University digital PLAYDATE brings together teachers from across the UK

The University of Northampton, in partnership with IntoFilm, hosted a digital PLAYDATE on Wednesday 8 June. The Digital PLAYDATE – People Learning and Asking ‘Y’– consisted of practical sessions using technology enhanced learning methods – getting hands on with robots, programmable tools, animation, filmmaking and educational apps, all designed to boost teachers’ knowledge. This was followed by a series of short presentations by teachers sharing ideas from their recent practice.

Helen Caldwell, Senior Lecturer in Education said: “Digital PLAYDATES are a great form of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for teachers, getting hands on with the technology available for teaching and developing your skill set in this way – learning through play- can be much less daunting than traditional CPD sessions. Learning in this way also directly supports the focus on computing in real world scenarios within the new Primary computing curriculum.”

“The teachers here today have used digital resources, games and technology to explore learning across STEAM subjects supported by our volunteer digital leaders. There has been a real emphasis on developing digital creativity skills such as the use of apps for art education, green screens for storytelling and stop-go animation for all subjects.”

Su Gabriel, from Lode Heath School, Solihull said: “The digital PLAYDATE has been a great event; the practical session was valuable, we were all sharing ideas and tips for integrating technology in the curriculum. For me, developing my knowledge in a practical way, through experimentation with the technology here – green screens, robots, digital art app and the multisensory spaces – has been very valuable. I have lots of ideas to take back to my school.”

One of these ‘Changemaker+ Challenges’ is to make Northamptonshire the best county in the UK for children and young people to flourish and learn – something the Digital PLAYDATE has contributed towards.

Catch up on the Twitter conversations using #TMplaydate on Storify