Tag Archives: London

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Know someone aged 15-18 interested in 3D animation? FREE 3Dami summer school in July/Aug

For UK students aged 15-18 there’s an opportunity to participate in a week-long summer school learning about 3D animation techniques. 3Dami are the people behind the event, which will take place at UCL Engineering in London, and here’s their ‘blurb’:

“3Dami is a 7 day summer school where groups of students run their own studio and create their own animated short film from scratch. It operates at the intersection of art and technology (computer science), and is well suited to students with an interest in both. Students get to experience a semi-realistic studio setup, and create their film as a real studio would – it requires teamwork, thinking on their feet and hard work. The skills taught are directly related to the film effects and computer game industries, both of which are booming in the UK. There will be an industry visit and talks given by experts. The event is completely free for UK students aged 15-18 (includes free food!) and runs at UCL (London) from July 24th to August 1st. Please visit the website (3dami.org) to watch last year’s films and for further details, including how to apply.”

“3Dami London are looking for 24 students to make up 3 film studios.  Students are welcome to apply from all over the UK as long as they can sort out their own transportation and accommodation (hopefully there will be some bursaries available).”

You can also download the PDF poster to advertise in schools, click the picture below to open or right-click save as to save, and there’s a YouTube video below that.

The event will run Thursday 24th July – Friday 1st August (inclusive), most days start at 9am and finish at 5:00pm.  On the final Friday there will be a première of the films to parents, friends and other dignitaries at UCL, this event is likely to finish around 8:30pm.

More information from 3Dami London 2014.

3Dami pdf poster

Click to open / save PDF poster

 

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What’s happening at Teaching London Computing this week? – free workshop, job vacancy closing

1. Free workshop – Monday 3 March 2014
Prof Paul Curzon will be running the third in his four-part series of FREE workshops for computing teachers in London. The talk starts at 5.30pm, at Queen Mary University of London (nearest tubes Stepney Green and Mile End, or 25 and 205 buses).

Programming unplugged: learning programming without computers is an inspiring free unplugged session on introducing computing concepts into the classroom.

“It’s easy to assume that programming is something you have to learn at a computer but if you want your students to deeply understand programming concepts, rather than blindly getting programs to work then unplugged techniques can work really well to get students started. We will see how to program a robot face that is made of students, look at a simple way to give a deep understanding of how variables work by making them physical, and see how to compile programs onto your class instead of onto a computer.”

Paul’s next workshop, on Computational Thinking: it’s about people too, will be the last in this series, though the talks will be repeated. Free tickets for the event, on Monday 17 March 2014, are now available if you want to book a place.

2. Job vacancy closing – Tuesday 4 March 2014
We’re looking for a research assistant / postdoctoral research assistant to help us develop our teaching support resources and evaluate them. The job is based at Queen Mary University of London (Mile End campus).

3. Looking ahead to April – a new short CPD course
We’ll be running another CPD course for London computing teachers, at King’s College London. “Computing CPD GCSE one week Easter 2014” runs from Monday 7 to Friday 11 April 2014 and tickets are available from King’s website. They cost £150 for London teachers (who are eligible for a 50% discount thanks to our funding) and cost £300 for non-London teachers, if space is available.

 

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New free workshop: Learning programming without computers

Prof Paul Curzon is currently running a series of free workshops for London computing teachers on Monday evenings (every second Monday) at Queen Mary University of London (QML). The next free session Learning programming without computers will take place on Monday 3 March at 5.30pm (registration from 5pm) in The Bancroft Building, Mile End campus.

Lego laptop

“It’s easy to assume that programming is something you have to learn at a computer but if you want your students to deeply understand programming concepts, rather than blindly getting programs to work then unplugged techniques can work really well to get students started. We will see how to program a robot face that is made of students, look at a simple way to give a deep understanding of how variables work by making them physical, and see how to compile programs onto your class instead of onto a computer.”

For more information please visit the workshop’s information page: Learning programming without computers, and you can register for a free ticket using the Eventbrite button below.

Eventbrite - [Free workshop] Learning programming without computing for the free session on Monday 3rd March 2014, 17:30-19:00 (registration and refreshments from 5pm).

About us
Teaching London Computing is a joint project between QML and King’s College London (KCL), with support from Computing At School (CAS). We are supporting London computing teachers with a variety of classroom resources (free) and programming CPD courses for computing teachers (£150 for London teachers, £300 for others if space is available). We’re funded by the Mayor of London and Department for Education to provide this support.

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We’re hiring! Research / Postdoc Research Assistant needed for Teaching London Computing £31-34k, closing 4 March 2014

The Teaching London Computing project has a vacancy for a research assistant / post-doctoral research assistant. The post will be based in Queen Mary University of London. Information, including a copy of the job description, and how to apply can be found below – applications close on 4 March 2014.

Ref    QMUL3124
Region    London
Main Site    Mile End
QMUL Faculty    Science & Engineering
Dept     EECS (School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science)
Full Time / Part Time    Full Time

Job Advert
QMUL@School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science
Research Assistant / Postdoctoral Research Assistant

The School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary, University of London is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Assistant/Research Assistant as part of the ‘Confidently Teaching Secondary Computing’ project (www.teachinglondoncomputing.org). It aims to support London’s computing/ICT teachers by providing resources and courses and evaluating their effectiveness. Supervised by Prof Paul Curzon and Dr William Marsh, the successful candidate will undertake computer science education research in the context of school computing. This involves helping organise courses, the creation and distribution of resources, evaluating their effectiveness, analysing the data collected and writing up the results.

Applicants are expected to demonstrate expertise indicating a capability in empirical research methods and outstanding experience working with multiple stakeholders and in a deadline-driven environment. The successful candidate is especially expected to have substantial experience of education or related project evaluation.  An excellent empirical research skill such as using interviews, surveys and focus groups is highly desirable.

The post is full time for 18 months (depending on the start date), starting as soon as possible. The starting salary will be in the range of £31,113 – £34,626 per annum inclusive of London allowance. Benefits include 30 days annual leave pro rata, defined benefit pension scheme and interest-free season ticket loan.

Candidates must be able to demonstrate their eligibility to work in the UK in accordance with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. Where required this may include entry clearance or continued leave to remain under the Points Based Immigration Scheme.

Informal enquiries should be addressed to Prof.  Paul Curzon at p.curzon@qmul.ac.uk.

Details about the School can be found at www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk

To apply, please visit the Human Resources website on http://www.jobs.qmul.ac.uk and search with Vacancy Reference Number QMUL3124. Click on the job listing (appears as PDRA (FTC) TLC Project **Paul Curzon) then scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the ‘Apply for this job’ link.

A copy of the job description can also be found here:  Teaching London Computing – RA PDRA February 2014

The closing date for applications is 4 March 2014

Interviews are expected to be held soon after the closing date.