Welcoming our new Senior Learning Manager, Emma

We began the new year by welcoming a new team member! Introducing Emma, our new Senior Learning Manager. We had a chat with Emma to find out more about her and why she wanted to join the Apps for Good team.

What’s your role at Apps for Good?

My role is to create and improve Apps for Good’s (AfG) course content, ensuring all the resources are high quality, engaging and up-to-date. The teacher training and resources need to meet the needs of a diverse range of teachers and educators with suitable pedagogy which reflects the content.

I’ll be exploring new ideas and opportunities in the tech education space in order to shape new innovative content. Importantly, I’m responsible for making sure the resources achieve AfG’s desired impact on young people: providing resources which are relevant to all learners and therefore inclusive; and developing tech skills within a real-world context. Within the resources, I encourage young people to explore the range of careers open to them in the tech sector and create links to relevant, real professionals.

I’ll be working closely with the programme team and others within the organisation to ensure that the future ed tech sector reflects the breadth of society. It’s a long goal.

What were you doing before you joined us?

In a freelance consultancy capacity, I have recently been working across the education, arts and business sectors on technology, creativity and engagement programmes. Work has included: heading-up the service for Riversimple who lease out vehicles fueled by hydrogen; Soundlands, a Sound Art organisation, developing the programme for an international touring installation using imagery from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory; leading the youth arts group Cultivate at the Sidney Nolan Trust; and developing resources and communications for ed tech companies such as Erase All Kittens.

Before that, I was a Teacher of Computing before working as Learning Manager at Raspberry Pi Foundation on their non-formal products for Code Club and on the Gender Balance in Computing research project (where I met the lovely Apps for Good team). I’m also an artist who, guess what?, works predominantly with technology.

What motivates you about Apps for Good’s mission?

As an educator, I champion opening up the opportunities of the digital world to young people. I aim to encourage young people to engage in computing and digital making so that they can harness technology to learn, explore, contemplate, engage, create connections and improve the world they live in. For me, technology is not the end goal but it's a superb vehicle to affect change. And, to be an engaged citizen, I do believe that young people need to have a working understanding of digital technology as it dominates society. Apps for Good’s mission is therefore in perfect sync with my own vision for education - with the right set of skills, and working in collaboration, young people can build a better future for themselves and their community.

What are you looking forward to in your new role?

I am looking forward to adapting Apps for Good’s latest course, Innovate for Climate Change (#InnovateClimateChange), based on ongoing teacher and student feedback. I’m also itching to work with colleagues on the second online teacher session focusing on building apps as part of the new course.