September 20, 2015

School Launches

Since PyconUK we’re had our first two school launches both in the East Anglia area and on consecutive days. I’ll leave it to them to tell you more about their 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?.

Bourne Grammar School – 9th October

On the 9th October, a group of budding computer scientists and systems and control engineers from Bourne Grammar School launched a helium balloon and payload 26km into the air in order to capture incredible images of the earth using a self-programmed 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi hardware.

Systems Engineer Team Leader, Iyanu Abioye, told us, “It was our job was to create the housing for the payload which had the camera, the GPS and it would also have the parachute and balloon. The housing for the payload was a polystyrene box with a smaller one as a lid, to keep everything safe. On launch day, Sohayl Tobaria, Marco Lytle and Wojciech Marek held the balloon whilst it was being filled, added the cable ties and cut the balloon from the helium tank.

The computer science team, consisting of Andrew Ellingford, Jacob Wilson, Fabio Valerio and Josiah Gyamfi, had the job of programming two 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi computers so that data could be sent and received from space. Andrew explains, “If this job had not have been done right, we would have lost all of our photos, data and the balloon itself. That would have been a rather expensive mistake, so, the pressure was on. At first the task seemed a bit daunting. None of us had much 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? with some of the equipment like the LoRa board”, which enabled us to send and receive our data from space. However, working as a team and with the help of Mr Brown (Bourne Grammar School Assistant Headteacher and Digital Strategy & Director ICT), we found solutions to all our technological problems. Not only did we learn a lot about 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频, we learnt how to use these skills as a team. In the end, it was great to watch the pictures come through online and track its position in real-time and we are proud to have contributed to this project.”

Students Alex Williams, Ben Rockliffe, Alex Wray and Luc Schoutsen were assigned as part of the chase team. It was their job to track the flight of the balloon using the GPS and radio technology on board. The chase team were then able to receive this data to learn the location, altitude, speed and temperature of the payload.

Back at school the flight analyst team, Holly Brown and Toby Pawlett were able to see the data from the balloon and see an extrapolated flight-plan which predicted where the balloon would eventually land. By calling the chase team on a regular basis, they were able to guide them to the final landing site of the balloon to help ensure a successful recovery.

Talking about the 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?d, Holly told us, “We had to make sure the balloon would not land in the sea by making flight-path predictions in the weeks running up to the launch, which included where it would pop and were it would land.  In the days leading up to the launch window, we had to double-check everything to ensure the flight went well and that the weather would be suitable too, without too much wind.

The project seems to have inspired the students. Holly Brown said, “We both thoroughly enjoyed the 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?, and hope to participate in any future space missions that are run at school.” The computer science team added, “We are proud to have contributed to this project”. Systems Engineer, Iyanu Abioye told us, “I feel very privileged to have been able to be a part of this and I want to say a huge thanks to Mr Brown and Mr Scott (Head of 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? Development for The 小s货又想挨c了叫大声点) for putting this together for us.”

Glebe House School – 10 October

Bill Robinson from the Glebe House School in Hunstanton has written an excellent post on their website which you can read here; it’s full of beautiful images and data that they gathered.

The year ahead

In the next ten months, expect to see a further 20+ launches taking place across the UK, led by educators and their students. If you want to get involved with our Skycademy activities there are several ways you can do so:

• Follow our launches by checking our #skycademy hashtag and looking out for news about flights. During flights you can track using the habhub tracker
• Help track our flights. If you’re in (or near) the UK you ought to be able to help receive data from payloads during and help keep tabs on them. To do this you’ll need some kit to build a what’s called “lora gateway”
  • A 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi & SD card
  • A Lora Board
  • A suitable aerial
• All of the above can be found at the HAB Supplies website, and a guide to setting up your gateway can be found here.
• One of the challenges of launching a HAB flight is finding a suitable location which isn’t too near major airports, has some open space, has easy access and permission from the owner. If you think you might have a suitable site from which to launch, please get in touch.

Finally, getting Skycademy off the ground has been hard work, but a fantastic 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?, and I’d like to say a huge thank you to all those individuals and organisations who’ve had a hand in getting us where we are.

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Over the last few year I’ve seen many awesome uses of the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi, but one of my favourites by far is seeing the Pi used as a payload tracker for High Altitude Ballooning (HAB) projects.

One of the most prolific HAB enthusiasts is Dave Akerman, who has launched many flights using the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi, from the first flight back in 2012…

…to the launch of a potato for Heston Blumenthal’s “Great British Food”…

…and even capturing some amazing images of the recent Solar Eclipse from 30km up.

Many schools are also seeing the opportunities for learning that a HAB flight presents, incorporating physics, maths, 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 and geography into one project.

Here’s a project from William Howard School in Cumbria, whose students built their own tracker connected to a Pi.

In my previous life as a teacher, I organised a launch with my own students, and we had help from Dave Akerman on the day. This turned out to be super helpful, as it takes some planning and there’s a lot to remember.

One of the hardest parts of running a flight is the number of different aspects you have to plan and manage. You can test the hardware and software to a certain point, but there’s limited opportunity for a practice flight. Having 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? is really helpful.

For this reason we’re running our first “Skycademy”, during which we will be giving attendees hands-on 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd? of a flight. The event will be free to attend and will be spread over two and a half days between the 24th and 26th of August.

• Day 1 – Planning and workshop sessions on all aspects of HAB flights.
• Day 2 – Each team launches their payload, tracks, follows and recovers it.
• Day 3 – Teams gather together for plenary morning.

Our aim is to support and inspire teachers and other adults working with young people. The hope is that those that attend will return to lead a project with their groups that will do something amazing.

Attendees will be supported throughout the course by 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?d HAB enthusiasts and the 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Education Team. If you are a UK teacher or work with young people (scout leader, youth leader etc), you can apply here.

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Primary, secondary and post-16 teachers can be part of CPD like this: Picademy #11 takes place on 13 and 14 July at Pi Towers in Cambridge, UK, and you can apply here. As ever, it’s completely free to attend, and you don’t need any 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?: we’ll teach you, inspire you, feed you, and give you free resources, and at the end, you’ll join the friendly and enthusiastic ranks of 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Certified Educators (you even get a badge).

But what’s it like, exactly? 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Certified Educators have blogged and tweeted quite a lot about their 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?s of Picademy:

I decided to create a blue peter inspired drum kit made out of paper cups and tin foil which played different noises when hit using the pygame library in Python […] that really was what made Picademy stand out from other course – the fact that everyone was given time to play and practice away from the school environment and build a network of like minded educationalists and also have hands on guidance from the experts. I feel more confident in letting pupils loose on the pi now… – David Williams at https://张津瑜vs吕总完整视频condo.wordpress.com/2015/06/03/picademynorth-day-2-and-overview/

Sway Grantham, a Year 5 class teacher and one of our earliest Picademy attendees, joined us at the recent Picademy North in York and used Storify to bring together glimpses of the event from Twitter.

One of our favourite things about Picademy is watching the effects ripple out afterwards, as people write about its impact on their teaching and network with one another to organise events local to them. Spencer Organ, a chemistry teacher from a school in Birmingham who attended Picademy in October 2014 blogged about the training itself and, later that term, about the impact of his two days at Pi Towers:

David Saunders travelled from overseas to attend Picademy in April, and went home inspired:

In short, my mind is ablaze with ideas and enthusiasm for how to positively impact my community. – David Saunders at https://medium.com/@DesignSaunders/张津瑜vs吕总完整视频-pi-academy-8001c43087d5

More 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Certified Educators have written about their Picademy 少妇饥渴xxhd麻豆xxhd?s and their effects than I can quote here, and you’ll find more of them listed on our Picademy home page.

We always finish Picademy with a group photo. It’s an occasion of dignity and gravitas.

So, what are you waiting for?

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Next stop on the great 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Education Team Tour of Great Britain is the South West of England! That’s right: we’re taking Picademy, the official 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Professional Development course for teachers, on the road again, thanks to our friends at Exeter Library in Devon! I’m already packing my bucket, spade and kiss-me-quick hat. As always, Picademy is completely free to attend.

张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Certified Educators – April 2015 from cohort no. 8. All demonstrating their best super hero pose!

Exeter Library is an appealing venue for Picademy, with an onsite Fab Lab (fabrication workshop) equipped with laser cutters, 3D printers, and more. I expect we will see some fantastic project ideas realised on day two of the course. Maybe even ‘Biscuits’ the robot will get a shiny new hat courtesy of Clive’s mega-making skills.

Picademy South West will take place on 4th and 5th June. We have space for 24 enthusiastic teachers from Primary, Secondary and Post-16 who are open to getting hands on with their learning and having some fun. We’d like to see lots of teachers from Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, and Dorset take full advantage of this two day event. Sign-ups for teachers are open!

Our 张津瑜vs吕总完整视频 Pi Certified Educators Map shows that the team are needed in the South West!

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Portfolio Holder for Economy and Growth at Devon County Council, said:

 “We’re really pleased and excited that the Picademy is coming to Devon, as this is a fantastic opportunity for local teachers to benefit from the expertise that the two day course will offer – all for free.

We’re keen to try and spread technology training as far and as wide as possible, and have already invested in modern fabrication facilities through the Fab Lab at Exeter Library, which anyone attending the course will be able to see.

The Picademy really complements what we’re already doing here in Devon and provides an opportunity to ensure that we continue to look at new ways in which we can encourage the next generation of experts in technology development, rather than just technology consumers.”

For educators in and around Leeds, remember that our Picademy@Google training events are open for sign-ups too, as we continue to spread free training opportunities across the UK. In the coming months we will announce other venues as part of the Google series.

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