Events for Teachers and Home Educators

The Royal Society Summer Exhibition

The Royal Society Summer Exhibition isn't just an opportunity to marvel at the smart thinking that's shaping the world around us, it's a brilliant chance for you to meet and fire questions at the scientists behind the research. They've got over 20 fascinating, diverse and interactive exhibits. Fields of study range from how fluorescent fish could provide better understanding of human diseases, to a chewing robot that can help us develop dental technology, to how new space missions could help to unlock the history of the universe. The cs4fn team will be there with our Magic of Computer Science stall on "Conjuring, Cognition and Computing" exploring our own research in to computer vision and human error using Magic tricks. It runs Tuesday 30 June to Saturday 4 July 2009.

Computing at School Summer Conference

"Computing at School" are holding their inaugural teacher conference at the University of Birmingham on June 19th, 9:00-5:00pm.

The event has been organised by teachers, for teachers, and will provide an excellent opportunity to explore new ways to bring computing into our classrooms. The conference is *free* and bursaries are available for overnight accommodation on June 18th should this be required, when there will be an opportunity to meet colleagues at an informal reception.

The following speakers (amongst others) have agreed to take part:

• Tim Bell - Computer Science Unplugged
• Paul Curzon - cs4fn
• Michael Kölling - Greenfoot
• Quintin Cutts - CSInside
• John Woollard - Institute of Education, Southampton University
• Roger Boyle - Leeds University

Further details and a registration form can be found here. Do come and join us for what promises to be a very exciting and inspiring occasion.

If you require further information please write to Simon Humphreys at conf2009@computingatschool.org.uk.

The Computing at School Working Group is an informal group that aims to promote the teaching of computing at school. Our membership is broad, and includes teachers, examiners, parents, university faculty, local authority advisors and employers.

CAS was born out of our excitement with our discipline, combined with a serious concern that many of our students are being turned off computing by a combination of factors that have conspired to make the subject seem dull and pedestrian. Our goal is to put the fun back into computing at school. We see computing as a rich and deep discipline in its own right, like physics or mathematics. Like those subjects, computing explores foundational principles and ideas, rather than training students in skills related to particular artefacts.