Mr B Talks About Computing
The classroom where I taught my first (and last) lesson during Placement 1 of my PGCE.
In the interests of completeness, this was where I taught most of my lessons on Placement 2.
How it all began
When and where I began my computing journey really depends on how far back you want to go. Sneaking into my brother's bedroom to "borrow" his Commodore 64 while he was at school in the late eighties? Getting an Amiga 500+ for Christmas in the mid-ninties? Or in the noughties, when I took over the role of IT Technician in an office of the DWP on the pretext that someone had seen me unjam a printer and reasoned (correctly) that I was therefore qualified to oversee and manage all the IT systems for 200+ staff? Hard to pin down. What I can tell you is when my passion for computing in education started.
In 2011, I began working as the ICT Manager in a school for children with additional needs. It was a role that brought together my two greatest passions: working with young people, and working with computers. Having just tried unsuccessfully to get a place on a Primary PGCE, I hoped this job would satiate my urge to get into the classroom. Over my four years at that school, I created films with students in KS3, taught programming to students in KS4, and even helped to produce a whole-school musical. Unsurprisingly, this all had the opposite effect! I now wanted more than ever to become a teacher, and although leaving that school was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, I knew it was time to throw everything at accomplishing that lifelong goal.
Fast forward to today, and I have my own classroom in a wonderful primary school. On the day of writing this, I found some old diary entries from my time doing work experience in a primary school in 1996. That was when my ambition to become a teacher was first ignited. I'm so happy my past self never lost sight of the dream, because it really is the best job in the world.
One of the displays in my classroom, covering the key coding concepts we encounter in KS1 and KS2.
"Teaching Computing is about inspiring curiosity and encouraging children to make predictions, ask questions, and seek knowledge. When it comes to the Computing curriculum, I believe children should first and foremost be taught to think critically and solve problems logically."
Mr B
Teaching Videos
A few years ago, I created a YouTube channel. Some of the videos were product reviews, and I tried to approach them from the perspective of how that thing might be useful in the classroom.
Here they are. Please enjoy :-)
(And like and subscribe)
(And smash the notification bell)
Mr B
"Teaching at Secondary has taught me that Year 9 is too late to begin the sales pitch for Computing: it needs to begin right from day one. Computing should be relevant, fun and inspiring, and that is as much down to teaching style as content."
Some Published Words
I've been fortunate enough to write for some of the leading educational magazines. Below is a selection of my more recent endeavours. If you click the link, the image will take you to the relevant article.
