David Hellam

Google for Education Certified Innovator: GTAUK12, Raspberry Pi Certified Educator, HS Computer Science teacher. Code Week EU ambassador & lapsed mathematician

[David Hellam @dhellam]

Making new friends at the #EUcodeweek planning meeting in Brussels

[David Hellam @dhellam]

"Code Week in an age of AI? Doing nothing is not an option. It would be a path to obsolescence." Community discussion at #EUcodeweek planning meeting in Brussels.

[David Hellam @dhellam]

@brockpierson Digitised resources. For example: short sampled sounds and satellite images, took way too long to download to be useful in a lesson.

[David Hellam @dhellam]

@brockpierson We downloaded music: chip tunes you could play on an 8-bit computer. We could message other BBS users in real time or leave them something to read when they next logged on. We could get information from subject specialists who kindly shared it.

[David Hellam @dhellam]

@sarahemclaugh We laughed at clueless politicians in 2003 when they proposed similar insanity with a straight face. https://t.co/2HMdRysIMD

[David Hellam @dhellam]

I am amazed at the Babelfish-like way I can read and react to messages on X. It will be interesting to see where this leads...

[David Hellam @dhellam]

If I was to hire a lawyer to determine whether my hairstyle was acceptable, would they be known as a Mullet Attorney? And if they were to use their profits from the lawsuit to buy a boat, would it be known as a Mullet Attorney's Sloop? Is a pun like this too obvious an attempt to curry favour?

[David Hellam @dhellam]

"Always lie your head off!" If people can guess the answer to a security question by looking through your social media for clues, you have a real problem.

[David Hellam @dhellam]

Some World Book Day related musings. One child turned up as Santa. What favourite children's book, the other kids demanded to know, was he a character from? I suggested that the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was probably on all their bookshelves.

[David Hellam @dhellam]

Another child came dressed as a wolf. I had to confess that as a computing teacher, Little Wolf's Book of Badness is one of my favourites; because Little Wolf independently discovers the most important rule you need to follow when choosing security questions online.

[David Hellam @dhellam]

Here are three little doughbots I made recently. I'm still trying to record a decent tutorial video or three going over my different doughbotics building techniques to put them together

[David Hellam @dhellam]

But it's a fun way of making noise activated presentations. However, that's another story...

[David Hellam @dhellam]

A few years ago, I made myself an Arduino powered deaf laser. If you shouted at it, the laser would switch on.

[David Hellam @dhellam]

A word to the wise: don't set up a traffic light system based on the noise level in your classroom. Some children might see it as a challenge.

[David Hellam @dhellam]

So most of our Sunday morning sessions consist of a craft activity usually linked to what is on the Lectionary. But, as it was a British Patron Saint's Day today, it seemed too good and opportunity to waste.

[David Hellam @dhellam]

Happy St. David's Day!

"What craft activity are we doing today?" one of the children asked.

"Well, it's St. David's Day," I replied.

"So, we're drawing pictures of you?"

Must admit, iconography wasn't my first choice for children's ministry, but at the end of the session, I decided to see what Grok could do for me...

[David Hellam @dhellam]

My guiding philosophy is simple; we're all made in God's image. Therefore, deep down inside each one of us is an urge to create. The first people recorded in the Bible as being filled filled with the Spirit of God are artisans.