Next stop on the great Raspberry Pi Education Team Tour of Great Britain is the South West of England! That’s right: we’re taking Picademy, the official Raspberry Pi Professional Development course for teachers, on the road again, thanks to our friends at Exeter Library in Devon! I’m already packing my bucket, spade and kiss-me-quick hat. As always, Picademy is completely free to attend.

Raspberry Pi Certified Educators – April 2015 from cohort no. 8. All demonstrating their best super hero pose!

Exeter Library is an appealing venue for Picademy, with an onsite Fab Lab (fabrication workshop) equipped with laser cutters, 3D printers, and more. I expect we will see some fantastic project ideas realised on day two of the course. Maybe even ‘Biscuits’ the robot will get a shiny new hat courtesy of Clive’s mega-making skills.

Picademy South West will take place on 4th and 5th June. We have space for 24 enthusiastic teachers from Primary, Secondary and Post-16 who are open to getting hands on with their learning and having some fun. We’d like to see lots of teachers from Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, and Dorset take full advantage of this two day event. Sign-ups for teachers are open!

Our Raspberry Pi Certified Educators Map shows that the team are needed in the South West!

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Portfolio Holder for Economy and Growth at Devon County Council, said:

 “We’re really pleased and excited that the Picademy is coming to Devon, as this is a fantastic opportunity for local teachers to benefit from the expertise that the two day course will offer – all for free.

We’re keen to try and spread technology training as far and as wide as possible, and have already invested in modern fabrication facilities through the Fab Lab at Exeter Library, which anyone attending the course will be able to see.

The Picademy really complements what we’re already doing here in Devon and provides an opportunity to ensure that we continue to look at new ways in which we can encourage the next generation of experts in technology development, rather than just technology consumers.”

For educators in and around Leeds, remember that our Picademy@Google training events are open for sign-ups too, as we continue to spread free training opportunities across the UK. In the coming months we will announce other venues as part of the Google series.