From Raspberry Pi to ‘Quinlearn’— Oliver Quinlan’s career in technology education
Why is research into how people learn to make digital things important? Oliver Quinlan, the author of ‘The Thinking Teacher’, offers his insight.
How and why did you establish Quinlearn?
I started Quinlearn as a way to work with other people to solve problems relating to learning, education and technology. I used to work a lot with edtech startups through my main job and I set up the consultancy to work with them in other ways. Raspberry Pi takes up most of my time at the moment, but I’m still blogging my thoughts on education technology and sharing ideas in my newsletter.
What does your role as Senior Research Manager at Raspberry Pi entail day-to-day?
I lead our research and evaluation work, helping the whole team to better understand what is working well, when bringing computing skills to young people, and what other people are doing that we could learn from. Day to day varies a lot, from interviewing people to running surveys, reading literature and engaging with research to writing reports for our magazine for educations “Hello World’.
Can you tell us about any career challenges and triumphs, so far?
In the last ten years, I’ve gone from school teaching to academia to working in a think tank to an educational charity; the opportunities to explore learning and technology from these different perspectives are the ones I appreciate the most. Making these shifts has been challenging sometimes, adapting to new kinds of workplaces and new worlds of work. However, I’ve found each thing I’ve done builds on the last and I’ve enjoyed building a unique set of experiences to draw from.
What does ‘developing research projects and trials on digital making and computing’ involve?
We’re keen to explore how people learn to make digital things and get creative with computers. Sometimes we try out new approaches to see how well they work. There’s working practically, and then there’s working in terms of having the most impact. Lots of things we do work practically, but we try them out to see which has the strongest benefits for young people. Certain ways of learning work better for some people than others, understanding this is important for the Raspberry Pi Foundation to provide the best opportunities it can to people.
When and how were you inspired you to write your book, ‘The Thinking Teacher’?
I was working as a lecturer in a University training new primary school teachers, and regularly blogging on the issues I was exploring with them. I began to explore models that people use to think about learning. A series of blog posts evolved into a presentation, that I did at a teaching event, and a publisher approached me about writing a book. The book built on the themes of the blog to explore the depth of thinking that great teachers bring to their work.
Why do you think STEM education is important? Any insight into how new and social technologies encourage us to re-think STEM education and learning?
Fundamentally, I think it’s important for young people to be empowered. A lack of technical understanding or skills can dis-empower individuals to achieve what they want to in the world, and can dis-empower us as a society from choosing the direction we go in with new technology. STEM education is important for people to build an understanding of how the modern world works.
Do you have any advice for Ed Tech start-ups or STEM education professionals?
What I try to stick to is keeping in mind the ultimate impact of the things we work on in education. Especially in technology or STEM, there are a lot of shiny tools and trendy approaches that can ‘wow’ people, but the important thing is how much they help people to learn and to grow, not just how exciting and novel they seem to be. A bit of excitement goes a long way in getting people interested, but to be worthwhile ed tech and STEM education has to help people see the world differently in a lasting way.
Oxbridge Inspire delivers innovative STEM education and provides guidance and inspiration to young people wishing to pursue STEM subjects at University and beyond. To find out more about Oxbridge Inspire and the courses and activities we offer, visit our website.
