We are very excited to bring you this year's programme with contributions from dedicated teachers and educators in the CS field.

An event ticket will provide access to sessions on all three evenings. Links are available here on this website.

Monday 17

7-7:30 Teaching, Minus the Time - a QuizizzAI experience!

Laura Di Pasquale

Laura is a primary teacher from Glasgow and a digital coordinator for her learning community

• This workshop will take you through the power of the Quizizz app for delivering and assessing teaching and learning with the assistance of AI.
• It will show you how to create engaging, yet rigorous quizzes, lessons or activities in a matter of minutes, for any age/stage of pupils with all the built-in tools for good quality differentiation. 
• It will demonstrate how to create content straight from an idea right into your classroom.

7:30-8 Coding for Climate Action

Peter Marshman

Peter Marshman is founder and CEO of the charity Digit<all>. Peter is also secondary sector expert for BCS/CAS and previously head of computing and assistant headteacher at Park House School in Berkshire.

• In this session we'll be exploring Coding for Climate Action - a collection of resources where children can code early warning systems and learn about how they can be used to mitigate the effectives of natural hazards caused by climate change. 
• We will also be sharing how your school or community can obtain between 400 and 1200 pound grants to support coding activities between June and October.

8-8:30 Writing prelim questions for SQA CS NQ courses

Morag Shaw

Morag taught Computing, Information Systems and Computing Science in Inverclyde schools for over 35 years. She was Principal Assessor of Advanced Higher Information Systems from 2001 before becoming PA for AH Computing Science in 2016. She now works at the University of Glasgow within the School of Education.

• Writing effective prelim questions for SQA CS NQ courses.
• Ensuring questions meet the standard of SQA  assessment.
• Providing candidates with an authentic and useful prelim experience.
• Generating useful insights to inform appropriate interventions and follow-up learning.

Tuesday 18

7-7:30 "That’s Mr McKay – he has a robot army!" , Primary transition of CS -

Fraser McKay

Fraser is a Computing science teacher for over 5 years at St John Ogilvie's HS, Hamilton. He is RaspberryPi Certified Educator, #MakeyMakey Ambassador.

• I’ll talk about how I’ve implemented a subject-specific transition programme with P7/S1, the effect it’s had, and how it’s part of a wider BGE change for Computing in our school. I’ll look at potential barriers, and solutions, and how it’s worked in our school. And I have pictures of my robot army (sort of)!

7:30-8 micro:bit primary transition project in West Lothian

Debbie Kennedy

Debbie has taught Advanced Higher for over 22 years. She has experience as a marker and an exceptional track record for uptake and gender divide at Advanced Higher for a substantial amount of years.

• A collaboration between West Lothian Council and the University of Edinburgh in using micro:bits to develop primary-secondary transition activities with a focus on data.
• How this project is evolving and being implemented across local schools
• Some background on the various opportunities that UoE can offer.

8-8:30 Engaging Girls in Computer Science: An Event-Based Approach

Jack Walker

Jack Walker is a dedicated Computer Science teacher at St George’s School for Girls in Edinburgh. With a PGDE from Strathclyde and extensive experience in both education and industry, Jack has a passion for inspiring young minds, particularly in bridging the gender gap in STEM fields.

• This session explores effective strategies for increasing female participation in Computer Science through targeted events and interactive experiences. 
• Drawing on successful initiatives at St George’s School, participants will gain practical insights into organising similar events, integrating real-world connections into lessons, and fostering a supportive environment for all students to explore Computer Science.

Wednesday 19

7-7:30 Curio platform and machine learning

Dr Jonathan Grizou and Talha Enes Ayranci,

Jonathan is a Lecturer / Assistant Professor of Computing Science at the University of Glasgow and a member of their Information, Data and Analysis (IDA) research section. I have a keen interest in innovative approaches to STEAM education, especially in harvesting smartphones to make robotics and programming education available to students of all ages.

Talha is a second-year PhD student in Computing Science at the University of Glasgow, under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Grizou and Dr. Mireilla Bikanga Ada. His research focuses on tangible machine learning education.

• Curio is an affordable and future-proof educational platform to engage students in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. A webpage interface allows access to all sensors on your device (e.g. camera, IMU) and communicate to other devices/services via the internet. It is affordable and convenient. There is nothing more than two motors+wheels, a battery, a control board and a wooden frame. Add your smartphone or laptop and you are ready to go!

7:30-8 NPA in Computing Technology

Derek Harris and Ross Kennedy

Derek is an experienced teacher of 20 years working in various schools in Dumfries and Galloway. He is keen that all learners can use CS to access positive destinations. Recently he has been a driving force for brining forward the new NPA in Computing Technologies. Ross Kennedy is also a very active CS teacher from Dumfries and Galloway and has taken part in the development team for the new course.

• The session will describe the background to the emergence of the new qualification.
• An overview of the course structure and assessment organisation.
• Some thoughts on how the course options can be adapted for different local situations
• The roadmap for the next 12-18 months.

8-8:30 MakeCode Arcade and Meowbits for BGE

Tracy Mutter

Computing Science teacher at Falkirk HS. An MIEExpert and proud member of #teamMIEEScotland also an MIE Master Trainer, Certified Apple Teacher and Apple Swift Playground certified, A Flip Gridguide & Student Voice Ambassador, A Wakelet Ambassador, Adobe Creative Educator 1 & 2, EdTech50 recognised 2022! Tracy is a life long learner with a passion for digital literacy and learning.

• A workshop on using MakeCode Arcade and KittenBot MeowBit in the BGE.
• Demonstration of the MakeCode Arcade coding platform.
• Demonstration of the Meowbit device.
• A range of ideas, learner activities and resources for the classroom.