Clay Modelling, Computer Coding & Holistic Education in Galway

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 In my last Coderdojo computer coding class of 2013, I got all the participants (parents and children) to build Christmas-themed computer applications. 

But first they had to create all the digital characters ('Avatars' or 'Sprites') by hand using model clay or Mála in Irish! 

Once that was finished, the participants digitised the little clay figurines using a camera to upload to their computer and later onto their 'Scratch' computer language applications. The clay models then becoming animated characters within their very own computer festive game or digital story!

A Holistic Approach to Learning

I undertake this exercise, not only to make the computer coding lessons more exciting, but to ensure that the participants continue to develop hands-on artistic skills. For as educators, we must ensure our young people to develop a holistic approach to life, to use their hands to make things out of solid materials and not rely solely on using digital skills for a virtual world. With this ethos, I host my classes very early on Saturday morning so that the children can still attend outdoor team sporting activities such as hurling, camogie, soccer and rugby. Likewise, I also ensure that parents are active participants, leaning to code alongside their children, this encouraging bonding with their sons and daughters. I also recommend adults to implement a digital detox period in their homes. Maybe one night or even a few hours weekly where all computers and internet connected devices are switched off.

Ireland’s experiences a Digital Creative Revolution

There has been a huge growth of interest and activity in computer programming in Ireland over the last two years. We are last transforming our young people from being passive Digital Users into active Digital Creators.

This phenomena has resulted from the happy convergence of a number of factors:

The free online availability of Scratch

Developed by a team at MIT Media Lab in the USA, it has an easy-to-use structure based around snapping together visual blocks of computer code that control sound, music and images. Hence it is ideally suited to young people as it compliments their artistic interests with a new digital dimension in order to create computer games, animations and stories.

The establishment of Coderdojo

Started in Cork by James Whelton and Bill Liao, this volunteer-based computer club movement has taken Ireland and not the world by storm with a presence in 27 countries. In Ireland, there are Coderdojos in nearly every major city and town. Some clubs such as Athenry in county Galway have grown into high learning centres providing a broad range of online tools and projects.

Third Level Outreach Programmes

The active participation by highly motivated and visionary third level Outreach science and technology officers in promoting and organising computer programming courses for schools across Ireland. Lero in Limerick and DERI (now INSIGHT) in Galway have been particularly prominent in this regard. Since 2012, Lero has worked with the Irish government in producing a syllabus for a computer coding module that will be included in the revised national Junior Certificate that will be introduced in 2014/2015. Whilst Lero concentrated on teaching the teachers, DERI took their digital missionary zeal directly into the classroom with an awareness of the need to embrace schools located far from the urban technology corridors, in isolated rural areas or on remote islands.

Mentoring from Industry and Colleges

The high level of skilled mentoring that is now available from industry as well as from third level colleges in assisting schools with computer coding classes has seen a remarkable surge over the last two years. Most of the volunteers mentors involved are young enthusiastic engineers and researchers, characteristics that allow them to be viewed as positive role models by pupils and students of both primary and post primary schools. 

In Galway, the Galway Education Centre, NUI Galway, GMIT, Aviya and Hewlett Packard collaborated in rolling out coding courses to sixty one schools in Galway and Mayo during the school year 2012/2013.

Government Introduces Coding into Schools for the first time

Finally there has been a realization by the Irish government that computer programming needs to become a subject in the second-level educational curriculum in order to create a world class Knowledge Economy and Society. 

Without such digital skills being taught, there was/is a real danger that Ireland’s youth will be educationally deprived of the skills needed to survive in and to shape the 21^st century.  Too many of the jobs being created in the vibrant IT sector in Ireland are being filled by people imported from overseas.  Whilst at the same time, we are witnessing 1,500 young Irish people emigrate weekly. The result was that the country was/is developing a two tiered society, one in which the indigenous population could be concentrated in the lower  strata if nothing fundamental changed in the schools system.

Young Tech Savvy Government Ministers

Fortunately, the present state Department of Education has a number of ministers that are fully aware of this serious gap in the learning system and are doing something about it. Sean Sherlock is doing a great job as the country’s first designated Minister for Research and Innovation. Ciaran Cannon, Minister of State for Training and Skills, has become an avid champion of the Irish coding movement. In his home county of Galway, he is encouraging and working closely with partners in the educational and commercials sectors including the Galway Education Centre, leading edge corporations, COderdojos, GMIT and NUI Galway in developing Galway as a vibrant hub of digital creativity of international significance.

Galway Science and Technology Festival

Ireland’s largest festival of science and technology is held annually in Galway. The two week event ends with a fair in Galway university attended by circa 25,000 visitors that has become a showcase not only for locally based leading edge biomedical, marine, IT corporation and indigenous industries but also for schools and college projects. 

Coding Computer Games – Past, Present & the Future & World's First Popular Computer Chess

Coderdojo Game enthusiasts in action at the Computer Museum during the Volvo Ocean Race 2012

As part of National Engineers Week, Coderdojo Galway, the Computer and Communications Museum of Ireland and the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) at NUI Galway are collaborating to host an exciting computer games event entitled  Coding Computer Games – Past, Present & the Future at 12.00-2.00pm on Saturday March 2^nd, in the Digital Enterprise Research Institute, IDA/NUIG Business Park Dangan.

At a time when Ireland is securing a reputation as a global development hub for online interactive gaming and providing much needed quality home-based technology careers for our young people, this event should interest teachers, students, parents and children alike.

The idea is to showcase some of the excellent gaming taking place at Coderdojo Galway (the future), to allow visitors to enjoy classic games such as Asteroids, Pacman, Sonic and Pong played on renowned vintage consoles and computers such as Atari, Amiga and Sinclair ZX81 in the Computer Museum (the past), and to have some of the current Galway-based commercial software developers such as Tribal City and Starcave Entertainment  demonstrate their latest web-based games (the present).

The vintage gaming will take place in the Computer Museum with the Coderdojo demonstrations going on in the Conference Room and adjoining meeting rooms.
However in advance of the event, we need to get as many of the vintage games units working as is possible. There is a small room full of extra Amigas, Segas, Ataris,Playstations, BBCs and Sinclairs that needed to be tested! So any help we can get would prove invaluable!

Hence we are asking volunteers to meet at 6pm on Friday March 1st and spend one or two hours get the museum re-organised to accommodate extra gaming units for March 2nd.
If you are interested in supporting this worthy cause, please contact us at your earliest convenience. 

 Photograph shows one of the thematic teeshirts purchased for the event and to be worn by the museum guides on March 2nd. 

Newsflash!! World's First Popular Computer Chess to be unveiled at the Computer Museum!

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We are particularly pleased to announce that the world's first popular computer chess unit will be on display at the computer museum during the Games Extravaganza. Known as the Fidelity Chess Challenger, it was the first chess electronic unit available to the public. Based on a Z80 8-bit micro-processor, it started production in 1977 with its most popular model, the Fidelity Chess Challenger 7, selling over 600,000 units. Its inventor Sidney Samole got the idea for computer chess after watching an episode of Star Trek.

Galway- Potential to become Europe’s ‘Silicon Valley’

I was privileged to be granted recently the Galway Science Person of the Year 2012 award

So I decided to take advantage of this recognition by encouraging the relevant local stakeholders to work together to promote the city and environs as a Digital Galway Bay or as a European version of Silicon Valley, a concept that is perfectly achievable and that could easily capture the popular imagination.

The following is an article that I submitted to the media on why this concept is based on solid foundations

"A well known local science advocate believes that Galway should emulate its international status as an arts city by striving to become the European equivalent of California’s Silicon Valley.

Presented with the ‘Galway Science Person of the Year’ 2012 Award at the recent Galway Science and Technology Festival for delivering a range of pioneering science and technology learning initiatives to schools, colleges and to communities, Brendan Smith believes passionately that the city possesses many of the key ingredients needed to transform the region into a leading global hub for smart technologies’ innovation and development.

According to Brendan Smith, “Silicon Valley is located in the San Francisco Bay area and is home to many of the world's largest information technology corporations as well as thousands of small start-ups who have established a symbiotic relationship with third level colleges in the vicinity that provide the stream of young enthusiastic inventors, innovators, entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists needed to sustain their existence and success. Companies such as Hewlett Packard and Google grew out of the research work being undertaken by neighbouring university and research institutes.

Whilst it is the digital products and business aspects that largely define the identity of the Silicon Valley and environs, nevertheless there are other elements of the San Francisco Bay area that clearly played a crucial part in its evolution as the world’s premier powerhouse of technology innovation.

Located on the west coast of the United States, the area is famed for its natural beauty that has engendered a 'quality of life' ethos amongst the inhabitants. The city of San Francisco has also long being characterized by political, environmental and social liberalism; possessing a strong progressive artistic, music, cultural and community solidarity dynamic with a youthful, student, cosmopolitan and outward-looking population.

Galway therefore bears an uncanny resemblance to San Francisco possessing many of its main traits in abundance. Our president Michael D Higgins could be said to be the personification of this image of Galway as visionary, vibrant, artistic, socially just and technology-savvy.

Many of the leading corporations in the biomedical and information technology sectors such as Avaya, Boston Scientific, Cisco, Electronic Arts, Hewlett-Packard, Medtronic, SAP and Valeo, are already based here with established links to research institutes located in GMIT and NUIG such as DERI, Ryan and REMEDI which are providing the scientific expertise to sustain their presence in Galway and underpin their status as leaders in cutting edge product development. DERI for instance has over one hundred and forty young experts from thirty three countries developing the next generation of the World Wide Web known as the Semantic Web.

There is also the presence locally of indigenous high tech manufacturing and services industries comprising Irish-owned companies such as Creganna and Storm Technologies.

But what is also an abiding feature of Galway is the deep sense of ‘community solidarity’ as well as the high level of volunteerism that exists amongst many of the prime ‘movers and shakers’ in the industrial, political, educational and local government sectors who have over the years collaborated under the auspices of the Galway Education Centre, Junior Achievement and the Galway Science and Technology Festival, to deliver important learning initiatives in schools and colleges across the Western region.  In a modern industrial urban version of ‘Meitheal’ that was once the hallmark of traditional Irish rural community support, these visionaries have promoted and harnessed an army of young professional mentors from industry and third level colleges who give their time and energies to teach in primary and post-primary classrooms delivering science courses whilst acting as positive ‘role models’ for our young generation. 

Such courses will equip our children with a range of skills, from using mathematics to fostering critical thinking, necessary for transforming Ireland from being a nation of ‘digital users’ into a nation of ‘digital creators’ that would export worldwide a series of beneficial Irish-made smart tech products and services.

These formal learning programmes are now being complimented by the activities of electronic and computer coding volunteer clubs such as 091 Labs and Coderdojo which are often established by young people themselves to provide informal after-school digital maker’s environments where participants are encouraged to be creative and to experiment in new processes and ideas, writing software for instance for online games or to control the movements of robots.

The success of these initiatives is best shown by the dramatic uptake by schools in these mentoring courses as well as by the tens of thousands that attend the science shows and exhibitions during the annual two week Galway Science and Technology Festival.

Galway can rightly claim to be the country’s first and premier ‘Digital City’, building on an unbroken tradition of computing innovation that dates back to 1971 when Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), then the world’s largest minicomputer company, opened its first European manufacturing facility in Mervue. This proud technology heritage is exemplified by the fact that the ‘Computer and Communications Museum of Ireland’, which pays tribute amongst other things to the oftentimes hidden role of Ireland, women and youth in communications development, is based in the city at DERI in NUI Galway.

Brendan Smith is the Education and Community Outreach Officer at the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) in NUI Galway. For over twelve years, he has coordinated an array of successful medical, environmental, digital heritage and web science projects for schools and communities through his work with DERI, Medtronic, Waterways Ireland, the Galway Education Centre, Galway County Council and the Galway Science and Technology Forum. He is co-founder of Coderdojo Galway, Conservation Volunteers Terryland Forest Park, Cumann na bhFear (Men's Shed Galway city), Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden and curator of the ‘Computer and Communications Museum of Ireland’.

As well as being a previous recipient in 2006 of the Galway ‘Science Person of the Year’ Award, Brendan has also earned other accolades including the Galway City Mayoral Community Award, the ITAG ‘Computing in Schools’ Award and the Apple Distinguished Educator(ADE).

Computer Museum Proves a Big Hit at Volvo Ocean Race Festival Galway

Over the last few days as the rainstorms have abated, huge crowds have started to visit the Computer & Communications Museum of Ireland at the Volvo Ocean Race Festival Galway.
The facility was transferred from its normal residency at DERI in NUI Galway to the Global Village at Southpark Claddagh for the duration of the Race Festival and it has really started to become a big popular hit.
Exhibits include the Marconi Radio show with its 'Morse Code in action' organised by Frank McCurry; the Star Trek 'fun face' stand where people are lining up to get their photos taken as Lieutenant Uhura & Dr. Spock; the Retro Games section where parents and their sons and daughters enjoy together the great classics of Pacman, Space Invaders, Sonic the Hedgehog etc on Ataris, Nintendos, Amigas... 
Just as successful has been the interactive engineering workshops. 
For 2pm-4pm, it is 'K'NEX modelling for kids' facilitated by 12 year old Daire Smith.
 For 4pm-6pm, the Coderdojo workshop is staffed by youngsters teaching other children how to code in HTML & Scratch. 
Then from 6pm until 8pm, the enthusiasts from 091Labs show people of all ages how to solder, print in 3D & repair electronic equipment.
These participants are displaying the enthusiasm, creativity and skillsets needed to become the engineers of the future.

Galway city Coderdojo Club Promotes Father and Son Bonding

One of the unexpected side benefits of the recently established  and highly successful Galway city Coderdojo club, based at DERI and IT in NUI Galway, is the high level of fathers present that are obviously enjoying the quality learning time that they are spending with their children and most noticeably with their sons. There are of course many mothers with their daughters and sons in attendance. But I just can't help but be impressed with the amount of fathers that turn up every Saturday who are actively participating in their  sons' education and learning something new in the process, something that I have never noticed before on such a scale outside sporting activities.

Part of the rules of the club is that children younger than 12 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Furthermore, we recommend too that these adults should if possible not just sit around passively waiting for the classes to end but actively take part in the course.
The results of this policy have much better than we expected!

Galway City Coderdojo Goes From Strength to Strength
The club has 148 participants that come from as far away as Newport and Ballina in May, has a waiting list of c.30, and has already laid the foundations for two new clubs (Castlebar and Athenry).

Read previous article  New Coder Dojo Hackers Club Reflects Galway’s Digital Vibrancy