A University of Wolverhampton lecturer was invited by Google to speak at the British Educational Training and Technology Show (BETT) held in London recently. Dr Patricia Davies, Computer Science Lecturer in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, was asked to give a presentation covering a Java Programming MOOC for CS Teachers at the Google Education Teachers’ Theatre at BETT.
BETT is an annual trade show which showcases the use of innovative information technology in education. This year it was attended by 34,530 educators and decision-makers from 138 countries, and included speakers from high profile companies such as Microsoft. The show provides an environment that supports innovation and encourages the UK’s reputation for cutting edge educational technology resources.
Recently, University of Wolverhampton Computer Science lecturers secured $13,000 funding from Google to provide professional development initiatives for teachers across the UK. The University is one of three in the UK to receive Google funding. Our funding focus has been to provide a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) designed to prepare secondary teachers to teach programming elements new to the GCSE and A Level syllabuses. The course covers the fundamentals of Java programming, mathematics for computer science, algorithmic thinking and object-oriented programming.
Dr Patricia Davies said: “It was a real honour to be asked to speak at such a high profile national conference about our experience of delivering this important new course, which focuses on teachers preparing students to become creators rather than mere consumers of technology.
“Our collaboration with Google highlights the importance of academics and technology professionals working together, and ultimately our students will benefit. The Google Engineer, Phil Beevers, who spoke at the launch of the MOOC provided a connection between what students learn here and the practice in large organisations, such as Google.
Dr Davies has been appointed AP Computer Science Reader by the United States College Board, and will participate in the 2017 reading of Advanced Placement Computer Science exams taken by students all around the world.
