Free Gamer Kit from Google for UK kid coders

codeclubTechnology education organisations Code Club and Technology Will Save Us have been brought together to offer an amazing opportunity to 900 children around the UK.

Thanks to $100,000 from the Google RISE program, children in Code Clubs will be able to receive DIY Gamer Kit to build and program during their club sessions for free, which normally costs £60.

The kit allows kids to solder together 40 parts on a custom circuit board to build their own handheld games console. Once the build is complete the console, controlled by Arduino, can be programmed to create exciting games. Children in Code Clubs will be taught soldering, electronics, programming and design using resources that have been created especially for the project.

Code Clubs that are interested in receiving free DIY Gamer Kits and resources can click here to find out more.

Understandably, due to the feel-good nature of this project, there were no end of quotes from those involved.

“Google has a critical role to play in making computer science more accessible and inclusive globally, especially for girls. This education is key, not just for developing tech sector talent, but for creating technology that makes a difference,” said Hai Hong, the K-12 Outreach Program Manager at Google.

“We are thrilled to be working with Code Club and it is exciting that Google is enabling these kinds of partnerships. This collaboration draws on the strengths of both organisations and allows us to enable thousands of young people and hundred of volunteers to become digital makers,” said Technology Will Save Us’ CEO Bethany Koby.

“We’ve had fantastic success teaching children to code in our clubs since 2012, and we’re excited to give them the opportunity to learn physical computing too. Programming devices to interact with their surroundings is an engaging, hands-on way to learn coding,” said Code Club’s Head of Education, Rik Cross.

Hey, CTOs… how about speaking plain English?

CTO_EnglishDuring my years in agency-land I’ve met and worked with a number of CTOs as an agency and as a client). Most have bored the shit out of me, they weren’t actually boring, they simply spoke Geek (Greek would’ve been easier).

But when I was at Wunderman London I met Gregory Roekens, CTO at AMV BBDO. He changed my view on what an inspiring, engaging asset a plain-speaking CTO can be to an agency and how if they speak in ‘our’ language it makes life waaaaay less boring. Continue reading

Google and Code Club go back to school… teachers

google_code_club

Code Club, with the support of Google and CAS (Computing at Schools), has launched a nationwide training programme to teach core computing skills to primary school teachers.

Code Club is a not-for-profit, 1,800-strong UK network of volunteer-led after-school coding clubs for children aged 9-11 years old. Its mission is to put a Code Club in every single primary school in the country. Continue reading