Hey--I almost went there, but was a year or two too early Folks lived (sort of) across the street for awhile; had a tour while it was still under construction. Hope things there are going well.

(Hrm... yeah, I've aged--I think IMSA opened in 1986, my first year of college. Yikes.)

My name is Annmargareth Marousky and I am a district-level computer science instructional facilitator for K - 12 in the 6th largest school district in the nation. As a member of the STEM+CS team, we work hard to help teachers learn much of the new technology resources available and how to integrate it into their curriculum. After teacher for 20+ years so far, it thrills me to see so many students becoming producers instead of just consumers of technology.

My goal is to help teachers learn how to integrate technology into their content in a meaningful way. By training teachers with micro:bits, they can understand that technology has a creative function that allows students to see the application of their learning that is relevant to these digital natives. These kits will allow me to train teachers and then loan the kits to them to entice them to purchase their own and continue growing and learning in their classroom.

Hi, my name is Tom Meyer. I am a CS teacher at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA). Despite our reputation, we are a state funded academy and often have to rely on the generosity of others. I have recently been asked to sponsor the academy's new Hack Club. A club kit like this would help greatly in our ability to get up and running.

Thanks for the opportunity!

Tom Meyer

My Name is Norm Messa.  I am a Computer Science teacher at a Career Technical Education Center in New Hampshire.  I have been teaching kids about technology for the past 23 years.  In addition to my current crop of 60 students, I have two girls coding clubs which meet once per week and a monthly technology night for middle school kids.  I have a few Micro:Bits that we have done some projects with.  It would be nice to have a few more.

Howdy, I'm Dave Newton, and I teach robotics to 8-12 year olds at a local art center/maker space; have been for a year now, while continuing to mentor software engineers as I have for decades. (Soon to also be teaching a mini "How to Build (and Program) Anything" class, which is exciting.)

We're currently using VexIQ, but the overhead in machine setup etc. has been causing some issues when first getting started programming the robots, so I want to introduce the classes to concepts via easier, less-fiddley, ways, and MakeCode + micro:bit would be a great way to do it (there are only a few other options, really, for this age range).

Once the kids have done some physical programming without all the mucking around with Vex (which is awful for them, and difficult for me because I have to plug in a lot of VexIQ parts to re-flash) then they can transition to the VexIQ environment (because it's designed for physical computing, and there's no general comparability with anything other than, say, the Lego stuff).

My goal is to progress through various software and hardware projects for half the class, then their personal projects the latter half. Decreasing the complexity of Making Things Happen would make working on their own projects easier.

My name is Kelly Martin, and I am an EAST facilitator. I am currently completing my 18th year of teaching. I have some technology background, and I am a teacher who likes to get in and go hands-on with learning about new technology. I've experienced micro:bits a little while in a computer science professional development. I believe this technology could go a long way in my class. My students are self-driven and choose projects to work on that will use cutting edge technology to solve problems within their communities. Many of my students code in some fashion, and I believe they can combine their coding knowledge with microbits to create solutions to problems they encounter.

Hi all, I teach #makerEd in Redmond, WA.  My students are taking my class to integrate with Language Arts, Graphic Production, Physics, Programming in Python, and Math.  I have lots of projects planned through the year but my current passion would be to combine #automata with #microbits:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHzZjUK9BuQ   instead of using your hand to crank them, using a microbit to turn a servo.  This is my idea but I would also like for students to adapt my idea and come up with something better.  They always seem to do more elaborate work than I have proposed when I give them space to be creative.

Hi I am a freelance programmer/educator, based in Scotland. I run a local Code Club where we use Raspberry Pi's and micro:bits.

With the micro:bits from this giveaway I would want to use them within my own business to create a coding group for autistic children. I would aim to work with a local autistic charity on how I could make the materials autistic friendly and hold the group within the space the autistic charity has to make it less stressful on the participants since they already go to the charity space for other activities. 

I am a Ph.D. Graduate in Autonomous & Intelligent Manufacturing, A freelance tech-trainer, A full-time content provider,A co-founder for Edtech startup and also a true maker in the heart. I teach robotics for refugees student and involve in several tech program for rural area which most of them in junior school. One of the challenge in deliveries the topic is controlling their enthusiastic and passionate when getting new things. Before this, I try teaching them with one of popular open source micro-controller, and usually at the end of session 2 of 10 devices required repairing. Knowing micro:bit being use at US for junior school, I cant wait to teach and explore with my students.   

My name is Chris Lam and I'll be starting a position at an alternative school supporting learners who, for their own reasons and circumstances, cannot succeed in "regular" schools. While I don't have any experience with micro:bit, I looked into the community resources and unit/lesson plans available after seeing this contest, and I realize that this would be such a great way to introduce and spark interest for these learners.

If I were to be selected as a recipient of this kit, I plan to use it in a club setting to explore coding with the youth, promote collaboration for the purpose of "social" therapy, and encourage identifying and solving problems (computational thinking). I am quite positive that this would be refreshing for these learners who can't thrive under typical educational circumstances and settings.