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Come to Breakfast with Paul Foster of Microsoft - Engaging children in technology

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What: Engaging children in technology

When: Wednesday 15th June 2016 @ 7.30am

Where: Maids Head Hotel, Tombland, Norwich, NR3 1LB

How much: £11

RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/Norfolk-Developers-NorDev/events/229668663/

Engaging children in technology – the micro:bit satellite inventors kit

The original BBC Micro enabled and inspired many of us to start programming and pursue a technical further education and career. With the BBC microbit, the BBC are trying to inspire the current generation of young people to get creative with technology. The microbit is a ‘thing’ in the Internet of Things era. This breakfast meeting will introduce you to the microbit, enable you to get hands on programming (if you want to bring your laptop), and present the ambitious plans behind the Satellite Inventors Kit for microbit which brings science and technology together with an exciting Space context.

Although schools can obtain microbits for free, and there has been tremendous effort producing lesson plans for teachers, the fundamental state of our education system requires the support of the skilled technical community. We need to step up and support our teachers, schools and pupils by helping to deliver technical materials. It would be a fantastic outcome of this meeting if we could start a movement in Norfolk to do this, your input on how is most welcome!

Paul Foster

Since joining Microsoft in 1994, Paul Foster has worked across a wide range of sectors and with a wide range of customers, providing a mix of technical and strategic guidance around the creative use of technology in relation to their business needs.

As an established public speaker across Europe and having spent a considerable amount of time working on the cutting edge of technology providing leadership and inspiration on topics like Smart Devices, Cloud Computing, Education and App Development, Paul is currently working as a Principal Technical Evangelist for Microsoft UK’s Developer Experience Group, focusing on the building of next generation sensor webs which automate the gathering of data from disparate sources, and how to enable the creative analysis of this data to start a new era of perception.

For a short time Paul was a member of a high-wire flying trapeze circus troupe, and is a keen roboticist.

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