Did you know that there is currently a wave of training being offered to teachers on the computing curriculum? What’s more, some of you can actually get on it for free! (Or at least the heavily subsidised cost of only £35 each)

Part of my role as Subject Matter Expert for the NCCE (National Centre for Computing Education) is to promote training that is being rolled out in an effort to raise quality and consistency of computing teaching and learning across the UK.

My target area is all around the South Coast; if you are a teacher in a primary school and haven’t been offered this training, please get in touch with me straight away.

If you wish to browse courses that are available to you, or get your head teacher to sign you up and book you on, please visit the NCCE website.

If the training is on a date that you cannot make, please let me know as I can possibly arrange further training courses to commence anytime from now until October.

Please spread the word to all your primary and secondary colleagues; get back to me if you have any questions or suggestions!

Remember, even if you’re a primary school teacher but don’t teach computing, you soon may be required to! Plus, any training is great for your CPD…

Join me at Hack Soton tomorrow in Southampton’s Central Hall.

I’ll be delivering a workshop for under 14s on 3D design, using Sketchup in the Small Hall from 1 till 2pm.

It’s free!

Sign up and get information for Hacksoton here…

Just for fun, but also to develop your Scratch skills, why don’t you join the competition/ collaboration and get Scratchin? Create a game that fits the brief, then have a look at the other entires. Whose game is the best? What skills did you learn? Whose code did you admire?

Follow all the action here! Started on Twitter:

So I’ve set up a ‘Studio’ for the first brief, which is this:

Theme: Space, style: collection game (where you have to collect stuff around the screen), difficulty: enemies trying to stop you. I know it’s a bit cliche, but see how we go!).

When you’ve made your game, post it up in this Scratch Studio

Here is my attempt! Check it out, it’s imaginatively called ‘Space Junk Collector‘

Have fun y’all!

I am privileged to have had my ScratchUp! ideas published in an article in the popular (and free!) magazine for computing and digital educators!

(Hello World) Issue 7 (Spring Term 2019) has just been released (Click on the link blow for a free PDF download) and ScratchUp! features on pages 70, 71 and 72. Or you can subscribe for a free copy of the magazine itself once a term if you are an educator…

(Hello World) Issue 7 (Spring Term 2019) – ScratchUp! Page 70 – Download Free PDF

To see these projects live and in action, and also download all the resources mentioned in the article, visit my ScratchUp! Page.

To all of you who are finishing term today, I wish you a fabulous, fun and peace filled Christmas. Please look after yourself and stay chilled.

10 points for whoever can identify the song in the code above…

I’ll leave you with a little something that pretty much sums up how serious year 6’s are taking their learning right now…