Year One of Darganfodol: A Review of Discovery, Growth, and Global Connection
When I launched Darganfodol in July 2024, I had a vision to create something meaningful. I wanted to create something that would give me the opportunity to share my passions of promoting exciting and emerging technical educational projects, keeping and developing local talent in the area. It’s been a busy year (with 20% of new businesses failing in the 1st year – I am glad I passed that hurdle!) but it has been really rewarding having the opportunity to work with so much passionate educators throughout Cymru and beyond.
Darganfodol Built
This year saw the development and delivery of:
- One-to-one courses in Python and GameMaker, tailored to individual educators both face to face and online
- Group training days for educators focused on game creation and digital pedagogy
- Online training sessions AI in education – Online training sessions for educators from all over Cymru
- Numbers: I’ve worked with educators from over 30 schools across Cymru, each bringing their own spark to the shared mission of inclusive, bilingual learning.
- Reaching Across Borders: One of the most exciting moments was being part of a small group delivering two days of training for 50 teachers from around the world in China.
Values in Action
I’ve tried to live the values I teach:
- Environmental awareness: I used public transport and cycled to training events whenever possible. Relied on (fairly) green energy when working from home, 5kwh of solar panels and 9.5kwh battery storage has mainly allowed me to keep electricity imports low. I added in a section on environmental impact of tech in my AI training course – something that has gone down well with the participants.
- Prevention of brain drain: Promotion of careers in the local area that use the skills learned in training sessions
- Emerging technologies: being open to learn, with this field so dynamic there is a need to constantly be on the lookout for latest developments and trends.
What I’ve Learned
- That running a microbusiness is as much about resilience as it is about vision
- There is so much passion in educators
- That online training can be deeply rewarding when it’s done with care and clarity
- That collaboration and sharing of ideas both local and global is the heartbeat of educational change
Where Am I Going Next?
The landscape is dynamic, and the possibilities are wide open. I’m excited to be exploring and working on:
- Deeper integration of AI into Welsh education
- Further Gamemaker training days for educators
- Further AI in education courses
- Really interesting collaborative project between a community and their local school to create a computer game.
- More international collaborations that blend culture, technology, and pedagogy