Picademy North at the National STEM Centre
Once again the Raspberry Pi Foundation Education Team is taking Picademy, the official Raspberry Pi professional development course for teachers, on the road. This time to the North, thanks to our friends at the National STEM Centre in York!
The National STEM Centre houses the UK’s largest collection of STEM teaching and learning resources, and high-quality subject specific CPD, in order to provide teachers of STEM subjects with the ability to access a wide range of high-quality support materials.
We work with business, industry, charitable organisations, professional bodies and others with an interest in STEM education to facilitate closer collaboration and more effective support for schools and colleges, and promotion of STEM careers awareness.
Picademy North will take place on 26 and 27 May 2015 and 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. It is our hope, by running this event in York, that we will reach those teaching in locations that are not already represented by Raspberry Pi Certified Educators.
Can you help us put more markers on my Raspberry Pi Certified Educators map?
Picademy is free to attend and applications are open to all teachers from around the world as long as you can fund your own travel and accommodation. If you have applied before but been unsuccessful, please apply again. Our selection process is based on keeping a good mix of gender, location, type of school and so on. We often identify those who have applied more than once to give a place on the course.
If you are interested in taking part and becoming a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator then complete this Picademy application form.
Yesterday I shared this news with the thousands of educators signed up to our education newsletter and was overwhelmed by the positive responses – and I promise there isn’t a Yorkshire bias here, whatever anyone thinks!
@MissPhilbin @Raspberry_Pi @NtlSTEMCentre Fantastic + #DigitalGarage last week – Yorkshire doing well, How about my side of the Pennines ;(
— Pete Lomas (@PeteLomasPi) March 16, 2015
20 comments
Over-40
I wish I knew what STEM and CPD stand for.
It sounds impressive, anyway.
Ben Nuttall
Sorry! STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. CPD is continuing professional development.
William H. Bell
Are their any plans to venture further North into Scotland? A lot of people came to the last Raspberry Pi day at the University of Strathclyde that might benefit from an event in the central belt.
Ben Nuttall
Plans? No. Intentions? Yes. Same applies to the rest of the world :)
Carrie Anne Philbin — post author
I’m still pushing for Picademy Hawaii but with little luck so far. Truthfully, the best way for teachers to participate in a Picademy is to venture to either Cambridge or in this case York. We are a small team (with huge ambitions) so we are limited to the number of picademies we can run. The best way to get more Pi training in specific locations is to help send a couple of teachers to us who can then cascade the training to others. This is why we have a map of where all our certified educators are, and why we are trying to fill the gaps in England at least (the rest of the world there after!)
In some cases, businesses are helping to fund teachers to get to a Picademy event from all over the world. This is one way in which the wider community can help get involved and I’d like to see more UK firms doing the same. Many of our RCE’s feed back their learning from Picademy via their local CAS Hub or at Jams. Attending Picademy is a starting point for all those who come through our programme, as we ask them to have a positive impact on their communities in the months after.
We are working at other ways to try and help teachers with training too, watch this space.
Chris penn
Is there a public version of the rce map?
Niall Saunders
And, remember, “The North” actually covers parts of the UK even further ‘north’ than the Strathclyde area – it keeps on going all the way past Aberdeen and Inverness, onwards past Wick and Thurso, before hopping over to the Orkney and Shetland. It also goes west as well – all the way over to the Outer Hebrides.
OK, sure, you might need your Passport, a Visa, and your jabs would have to be up to date – but a trip ‘up here’ could actually be more fun than heading into the darkest jungles (of either Peru, or Africa!).
Come up and see us some time – and bring Jonathan back (he should be eligible for parole by now – or at least a home visit).
Cheers,
Niall
William Bell
The Northern isles are great. I have many happy memories of science events on the Orkney Isles, as well as trips to the furthest western Isles. The point of mentioning Glasgow was not that it is far enough North, but rather that an event was in Glasgow and many people attended. Clearly, it would be great to hear about interesting projects running in Shetland and Lewis schools too.
Mike
The North? Really? Did you forget that little blip to the North known as Scotland? We only make up a third of the landmass of Great Britain, and have only been a part of the Union for 308 years and have just under 10% of the population of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland … But hey, if we’re not North Enough for you, we can always defect back to Ardino’s and Beagle Boards ;)
Jim Manley
See? As soon as London got the vote their way on whether Scotland should separate, they’d already forgotten about you. You should have put a mandate that Picademy be held there as a condition of staying in the fold! BTW, we still have some slightly soggy, very old tea you can dump in any handy harbor if it would make you feel any better! :D
Niall Saunders
Well, because all of you ‘southerners’ have failed to pay us ‘northerners’ the respect that we are quite rightly due, I have arranged for the lights to go out at around 9-ish on Friday morning.
If you don’t all promise to send Jonathan back, unharmed, along with a fully portable ‘Northern Jam and Picademy’ exhibition, then we won’t turn the lights back on – ever (or, at least not until well after 9am).
Don’t believe me – ask Dave – he’s off into space to witness the calamity from a safe distance!
You have been warned . . .
Ann
Don’t forget about all the great teachers here in Northern Ireland – it would be great to see some Raspberry Pi Certified Educators over here too. Perhaps some day?
Carly Brett
When will technicians be allowed to attend? couldn’t they get first refusal on any remaining spaces? :(
Carrie Anne Philbin — post author
Great question Carly. We actually have a waiting list for each event of teachers! Due to the changes in the english curriculum, our focus is on teachers. I think if we ran an event for non teachers it would be very different. Our course is about computational thinking, pedagogy, and building confidence.
Jeff Greer
What about the US in 2015?
Jessie Morris
Help! I have been teaching GCSE maths for 20 years and have now been asked to home tutor a year 11 student in science. Will this course help me, I haven’t a clue?
Nuex* Luke Castle
Probably not, if the student is doing computer science yes. If just normal science I suggest going to your library or nearest book shop (e.g. WHSmith) and reading/buying a book on GCSE science. My opinion. Sadly it’s a Pi Workshop for teachers that tech with a raspberry pi even though it is held at the York University’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths building sadly it’s being used for IT (raspberry pi)!
Good luck.
Luke Castle
Clive Beale
Hi Luke – the Raspberry Pi is a computer and without computing there would be no STEM (as we know it), so I can’t think of a more appropriate venue. Don’t confuse computing with ICT in school :)
Don Serdis
No. It will teach you about the Raspberry Pi and how to use it in the classroom. Can I make a suggestion? If you haven’t a clue it might be better if someone else tutors that student.
Nuex* Luke Castle
Shame kids like me who are 12 years old can’t go. Shame as I live in York.