We caught up with our BAFTA YGD 2015 Mentor Award Winner Ray Chambers to find out what he’s been up to since winning the competition last year!
Hi Ray! Can you tell us what it was like winning the BAFTA YGD Mentor Award last year?
I was so overwhelmed! It was so unexpected and to be honest, everyone in the category was so deserving! I was very humbled to be there and just have a lovely day with my wife.
So, what have you been up to since the 2015 Winner’s Ceremony?
After winning the BAFTA mentoring award I was put forward as a finalist to the National Teaching Awards in the U.K and won the Gold Plato award for innovative use of technology. This has opened many doors for me.
I have recently accepted a new job at Brooke Weston in Corby Northamptonshire as their Lead Computing specialist and will be heading to Croatia for a couple of days later this year to train teachers abroad on how to deliver the computing curriculum.
Has your involvement with the BAFTA YGD changed anything?
In terms of the impact it’s had on me, I would say that I’m more determined to help other teachers have a bigger impact on their students.Winning the award has allowed me to offer more training opportunities to teachers – I’ve been showing them how to use tools such as Minecraft in their lesson plans!
What do you do when you are not teaching Games?
On Sunday’s I attend Hope Church in Corby Northamptonshire and I also co-own an Irish dance school called the Solas School of Irish dancing!
What games are you currently enjoying?
I thoroughly enjoy Minecraft and I use it both as a play tool and as a learning tool. I have been making a pirate ship and an amphitheatre at the moment.
I really enjoy skateboarding games and I’m looking at purchasing the new Tony Hawks game soon - I used to love playing this on my PlayStation when I was growing up. I would always try and get the combo tricks!
What do you think makes a good game?
A good story line makes a good game. I always teach this to my students. It can be a struggle but as soon as you have an idea, the possibilities are endless.
I always try to tell my students that they must always think about their target audience and they need to think about the age rating.
Do you have any advice for our young games creators?
I regularly tell my students to document everything that they do. Many times, coders, designers or writers can lose track of their progress. It’s good to have a log of your changes so that you can go back and re-trace your steps.
I would also give students the advice of testing on their target audience. The best games I play from my students have actually been taken and have been played by their younger brothers or sisters and changes have been made because of this.
Any advice for teachers/mentors wanting to get young people more involved with games?
I think the best way for teachers/mentors to get involved with games would be to find out what their pupils are playing! I have learnt a lot from my pupils about the latest game releases!
I have also been doing work with primary school pupils because of the new Micro:bit and I have put some resources together which show pupils how to program using a web based tool called touchdevelop.
You can find out about them here and here
What the 2015 Jury said about Ray:
We were incredibly impressed and heartened by the enthusiasm and innovation demonstrated by all of the nominees. Amongst them Mr Ray Chambers stood out for the way he’d used social media to take his teaching outside the classroom and his commitment to engaging a diverse range of young people in the magic of game design.
Feeling Inspired?
YGD is looking to recognise individuals who have made an effort to inspire young people to learn more about programming and game design skills. Do you know a fantastic teacher or code-club leader? Why not nominate them for the Mentor Award?
