Chris Donohue

BSc, PGCE

After some time working in the IT industry, including a spell practically being the IT department for a small business, I discovered a love of – and I like to think a knack for – guiding and supporting the learning of others, initially through training and then through teaching.

I have been combining IT and teaching professionally for over seven years now as a college Tutor. I have more recently also moved into private tuition, and find this very rewarding – being able to devote more time to each student only serves to increase yet further the feeling of satisfaction in seeing them succeed, and the determination to help them do so.

My first exposure to computers was through the classic 1980s console, the Commodore 64. I played games on it, (I was a teenager once!), but I  also loved to use it for tinkering with Basic programming – Basic by name and, usually, basic by nature. The sense of achievement in getting a program to work was worth all the effort of hunting for the reason it hadn’t been working before (usually a missing semi-colon somewhere).

Then, at some point in the 90s, I discovered the joys of the PC. What began as a hobby soon became the basis of university study, taking the  plunge as a 30-ish mature student and eventually a career.

Away from teaching and computers, I am a music buff, though this is sadly confined to appreciating the efforts of others rather than creating my own. Some fairly painful attempts at the piano when I was about 12 years old were enough to show that musical stardom was, regrettably, not for me. When time permits, I also love to travel (whether abroad or just within the UK), discover new places and meet new people.

I am a firm believer that successful learning depends on four main factors – commitment, willingness, determination, and self-belief. Often learners have plenty of the first three, but may lack a little of the latter. On this course, as well as being there to support and guide you, I will always encourage you to have confidence in your ability. Believe that you CAN succeed, and it becomes much more likely that you WILL.

Subjects: Computer Science
Tutor Chris Donahue