[python-uk] URGENT: Volunteers for teacher collaboration please... :-)

[Nicholas H.Tollervey]

Hello Folks,

Many many thanks for the awesome response. The next steps are...

* Me: coordinate with CAS
* Me: send you a micro:bit to play with
* You: attend the event and help master teachers.

I'll be in touch "out of band" from this thread to sort out the details.

Yay for the UK's Python community being made up of such wonderful people.

N.

On 17/02/16 08:30, Nicholas H.Tollervey wrote:
> Hi Folks,
> 
> I realise I must sound like a stuck record about this sort of thing -
> please accept my sincere apologies.
> 
> TL;DR: I need volunteers from around the country to support a twilight
> meetup of teachers happening in various parts of the UK. It's not
> difficult and likely to be a lot of fun and will only take a few hours
> of your time in the early evening of a single day. I may be able to
> cover travel expenses. Please get in touch. More detail below...
> 
> Computing at School (see: http://www.computingatschool.org.uk/), a grass
> roots movement of computing teachers in the UK would like to run a
> series of training courses for "Master Teachers" in MicroPython on the
> BBC micro:bit during March. These teachers would go on to act as the
> seed / catalyst for other teachers who require Python training during a
> series of training events over the summer. Put simply, this is an
> exercise in Python evangelism for teachers.
> 
> Master teachers are those who have demonstrated a combination of deep
> subject knowledge and teaching skill. Put simply, they're the most
> senior teachers you can get. They're also the leaders in the field and
> what they say or do influences many hundreds of their colleagues.
> 
> The idea is for the master teachers to get together with Python
> developers (that'd be *you*) for a few hours to work through MicroPython
> related educational resources. These events would happen at university
> based hubs around the country. As a Python developer you'll *get a BBC
> micro:bit* and be expected to offer advice, answer questions and
> demonstrate Python as needed. Honestly, it's not an onerous task and
> will only last a few hours in a "twilight" session (i.e. after work).
> 
> The locations and proposed dates are as follows:
> 
> London: 25th February
> Birmingham: 9th March
> Nottingham: 15th March
> Lancaster: 16th March
> Newcastle: 17th March
> Hertfordshire: 21st March
> Manchester: 23rd March
> Southampton: 23rd March
> 
> It's easy for UK Python to be very London-centric. This is an
> opportunity for Pythonistas throughout the UK to step up and get involved.
> 
> Why should you volunteer a few hours of your time to help teachers? Need
> you ask? Your help and influence will ultimately contribute to the
> education of the next generation of programmers - your future
> colleagues. It's a way to give back to the community by fostering the
> next generation of Pythonistas with the help of the CAS Master Teachers.
> It's also, from a moral point of view, simply a selfless and
> unambiguously good thing to do.
> 
> If you're thinking "oh, they won't want me", then YOU ARE EXACTLY THE
> PERSON WE NEED! Your experience, perspective and knowledge is invaluable
> and teachers need to hear from you. Rest assured, this will not be a
> difficult or high-pressure activity. In fact, it's likely to be a lot of
> fun.
> 
> Remember that awesome person who mentored you and/or gave you a step up?
> Now's your chance to be that person for a group of master teachers.
> 
> If this is of interest to you, please get in touch ASAP and I can start
> to coordinate things with CAS.
> 
> I'm going to put in a grant request to the PSF to see if we can cover
> travel costs for developers. But there's no guarantee this will come about.
> 
> Best wishes,
> 
> N.
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> python-uk mailing list
> python-uk at python.org
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-uk
> 


-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 473 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-uk/attachments/20160217/23cde0f2/attachment.sig>