Here is the second in a series of blogs which will share and highlight the great stories of our amazing MIEEs who attended the E2 Global Education Exchange in Singapore! We asked them to share their experiences of becoming a MIEE as well as some of their personal highlights from the Road to E2! Second up in the series is Daniel Kerr, Head of Computing at Sandymoor School who attended as one of our MIEExperts.
Tell us about yourself and your MIEE journey so far
I am currently Head of Computing at Sandymoor School in Runcorn. I became an MIEE when Sandymoor was awarded Microsoft Showcase status in 2014. Over the past few years, I have been working alongside Microsoft to improve student outcomes through innovative uses of technology in teaching and learning at Sandymoor. At Sandymoor, Office 365 is readily establishing digitally literate pupils who will thrive in a technological world. Our Computer Science curriculum embraces Microsoft technology and it is built into a whole school scheme of learning. OneNote creates digital exercise books in every Computing lesson and SharePoint and Stream are creating dynamic and collaborative platforms for our students. As a school, we have also dedicated Microsoft Office lessons to encourage students to complete Microsoft Office Specialist exams which is a further example of how we are preparing our students for a digital future.
What were you looking to get out of the E2 experience?
Before heading to E2, I wanted to explore Microsoft apps such as Minecraft Education and Paint 3D and how they could be incorporated into my classroom. Following my visit, I have been able to try out these apps and how they work in the context of teaching and learning which is very exciting. I can now really see the benefits of using them and I cannot wait to try them out with my students back in the UK.
Three highlights of your E2 experience were:
• Testing out Minecraft Education for the first time
• Working with teachers from all over the world
• Meeting my fellow E2 Team UK; they really are an amazing and talented group of educators
How will this experience impact on your role back in your institution?
Now that I am back in the UK, I will be getting to work on rolling out Minecraft Education and Paint 3D across the whole school Computer Science curriculum. I am also really excited about looking at how Skype in the classroom could be used with my Microsoft Student Ambassadors as I know they would really enjoy being able to participate in that!
Follow @MrKerr_ICT on Twitter to keep up to date with the great things he is doing using technology.