Hi!
If you've stumbled upon this blog, then I guess I should give you an introduction as to what it is about.
My name is Tom Stacey, and I'm an educator and IT professional based in the United Kingdom. I used to work for the world famous Ultralab educational technology research centre with some wonderful folk producing great stuff. Before then I used to train people on IT, and since then I've worked in IT project management, piloting new technology in Universities, and staff development.
As a geek at heart, I'm passionate about technology, building things (hacking things some of my mates would say) and the Internet. I spend far too much time and money on gadgets!
I'm also sad that ICT education in UK schools is more about using technology (we're producing a generation of kids that are PowerPoint wizards, who will no doubt go on to bore the socks off their colleagues with it when they start work). Being a 30-something, when I got into computers as a kid, making your own stuff was about all you could do with it, and when games came along that were published and sold on tape or disk, you could only afford about two a year!
I've heard a lot from teachers in schools about why programming isn't encouraged - "There isn't the knowledge! It's too expensive! It's too complicated! Where do we start? Or the kids aren't interested." All of these I disagree with, and having worked with enthusiastic young programmers over the last few years, I have always been amazed by how creative, motivated and delighted they are when they are producing their own apps, or changing and improving someone else's.
It's not for everyone, but I think that young people should be given the opportunity to learn and be exposed to how a computer works, and how you make stuff with one. With a real momentum behind mobile 'apps' in the last few years, and some great tools to produce on these platforms, the UK has an unmissable opportunity to nurture the next generation of computer programmers, app millionaires, code breakers and technology inventors. On this blog, I'll share tools, tips and experiences I've gathered along the way.
I hope you find it useful.
