The computing and digital making magazine for educators

Does upgrade culture need an upgrade?

By James Robinson. Posted

Our latest issue of Hello World magazine focuses on the topic of computing and sustainability and this got us thinking this week about the challenges associated with upgrade culture. Many of us rely on mobile devices to communicate in both our work and personal lives but are encouraged to keep up-to-date with the latest and greatest technological innovations. In this episode we'll explore whether this is sustainable and ask, "Does upgrade culture need an upgrade?"

Guests

Joining us today are computing educators with a passion for teaching about sustainability:

  • Mac Bowley is a Learning Manager at the Raspberry Pi Foundation — specialising in online learning content for secondary teachers and students. He loves to bring discussions into the computing classroom to encourage students to think critically about technology’s role in their lives.
  • James Abela is head of computing at Garden International. He is a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator, founder of the South East Asian Computer Science Teachers' Association, and author of The Gamified Classroom.




James Robinson.
James Robinson is a computing educator, trainer, and host of the Hello World podcast.





Liz Smart.
Liz Smart is a project author with the non-formal learning team at the Raspberry Pi Foundation.





James Abela.
James Abela is head of computing at Garden International. He is a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator and founder of the South East Asian Computer Science Teachers' Association.





Mac Bowley.
Mac Bowley is a Learning Manager at the Raspberry Pi Foundation — specialising in online learning content for secondary teachers and students.




For more insights into teaching and learning from classrooms all around the world, check out and subscribe to Hello World magazine. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a five-star review wherever you get your podcasts.

We’ll be back in just over a month's time with a brand-new season full of exciting guests. In the meantime, you can get in touch with your questions or comments about the current episode at podcast@helloworld.cc or @helloworld_edu on Twitter.

Show notes

General:

- Subscribe to Hello World magazine

- Find out more about the charitable mission of the Raspberry Pi Foundation

- Download our special issue, The Big Book of Computing Pedagogy

- Write for us — simply share your idea and we'll help you see it published in a future Hello World issue

Upgrade culture and sustainability:

- Read Mac's and James' articles about upgrade culture and approaches to re-purposing old hardware in issue #19 of Hello World magazine

- Find our more about Coolest Projects and the sustainability projects that learners have created

- Use our 'Protect our planet' pathway in you Code Club, Dojo, or lesson

- Read more about the UN [sustainability goals](https://sdgs.un.org/goals)

- Find out about the work of Ecosia and the Shuttleworth Foundation, both supporters of our non-formal projects

- Listen back to our previous episode where we asked "How can computing help us reconnect with nature?"

- Find out more about the rare earth metals that are commonly found in most mobile devices

- Join the iFixit community and find (or write) a repair guide for your device

- Get involved with your local repair community, such as the Restart Project or Plugged in Malaysia

- Take our online course that explores how to lead classroom discussions around computing with learners

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