ANNOUNCEMENTS

PL SURVEY: closes Friday

DLTV's PL survey for teachers closes this Friday 26 May. Complete it now for your chance to win a prize.

WORKSHOPS: Term Two

Some of our workshops have been postponed due to continued COVID difficulties for schools. Keep an eye out for new webinar and workshop announcements in our next newsletter.

Simple Digital Technologies with Purple Mash

when:  9am - 2:30pm, 25 May 2022

where:  DLTV Training Centre, 61 Blyth Street, Brunswick

DLTV sponsor 2simple presents a full day workshop for primary teachers.

Looking to cater for all student levels, manage groups and learning activities? Wanting to integrate digital technologies across the F-6 curriculum in an effective way?

Come and spend the day with like-minded educators, hear real classroom experiences and be inspired to cultivate curiosity and creativity with collaborative, engaging, cloud-based digital technology solutions mapped to the curriculum.

Digital Technologies Regional Workshop

when:  2pm - 4pm, 16 June 2022

where:  The Geelong College, Newtown

In partnership with The Geelong College, join teachers and school leaders from the Geelong and Surf Coast regions to explore Digi Tech in our schools - technologies, curriculum implementation and how to lead and manage technology change in schools.

Choose from one of three targeted professional learning sessions: Your school's ICT plan, Getting hands-on with the DigiTech curriculum, Everyone's a DigiTech teacher.

Not Just Minecraft: Video Games as part of learning

when:  2pm - 4pm, 21 June 2022

where:  DLTV Training Centre, 61 Blyth Street, Brunswick

For teachers from primary and secondary, this workshop Daniel Donahoo unpacks our ideas and perceptions of video games to see how they can be a point of engagement, learning and new ideas in your classroom.

You will come away with a range of practical and useful ways that you can use gaming in your teaching in ways that are not just a reward, and understand that video games as tools for learning rely strongly on teacher practice.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES REGIONAL WORKSHOP: Geelong and Surf Coast region

In partnership with The Geelong College, join teachers and school leaders from the Geelong and Surf Coast regions to explore Digi Tech in our schools - technologies, curriculum implementation and how to lead and manage technology change in schools. Choose from one of the three concurrent sessions:

1. Your school's ICT plan: Asking the right questions
   For school leaders, what to ask when developing and implementing a vision for your school's technology provisioning and use.
   
   
2. Getting hands-on with the DigiTech curriculum
   For teachers and curriculum leaders, refresh yourself on the Digital Technologies curriculum, explore resources and get hands on with micro:bit devices.
   
   
3. Everyone's a DigiTech teacher
   Discover principles and examples for integrating DigiTech across other Learning Areas in your school.

To be held Thursday 16 Jun 2022 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm at the Keith Humble Centre, The Geelong College Senior School.

AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM V9:
now released

The updated Australian Curriculum Version 9 is now live, with a new website and a new page for understanding the Technologies learning areas.

Some of the major changes:

• The Digital Technologies learning area now includes more on privacy and security.
• Explicit skills for acquiring, managing and analysing data are now first introduced in Years 7 & 8.
• The ICT General Capability is renamed and reworked as Digital Literacy.

DLTV is planning a 2-part webinar series to explore these changes. Keep an eye on our upcoming newsletters!

VCE NEWS:

DLTV's trial exams and annual conference

In 2022, DLTV will release a fresh trial exam for:

• VCE Applied Computing Units 3 & 4: Data Analytics
• VCE Applied Computing Units 3 & 4: Software Development

These resources are expected to be released end of July 2022 and will then be available for purchase in our online shop. We'll keep you informed via this newsletter when release is imminent.

VCE Applied Computing Teachers' Conference 2022

Our VCE subcommittee thrilled to announce that we have a venue and date for this year's VCE Applied Computing Teachers Conference.

The event will take place on Thursday 3 November (barring clashes with the VCE Examination Timetable yet to be released), at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education's Kwong Lee Dow building in Melbourne's CBD. The event will also be hybrid with much of the content streamed.

Booking will be available soon.

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT: 

Stories from the techface

Marnie Powers is a Digital Technology & STEM specialist teacher at St. John’s Primary School in Heidelberg and in another life worked as a website tester. She writes below about her work on various technology projects at her school. We are happy to share stories from your teaching practice in our newsletter. Contact DLTV Manager Kev for details.

I love the creativity of teaching, especially with technology and have a real passion for finding links to professions and industries and using real world examples to teach.

A current project we are undertaking collaborates with Banyule Council and involves students taking a stance on a local development by creating advertisements for or against the development. These ads will teach students to create with Powtoon and Prezi software and be judged by council members upon completion.

I particularly enjoy authentic project based work, presenting a challenge as a design brief and seeing what the students come up with and then ‘launching’ their completed work to a wider audience as a presentation. I believe it is the soft skills of project work - convincing others of your idea, working collaboratively and sharing feedback - as much as the technology skills that will benefit them in later life.

I have had the joy of teaching students to create blogs, podcasts, stop motion animations, green screen news, makey makey instruments, radio broadcasts and shadow puppet shows on a minimal budget. Projects that have students completely engaged in their learning, while satisfying multiple curriculum links in the one project.

I am always trying to target my lessons to suit my students interests and skills and have found Purple Mash* to be a life saver with the P-2 students as they gain technology independence through easy to navigate software.

If I could wish one thing for my students it would be that they see technology as an opportunity to create rather than consume. If I could change one thing at primary schools it would be easier access to tech, especially in younger students through QR code single sign-ons and Purple Mash, and less use of technology only for testing and expensive robots.

I know we are all under the pump and the admin is often overshadowing the teaching, but perhaps with project based work and better technology tools, we can work smarter not harder and perhaps even give teachers some time back in their day.

Best of luck with your year ahead,

Marnie (mpower@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au)

* Marnie is part of a workshop about the Purple Mash software suite on May 25. If you are interested, download the flyer here or register here.

PhD RESEARCH: 

Participate in a study on coding in classrooms

Programming places heavy cognitive load on children. To understand if there is a correlation between age, gender, computational thinking and programming experience, I am doing a research based study. The aim of the study is to identify the key factors that influence students’ ability to apply their programming knowledge to create digital solutions. For this study I have to collect data from few secondary schools including public, Catholic and independent schools.

DAY OF AI: Activities for students

The Day of AI program invites Year 7 to 10 students across the country to participate in a day of creative, fun and hands-on activities to immerse themselves in AI. The Day of AI will be held on Wednesday 27 July 2022 and has been designed to be accessible to students and teachers of all abilities. It’s also free to join!

As AI increasingly influences the way we live, it’s essential that Australian secondary school students understand what AI is, how it works and how they can harness its power for good. Developed by i2Learning and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and modified to suit Australian schools, the program content is consistent with the Australian Curriculum standards. In Australia, the Day of AI is being organised by the TDM Foundation, CS in Schools, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and Teach for Australia.

The Day of AI will introduce students to the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in a world powered by AI. The day is free, hands-on and creative and covers all aspects of AI including ethical considerations and possible future use. Why should you participate? We believe the Day of AI is an exciting way to spark students’ curiosity about AI and computer science, and to encourage them to develop the skills that will be critical to their futures.

To register your school please visit the Day of AI sign-up page https://dayofaiaustralia.com/register/ 

If you’d like to know more about the Day of AI, please check out the website: https://dayofaiaustralia.com 

Choose your training date

We’re also offering free training for teachers at registered schools. This training is to ensure that you are adequately prepared for the teaching materials. Please click on dates below to register for ONE of the sessions listed.

Sat 21 May, 12pm     Tues 24 May, 4pm      Thur 26 May, 6pm

Sat 28 May, 12pm     Tues 31 May, 4pm

If these dates are not convenient, further dates will be released during the coming months lease note – all times are Australian Eastern Standard Time – we have one later session each week to accommodate our WA teachers).

NATIONAL EDUCATION SUMMIT: We're a supporting partner

The Education Show, the official exhibition of the National Education Summit will be held at Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, Fri 17 - Sat 18 June 2022.

Book your ticket for one or two days of PD, including access to the Show, where you can discover resources, programs and technology from 100+ exhibitors.

Choose from key events over two days:

DIGITAL SKILLS WORKSHOPS: All teachers welcome

Education experts Dr Tim Kitchen (Adobe) and Troy Waller (Microsoft) are leading a team of Adobe Education Leaders and Microsoft Innovative Educators to help share the value of these digital creativity and productivity tools and demonstrate what is available and how they are being used to enhance teaching and learning in any subject.

These workshops are free of charge for victorian teachers and will be held at the following venues and dates;

• Somerville Secondary College - Tue June 14, 2022
• Upper Yarra Secondary College - Mon Aug 22, 2022
• Frankston High School - Tue Aug 23, 2022

For more information and booking details go to, 

https://express.adobe.com/page/DS41jPeoNiCnz/

CYBERSECURITY CAREERS:

Two free secondary student webinars

In partnership with the Australian Signals Directorate, LifeJourney will deliver free webinars for secondary students on June 2nd and June 9th to help build awareness of the exciting opportunities available in the field of cyber security. These webinars will feature ASD professionals speaking about their careers and pathways. Students are encouraged to ask questions and engage with the speakers during the sessions.

Registration:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/exploring-careers-in-cyber-security-secondary-student-webinar-series-tickets-334191434577

GROK ACADEMY: Seeking educators

Grok Academy is hiring for several roles (Associate through to Lead) in our growing education team. Roles are available for full-time or part-time staff. Our offices are in Sydney, but we have employees working across the country and are open to hiring from anywhere in Australia. Successful candidates will not be required to relocate to Sydney.

Our passion is education, and we’re looking for people who share that passion to join us as we reinvent learning for students across Australia and the world. We don’t just build resources for students – we build interactive learning experiences that excite and challenge students. We want to see every student succeed, whether they’re in pre-school, K-12, the tertiary sector or engaging in their own self-paced learning.

Our technology, resources, and professional development support teachers to be the most engaging, effective, and efficient educators they can be, so they can focus on the real work of teaching – working directly with learners.

If you want to revolutionise online learning, run exciting competitions and events, lead invaluable professional learning and collaboration for teachers, and provide expert technical, pedagogical, and curriculum advice, then we want you on our team!

We’re not just inspired by our purpose, we live and breathe it. Our team philosophy is that we are constantly learning and improving our knowledge and skills, and we play a leadership role by sharing that with our customers and community.

We value every employee in our organisation, and employ staff under the Grok Academy Group Enterprise Agreement which offers generous salary and conditions including:

• a 35-hour working week;
• flexible working arrangements to promote a work-life balance, including remote working opportunities; and
• generous leave entitlements, including annual shutdown and up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave (12 weeks for the non-primary carer).

Join us to shape the learning of students in schools, universities and homes across Australia and around the world.

For more details and instructions for how to apply, see the job listing at https://grokacademy.org/educator-ad

VIRTUAL WORKSHOP: Apple technologies

Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) is pleased to announce a series of free online workshops focusing on photography and video production with Apple technologies including iPad and iPhone.

They are excited to welcome guest speaker Jason van Genderan. Jason is an award-winning filmmaker and one of the world's leading pocket filmmakers. His passion for smartphone filmmaking carries through from his popular festival shorts and workshops right through to the commercial work he champions at his own production studio, Treehouse Creative, Australia's very first iPhone content creation agency.

This is a great opportunity to learn about how tools like iPhone and iPad are being used by creative professionals.

Foundation to Intermediate Session – Thursday 2 June 2022

Session 1: 3.45pm – 4.30pm

Session 2 (Repeat): 5.00pm – 5.45pm

Session Overview:

• Limitless creativity – inspiring our future storytellers
• Experimental mindset
• Why image capture on iPhone?
• Jason’s top photography tips
• Jason’s top filming tips
• Lean-forward filmmaking
• The friendly, accessible image capture tool

Register at:

https://atom-foundation-to-intermediate-photo-video.eventbrite.com.au