[Reproduced very lightly edited from Nicholas Tollervery’s post to python-uk. Either reply to that thread or ping Nicholas on Twitter]
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[icholas Tollervey].