Today, I attended the first Computing at School’s Scotland Conference in Edinburgh.  This was a marvellous event on many levels.

1. It was over subscribed, yet over 100 Computing Teachers paid £20 probably their own money plus travelling expenses to give up their Saturday to meet with each other to try and progress their own subject.
2. There were a good range of speakers, all suitably qualified, well respected in their field who gave some of the best advice, guidance, thoughts or opinions about different challenges which face computing in Schools.
3. This wasn’t a greeting meeting! Everything was positive and constructive, forward looking and being for the benefit of and with the focus of learners experiencing computer education in the next few years.
4. It was a fantastic representation of support from the Government agencies, Universities in Scotland (and Kent), from Industry including Google, Microsoft, Adobe, Runrev and last but by no means teachers.
5. It was supremely well organised! Friendly, relaxed and everyone talked to everyone else.

I think that computing teachers sometimes get a bad press as being geeky, unapproachable and moaning.  Well, certainly not those who were their today.  We were proud and professional and I was glad to be one of them.

What did I learn?  What will impact my learning and teaching? Lots! But that’s for a different post!

To all those who contributed, organised, presented or to those in the tweetisfere who I had the chance to meet in real life.

Thanks,

Colin