Let's Recap FIVE years ago Australia's Chief Scientist published the National STEM Strategy. Two years ago all of the Education Ministers endorsed the Australian Education Council's National School STEM Strategy. Last year the Queensland Government mandated that coding and robotics would be taught to all childrenfrom Prep to Year 10 from 2018. The Australian government has a policy and is providing support for STEM.  Yet as the article We have a national STEM strategy, but what we need is a successful one points out it is actually up to schools to embrace the opportunities that come with this. They make the point that some schools are moving ahead with innovating in the classroom while others are yet to start. All schools need a plan for what they want to do and how they want to do it. There is no one size fits all model so planning is essential. At the top of the planning list is teacher training. There are numerous free online resourcesfunded by the Government and organisations such as Google. Teachers need to be given time or incentivised to up-skill to deliver the new Digital Technologies subject specifically and improve their skills in the other STEM subjects generally. Additionally, lesson plans need to be reviewed to provide students opportunities to develop the 4 Cs - Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Communication. These concerns were addressed in the article STEM education in primary schools will fall flat unless serious issues are addressed.  The failure of schools to properly do this disadvantages our children as they grow up into an increasingly global, competitive and technologically advanced world. Concerned parents who have the means are turning to third party providers to bridge the gap but this means that poor kids are being left behind. Doing STEM at home is an alternative and one worth pursuing. If you are concerned about the pace of change at your school then start a dialogue and ask the school to come up with a clearly defined strategy which has SMART goals.

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Stuff in the News Australian of the Year choice highlights the need to talk about STEM education- The choice of a distinguished scientist as the Australian of the Year for the second year in succession has highlighted the major contribution people versed in science and technology make to our society every day. An article from the Brisbane Times 26 January 2018 Here's the best piece of advice Sal Khan received from Bill Gates - A short video for you to reflect on the question "How does your child feel about maths?" 19 August 2016 7 skills your child needs to survive the changing world of work - Education may be the passport to the future, but for all the good teaching out there, it would seem that schools are failing to impart some of the most important life skills, according to one educational expert. An article from the World Economic Forum4 Sep 2017

Stuff to buy Piper Raspberry Pi Computer Kit -  The Piper computer kit is a great package to build a real, general use computer and electronics programs. *At this point in time I earn no money from any product I list and I am not affiliated with any other company.

Stuff in education We have a national STEM strategy, but what we need is a successful one- Schools need to set aside substantial professional development time for their staff to properly develop confidence and competence in delivering the Digital Technologies subject. An article from the Conversation 2 February 2018. STEM must include focus on literacy, critical thinking as much as hard skills- While much of the focus on STEM subjects has been on teaching students hard skills like coding, soft skills in areas like creative and critical thinking, communication and collaboration are much more important when it comes to producing graduates who are lifelong learners, capable of pivoting amid major changes in whatever career field they choose. An article from Education Dive22 December 2017 Top 5: tech trends in education this year - A blog post on EducationHQ Australia on what technologies could be taking centre stage in education this year. 30 January 2018

Stuff to do Australia Wide 5 Podcasts That Will Change The Way Your Kids See The World (and that you’ll enjoy too) - A list of five podcasts that will entertain your kids and they will learn something along the way! Give a Child the Gift of Science - A great collection of activities you can do at home CSIRO CREST Program - CREativity in Science and Technology. Engage your students with open-ended science investigations and technology projects through the CREST program. - - - Bricks 4 Kidz® | Awesome Fun With LEGO® Bricks  Young Engineers Australia - Provides an engaging, hands-on learning platform using LEGO® and K’nex® assembly kits CoderDojo - A volunteer run programming club Code Club Australia - A global network of coding clubs for kids aged 9 to 11.

Stuff to do in Brisbane Stuartholme STEAM Residential Program - Stuartholme School together with Clearing Skies present the STEAM Residential Program, a three day residential for gifted girls currently in Years 5 and 6. The Residential will be held from Wednesday 11 to Saturday 14 April 2018. - - - STEM in a Box has ongoing coding, robotics and 3D printing activities Brisbane Library Service has purchased the very flash NAO Robot and is showing it off in various libraries. The Cube at QUT has a number of changing programs.  Brisbane Planetarium - Features entertaining and informative shows for adults and children STEMPUNKS STEM classes for kids in Brisbane STEAMPUNX - Not to be confused with the organisation above! Offers in-school and out of school workshop programs Flying Fox Studios - A studio offering programs in the arts, music and construction areas from babies to teenagers in Brisbane Building Block Studio | Learning Activity Centre in Brisbane For Budding Coders And Engineers Fun Chess Classes For Kids in Brisbane | Chess Mates Red Cat Science | Kids get to do what they can't at school It's Rocket Science School Incursions - Educational and fully interactive project based rocket science incursions for primary and secondary schools in a safe and empowering learning environment.

What are teachers doing? There are many Australian teachers who have embraced the call to improve STEM offerings in the primary classroom and have been noticed internationally. Two standouts are  Rick Johnson who was a finalist in last year's Global Teachers Prize. He has created a fantastic STEM classroom at Rostrata Primary School in Perth and runs a website to help other teachers with resources and inspiration. Then there is Eleni Kyritsis who, apart from many other things, has started the organisation TeachTechPlay to help other teachers bring technology into the classroom. Her efforts include a regular YouTube channel with various guest teachers from around the world and conferences which bring in various experts in their field. Then there are many teachers who are taking advantage of the great number of free professional development resources available including the Uni of Adelaide's Digital Technologies Massive Open Online Course, Google's Computational Thinking Course, Google's Certified Educator Program, Microsoft's Certifed Educator Program and the UKs brilliant Barefoot Computing website. These resources are actually open to everyone so if you are not a teacher but want to learn more then visit any of these sites. So hopefully you are hearing about various teachers at your school upskilling themselves so they can deliver the new Technologies subjects with confidence and authority. To finish, this past week was the annual global Hour Of Code initiative. Australia is always on holidays when it runs but you can still use these activities to fill in an hour or so over the break. Just Google "Hour of Code"!

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Stuff in the news Brisbane teachers keen on mixed reality, robotics and wearable tech - Sixty-five teachers are converging on the Brisbane CBD this week to learn how to use mixed reality, robotics and wearable technology in their classrooms.. An article from EducationHQ Australia 1 November 2017 How to ensure AI is good for girls: a robot for every child - The gender imbalance in AI and robotics could have serious implications for the world AI algorithms shape. An article from the Sydney Morning Herald 6 November 2017. 7 skills your child needs to survive the changing world of work - Education may be the passport to the future, but for all the good teaching out there, it would seem that schools are failing to impart some of the most important life skills, according to one educational expert. An article from the World Economic Forum website 4 September 2017

Stuff to buy Its that time of year! A Spot-On Gift Guide Of STEM Toys For Kids - An article from the Huffington Post 11 November 2017 Top Tech (STEM) Gifts for Kids Aged 5, 6 and 7 - Coding, Robots, Gadgets - A blog post from Tech Age Kids  Top Tech (STEM) Gifts for Kids Aged 8, 9 and 10 - Coding, Robots, Gadgets, Maker - A blog post from Tech Age Kids *At this point in time I earn no money from any product I list and I am not affiliated with any other company.

Stuff in education Why Australia is falling behind in teaching keyboarding and handwriting - The skills and learning attached to handwriting are not automatically subsumed into keyboarding. While both promote fine motor skill development, they are distinctly different yet equally important. An article from EduResearch Matters 25 September 2017 AI: Urgent need to 'reconceive schooling' to ensure workforce not consigned to joblessness - Schools must urgently adapt to confront the enormous challenges presented by artificial intelligence, according to leading educators who are calling for an overhaul to curriculum, assessment and teaching methods. An article fromABC News 2 November 2017 Something's gone badly wrong with teaching - Econocrats have finally twigged that the big problem with the nation's education and training system isn't its high-cost to budgets, but its failure to provide enough of our youth with the skills they need to get and keep a decent job. An article from the Sydney Morning Herald 11 November 2017.

Stuff to do Australia Wide Code Camp - Three day holiday program is now open for bookings. 5 Podcasts That Will Change The Way Your Kids See The World (and that you’ll enjoy too) - A list of five podcasts that will entertain your kids and they will learn something along the way! Give a Child the Gift of Science - A great collection of activities you can do at home CSIRO CREST Program - CREativity in Science and Technology. Engage your students with open-ended science investigations and technology projects through the CREST program. - - - Bricks 4 Kidz® | Awesome Fun With LEGO® Bricks  Young Engineers Australia - Provides an engaging, hands-on learning platform using LEGO® and K’nex® assembly kits CoderDojo - A volunteer run programming club Code Club Australia - A global network of coding clubs for kids aged 9 to 11.

Stuff to do in Brisbane RoboGals - Register to be the first to book for workshops on 15 and 16 December 2017. Brainiac Live - Join the Brainiacs for an actioned-packed hour of incredible experiments and explosive high energy entertainment. 9-13 January 2018. - - - SLQ Digital Futures - Each year the State Library of Queensland presents a theme of interest to the Queensland community. Throughout 2017, they invite you to join in exploring Digital Futures. STEM in a Box has ongoing coding, robotics and 3D printing activities Brisbane Library Service has purchased the very flash NAO Robot and is showing it off in various libraries. The Cube at QUT has a number of changing programs.  Brisbane Planetarium - Features entertaining and informative shows for adults and children STEMPUNKS STEM classes for kids in Brisbane STEAMPUNX - Not to be confused with the organisation above! Offers in-school and out of school workshop programs Flying Fox Studios - A studio offering programs in the arts, music and construction areas from babies to teenagers in Brisbane Building Block Studio | Learning Activity Centre in Brisbane For Budding Coders And Engineers Fun Chess Classes For Kids in Brisbane | Chess Mates Red Cat Science | Kids get to do what they can't at school It's Rocket Science School Incursions - Educational and fully interactive project based rocket science incursions for primary and secondary schools in a safe and empowering learning environment.

Will it live up to the hype? It is a pretty common saying - Will it live up to the hype? As it turns out with technology often it doesn't! Getting carried away with the excitement of something is so common that an American research and IT firm called Gartner created a useful graphic which shows their view of how new technology products are perceived versus their usefulness over time. You can probably think of many examples of this series of events occurring but I will use Google Glass as mine. Google Glass is a set of glasses which projects digital images into the field of view of the wearer to create an augmented reality view. When it was first announced there was much excitement, people were clamouring to buy a pair but then a number of issues surfaced which resulted in the project being suspended. However as time has passed the augmented reality concept has matured and we are on the cusp of seeing really useful AR products appear in the market such as Google Glass Enterprise Edition and Microsoft Hololens. So that's the theory but how can schools use this knowledge? By knowing that this phenomenon occurs schools can take a step back during their planning for technology introduction and make sure they can answer the following questions BEFORE thinking about which piece of technology to buy. What would we like the students to be able to do? Why do we think that having the students do that will improve their learning? How will we be able to measure whether the expected outcomes are being realised? What types of technology will enable us to implement and measure this new way of working? What training will the teachers need to be able to implement this new methodology? There is probably no way to completely eliminating the hype curve but I think with SMART planning we can smooth out the height of the peak and the low of the trough to smooth out the ride and minimise wasted time, money and effort.

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Stuff in the news Using Technology Doesn’t Make You Innovative - A blog post from The Principal of Change 22 August 2017 UNSW's Arludo is making STEM more exciting one AR game at a time - With students so heavily immersed in the mobile world and becoming less engaged in learning as a result, Dr Michael Kasumovic, a lecturer at UNSW, decided to take things into his own hands. An article from ZDNET 16 August 2017

Stuff to buy Current Kickstarter Campaigns: Algobrix | The Ultimate Coding Learning Game - The most exciting and comprehensive code learning game for kids 5-13. Learning to program bots and transforming code into play. Annabelle & Aiden: Worlds Within Us - A kids' book exploring the big bang, and how we're all made of stars - and more special, interconnected, and 'larger' than we think. STEM Storybook - *At this point in time I earn no money from any product I list and I am not affiliated with any other company.

Stuff in education Do Laptops Help Learning? A Look At The Only Statewide School Laptop Program - Again the themes of planning and importance of teacher training are there in this long term experience with laptops in schools. It's a pity many schools don't look to learn from others. An article from nprED 18 August 2017< Why doesn't education modernise? - Good question! An article from EducationHQ Australia 28 March 2017 Malaysian educators head to space academy to boost STEM teaching - The Malaysian teachers are doing some awesome training. How about yours? An article from Study International News 10 August 2017

Stuff to do Australia Wide CodeCamp - Three day courses over the school holidays. Search for a school near you! 18-28 September 2017 LITTLE BIG IDEA -  The Big Competition for Inventive Little Kids (You could win a trip to NASA!). Closes 22 September 2017 NATA Young Scientist of the Year - Students are required to undertake an investigation around any topic relating to the theme of a sustainable planet. Closes 22 September 2017 Contemporary practices in STEM education - This will be a live streamed event of interest to teachers and parents. It is part of Monash University's "Engaging STEM Education. Keeping Teachers at the Cutting Edge" series. 9 November 2017 CSIRO CREST Program - CREativity in Science and Technology. Engage your students with open-ended science investigations and technology projects through the CREST program. - - - Bricks 4 Kidz® | Awesome Fun With LEGO® Bricks  Young Engineers Australia - Provides an engaging, hands-on learning platform using LEGO® and K’nex® assembly kits CoderDojo - A volunteer run programming club Code Club Australia - A global network of coding clubs for kids aged 9 to 11.

Stuff to do in Brisbane Wizarding Workshops - Workshops are designed to accommodate Potter fans of various ages. Participants are grouped according to year levels and work in teams to complete projects at their ability level, challenged and supported by teachers. Paddington.23 September 2017 - - - SLQ Digital Futures - Each year the State Library of Queensland presents a theme of interest to the Queensland community. Throughout 2017, they invite you to join in exploring Digital Futures. STEM in a Box has ongoing coding, robotics and 3D printing activities Brisbane Library Service has purchased the very flash NAO Robot and is showing it off in various libraries. The Cube at QUT has a number of changing programs.  Brisbane Planetarium - Features entertaining and informative shows for adults and children STEMPUNKS STEM classes for kids in Brisbane STEAMPUNX - Not to be confused with the organisation above! Offers in-school and out of school workshop programs Flying Fox Studios - A studio offering programs in the arts, music and construction areas from babies to teenagers in Brisbane Building Block Studio | Learning Activity Centre in Brisbane For Budding Coders And Engineers Fun Chess Classes For Kids in Brisbane | Chess Mates Red Cat Science | Kids get to do what they can't at school It's Rocket Science School Incursions - Educational and fully interactive project based rocket science incursions for primary and secondary schools in a safe and empowering learning environment.

Coding in the younger years! I was excited to read this week about a school near me that was in the local newspaper detailing how they have introduced coding for their five year old students. As they say you are never to young to learn...or something like that anyway. The article detailed how the school was using BeeBots to introduce the initial concepts of computational thinking to this age group. The kids learn how to sequence actions to achieve a desired outcome and have to debug their sequence if it doesn't work. Whilst relatively simple it is a powerful and engaging introduction to the world of coding. From there pre-readers can move onto Kodable and learn, without having to be able to read, abount sequencing, loops and conditionals.Then there is Scratch Junior and Daisy the Dinosaur if some of the Kodable lessons gets too difficult. I also like Lightbot Jr which also introduces basic coding concepts again without the need to be able to read. Ultimately though these can just fall into the basket of "games" unless the teacher is reinforcing the Computational Thinking concepts that underpin each of these apps. Therefore, Teachers need training in Computational Thinking so they understand the end goal. There are a variety of resources available for teachers including Google's Computational Thinking course, The UK's Barefoot Computing website or the University of Adelaide's Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Parents might like to view some of these as well so you can keep up with the kids!

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Stuff in the news SpaceX launch: Australian high school students play major role in NASA's resupply mission - It is awesome what opportunities kids can have when a school priorities STEM. An article from ABC News 15 August 2017 Encourage children to spend more time online, says former GCHQ head - Just about every country is talking about STEM. Robert Hannigan, who was head of Britain’s surveillance agency between 2014 and 2017, said that the UK was struggling to keep up with competitors when it came to cyber skills. An article from The Guardian 8 August 2017 Coding is the new cursive writing – and we have to embrace it - Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills are becoming more necessary to succeed in the professional world. With the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI), the need for such skills will increase dramatically over the coming decade. An article from The Globe and Mail 23 July 2017

Stuff to buy mBot Ranger - Transformable STEM Educational Robot Kit - If you want a more capable robot than the one I linked last week check out this one. I am a big fan of Makeblock products. Affordable for what you get and uses a Scratch-like programming language. STEM Storybook - QUT Professor is launching a series of stories which teach STEM concepts to younger kids. Good to see Australians on Kickstarter! *At this point in time I earn no money from any product I list and I am not affiliated with any other company.

Stuff in education Students draw on range of skills for challenge - A good example of curriculum integration. An article from the Shepparton News 15 August 2017 The new Technology syllabus: preparing our students for an unknown future - The mooted restructure of employment lies with what academics are referring to as the Automation Revolution (the fourth industry revolution), as we embark on a disruption of technology like never before. A blog post from Grok Learning 28 June 2017.

Stuff to do Australia Wide Australian STEM Video Game Challenge - For grades 5+.The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge will ask participants to develop games in response to a central theme or idea. Registration open 1 May and submissions close 25 August. NSW All Schools Paper Plane Challenge - Calling all paper pilots. 2017 challenge is open. Closes 26 August 2017. CodeCamp - Three day courses over the school holidays. Search for a school near you! 18-28 September 2017 LITTLE BIG IDEA -  The Big Competition for Inventive Little Kids (You could win a trip to NASA!). Closes 22 September 2017 NATA Young Scientist of the Year - Students are required to undertake an investigation around any topic relating to the theme of a sustainable planet. Closes 22 September 2017 CSIRO CREST Program - CREativity in Science and Technology. Engage your students with open-ended science investigations and technology projects through the CREST program. National Science Week - Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology and thousands of individuals – from students, to scientists to chefs and musicians – get involved, taking part in more than 1000 science events across the nation. 12 - 20 August 2017 - - - Bricks 4 Kidz® | Awesome Fun With LEGO® Bricks  Young Engineers Australia - Provides an engaging, hands-on learning platform using LEGO® and K’nex® assembly kits CoderDojo - A volunteer run programming club Code Club Australia - A global network of coding clubs for kids aged 9 to 11.

Stuff to do in Brisbane Robotronica 2017 - Robotronica is a groundbreaking one-day event showcasing the latest developments in robotics and interactive design. QUT's The Cube 20 August 2017. TOMORROW!! Wizarding Workshops - Workshops are designed to accommodate Potter fans of various ages. Participants are grouped according to year levels and work in teams to complete projects at their ability level, challenged and supported by teachers. Paddington.23 September 2017 - - - SLQ Digital Futures - Each year the State Library of Queensland presents a theme of interest to the Queensland community. Throughout 2017, they invite you to join in exploring Digital Futures. STEM in a Box has ongoing coding, robotics and 3D printing activities Brisbane Library Service has purchased the very flash NAO Robot and is showing it off in various libraries. The Cube at QUT has a number of changing programs.  Brisbane Planetarium - Features entertaining and informative shows for adults and children STEMPUNKS STEM classes for kids in Brisbane STEAMPUNX - Not to be confused with the organisation above! Offers in-school and out of school workshop programs Flying Fox Studios - A studio offering programs in the arts, music and construction areas from babies to teenagers in Brisbane Building Block Studio | Learning Activity Centre in Brisbane For Budding Coders And Engineers Fun Chess Classes For Kids in Brisbane | Chess Mates Red Cat Science | Kids get to do what they can't at school It's Rocket Science School Incursions - Educational and fully interactive project based rocket science incursions for primary and secondary schools in a safe and empowering learning environment.