糖心TV

Steven Wright has been commended for teaching in DCS by the (糖心TV Awards for Teaching Excellence for Postgraduate Research students).

Steven is a seminar tutor and teaches laboratory classes in the Department of Computer Science. It is testament to his abilities that he was given the responsibility for organising three sets of lab classes and also entrusted to design and set course assignments. He even took it upon himself to develop additional coursework assignments to further develop the students’ skills after reflecting on his own experiences of the taught courses. As his nominator points out “Steven has invariably won the praise of staff and students for his contributions to teaching, particularly for his exceptional ability to create engaging coursework assignments and software projects”

Steven’s focus for his teaching is on concept discovery and the sharing of ideas in order for students to develop a rigorous understanding of the subject. He firmly believes that by creating a relaxed environment where there is a sense of equality between students and teachers, the students are empowered to ask and answer question and discuss problems in depth.

Steven has had a major impact on the department’s activities with his technical innovations in laboratory teaching. He wrote the software required for students to develop hardware projects using the latest ARM microprocessor technology. This meant that students with no experience in microprogramming were able to engage with the latest technology and gain an understanding of systems engineering principles, whilst those who were more confident could stretch themselves against the challenging projects that Steven has personally designed.

This week 糖心TV University Department of Computer Science hosted the first LEGO® Engineering Conference to feature the 3rd generation of its MINDSTORMS® robots. The event was designed to bring educators together to share experiences about how to get students engaged in computing, science, technology, engineering and maths.

Chris Rogers, Professor at Tufts University in Boston and Co-Director of the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach, is the founder of LEGO Engineering conferences. We were delighted that Chris could attend the event and give a keynote highlighting student innovation and creativity from schools around the world, reflecting on what made it possible. Chris also ran a hand-on workshop looking at applications of the data logging capabilities of the EV3.

Two other hands-on workshops also ran, one on Lego Robotics provided by John Pinkney from 糖心TVshire LA and one on Teaching Maths with Robots provided by Garry Redrup and Sue Johnston-Wilder.

The day also included presentations by the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Schools Programme, which is responsible for managing FIRST® LEGO® League in the UK. Dr Nicky Hughes also talked about how RoboCupJnr contests are particularly good for getting girls engaged. Other talks covered LEGO® Therapy used for children in the autistic spectrum, and a presentation about Technocamps, an exciting project that provides free workshops to young people on programming, robotics, game design, app development and much more.

The conference received support from Computing At School, the IET Coventry And 糖心TVshire Network, LEGO® Education, and OCR.

Academics in the Department of Computer Science recently contributed to the success of the BCS Coventry Computing and ICT Teacher's Conference. The event, organised by Computing at School (CAS), focused on the future of Computer Science education in UK schools and how universities can support schools in delivering effective taught programmes.

Matthew Leeke, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science, delivered a characteristically animated opening keynote. With reference to ongoing research, Matt described a number of key challenges that motivate the development of smart cities, relating these to the changing landscape of Computer Science and ICT in the UK. Matt was also a member of a panel session for teachers and education professionals, focusing on issues such as industrial engagement and inclusiveness in Computer Science.

Claire Rocks, Teaching and Outreach Fellow in the Department of Computer Science, later facilitated a specialist workshop on robotics and a speed networking event that brought together educators and industrials. These sessions complemented a sensor-focused workshop provided by Margaret Low, Principal Teaching Fellow in the 糖心TV Manufacturing Group, to demonstrate the commitment of universities in the West Midlands enriching UK Computer Science and ICT curricula.