Dec 2021 - Present
Sara O'Connnor
- @saraoconnor
- she/her
Resume
Apr 2017 - Nov 2021
Full stack developer, Consonance
Portfolio
2022
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15 Jul, 202215 Jul, 2022Volunteered with Buckinghamshire schoolsOver two sessions, taught 33 year 6 children the basics of Tinkercad, with the grounding in character design from the Engineering Your Story course. They learned some shape theory, experimented with drawing faces and then created emoji faces and cube head characters -- with magnificent results.26 Jun, 202226 Jun, 202206 May, 202206 May, 202228 Jan, 202228 Jan, 2022Volunteering with Buckinghamshire schools
Taught 28 Year 5 children how to use a micro:bit to predict the future. Or, more specifically, how to create a variable that stores a random number, and then create a confirmation or denial message conditionally based on the value of that number (yes / no / maybe, etc).
The class wrote letters of thanks afterwards and said things like "Just how did you fit so much fun into one lesson?"; "It was really satisfying how the code clicked into place" and "When we played with them, they acted like they were alive."
23 Jan, 202223 Jan, 2022Volunteering with Scouts OrganizationVolunteering with Guides OrganisationAcross two sessions, taught 14 Scouts and 10 Guides how to code and communicate between two micro:bits, in order to play a treasure hunt game. They learned about how radio waves work and what a processor is.
10 Jan, 202210 Jan, 20222021
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12 Nov, 202112 Nov, 2021Volunteering with Buckinghamshire schools
Taught 29 Year 3 students the basics of Tinkercad, as they created charming, individualised snowman faces. I printed them and the children were able to take them home for the holidays.
08 Oct, 202108 Oct, 2021Volunteered with Buckinghamshire schoolsTaught three sessions on 3D software to 34 Year 4 students over three weeks, tying into their curriculum theme of Stone Age and Iron Age. They experienced the basics of Tinkercad in the first session, and learned "subtractive" manufacturing to cut away from a cuboid to make an arrow head in the second session. Finally, the third session had the children creating their own unique coin moulds.07 Aug, 202107 Aug, 2021Volunteering with SEN childrenDelivered the Engineering Your Story course to twelve special education needs (SEN) children at Willoughby Academy in Bourne, Lincolnshire. Their wonderful creations were no different from the children at mainstream schools.
27 Jan, 202127 Jan, 2021Volunteering with Scouts OrganizationAdapted Engineering Your Story to work as online sessions for a Scout troop due to COVID, as part of the Digital Maker badge, stage 1.
2020
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02 Nov, 202002 Nov, 2020Volunteering with Buckinghamshire schools
Launched the month-long intensive Engineering Your Story with three local partner schools, working with 40 year 6 children to imagine a character, draw it, sculpt it and build it in 3D software, to ultimately hold it in their hands as a 3D print.
Young person quote of the month: "I didn't know computers could do this."
Teacher quote of the month: "I was so impressed with how Engineering Your Story taught our children, of all different abilities, and gave them confidence with technology they’d never used before. I especially appreciated how the experience was rooted in creativity and characterisation." – Christabel Bunce, Deputy Head at Elmhurst School
02 Jun, 202002 Jun, 2020Receiving a grantAwarded a grant to teach kids 3D software
Awarded an Engineering Education Grant from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (theiet.org) and Institution of Mechanical Engineers (imeche.org) to launch https://www.engineeringyourstory.com/">Engineering Your Story.
2018
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01 Jun, 201801 Jun, 2018Building a Website
Connecting children's book authors and illustrators with classrooms
BookPenPals, 2018 - 2023
Joined author and screen writer Kate Scott in creating BookPenPals. I built the website platform that allowed children's book authors and illustrators to pair up with hand-vetted schools, by location, year group, etc.
In the five years that it ran, more than a hundred PenPals sent hundreds of personalised postcards with book recommendations to more than six hundred classes of children of all ages, spreading book joy and promoting reading for pleasure across the nation.
01 Jun, 201801 Jun, 20182015
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01 Aug, 201501 Aug, 201501 Jul, 201501 Jul, 2015
2013
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03 Jan, 201303 Jan, 2013Producing an interactive book
Interactive ebooks
Produced a profitable, interactive book for the Costa and Carnegie winning book Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, enhancing the story behind the story, and exploring what dyslexia looks like. Selected as Editor's Choice by Apple.
2012
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03 Dec, 201203 Dec, 2012Creating an online community
The Story Adventure live writing platform
Created The Story Adventure online community where children helped children's book writers write their books "live" in weekly instalments, that were then published as real books.
Children spent over 2,000 hours on the site, writing ideas, making suggestions and defending their author friends from The Evil Editor.
The online community resulted in four books, two by Fleur Hitchcock, one by Jim Eldridge and one by Cas Lester and was supported by BookTrust.
2006
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01 Jul, 200601 Jul, 2006Co-founding a talent platformVolunteering with Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
Undiscovered Voices talent platform
Co-founded https://www.undiscoveredvoices.com/?page_id=23 Undiscovered Voices, a volunteer-run anthology for unagented and unpublished children's book writers, to help them get publishing contracts. At latest count (mid-2021) ten of the twelve featured in the first anthology now have over 200 published books between them.
In total, across the five anthologies, 53 of the 116 featured authors and illustrators have received publishing contracts—resulting in more than 405 books put into print, receiving nominations for over 180 awards.
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