From the desk of DLTV President Ben Gallagher
Hi and a warm welcome back to what we hope will be a full term of face-to-face with our students.
On that note DLTV are also trying to return to face-to-face workshops. The first six weeks of our program are in this newsletter and also at our website. Probably like you we consider face-to-face to be the “gold” standard for delivery, as there are many more opportunities for networking, discussion and impromptu learning. We hope all of you will support this by enrolling in our workshops. All will be COVID safe.
I would particularly like to thank all those people who took the time to contribute to our Review for the DigiTech Curriculum. (apologies re all the emails). This has now been sent as a report to ACARA and is available for our readers. I would like to say a special thanks to the hard-working group who drove this and gave up many hours of their own time….you know who you are!
DLTV were recently successful in obtaining a grant from the Department with a focus on Careers in DigiTech and future careers in DigiTech. If this an area of interest for you please reach out to our manager Kevin Daly. kev@dltv.vic.edu.au
Put our DigiCon conference in your diary December 1st and 2nd at the Catholic Leadership Centre Melbourne. We will be running some special membership offers to individual and schools between now and the end of the year.
Finally, I hope the first few weeks term go well for you and your school. As always reach out if we can support you in any way.
Cheers Ben |
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AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM REVIEW: Report on members Consultation
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Many of our members participated in our online webinar and contributed via email and our google form. It was an exciting and collegiate time for us. We have now passed on this important feedback to ACARA. We look forward to seeing the Australian Digital Technologies and Digital Literacies curriculum documents when the process is complete. For those who would like to view our response, it can be found at https://bit.ly/2UtQefE |
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9:30 - 3:00pm, various dates at venues around metropolitan Melbourne
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These workshop bring together Primary and Secondary teachers and school learning leaders to focus on the thinking skills at the heart of the Victorian Digital Technologies Curriculum, explore links to other learning areas and get hands on with physical tech. - clarify how ICT capabilities are different from Digital Technologies,
- dive into Computational Thinking and Systems Thinking to gain a better grasp of these core skills,
- discover and share how the DigiTech curriculum and Design Thinking can connect to other learning areas,
- try your hand at coding with robots and electronics appropriate for the year levels you teach,
- identify a range of online and offline resources to help you deliver Digital Technologies in your classroom.
Click a link below for more information on a workshop near you:
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1:30pm - 3:30pm, 28 July 2021 DLTV Brunswick and 1:30pm - 3:30pm, 4 August 2021 Integrate AV Clayton
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Digital Technologies and ICT capabilities are requirements in schools, and there are many opportunities to incorporate both across multiple learning areas.
In this workshop, Catherine Newington From the Australian Computing Society and Sam Kingsley from The Brainary will show you practical examples for addressing both the Digital Technologies curriculum and ICT capabilities in Primary and Secondary classroom contexts. Catherine will showcase samples of ideas and lesson ideas taken from a series she has produced for DLTV in cooperation with other subject associations, DigiTech and ICT Across The Curriculum.
All participants will receive a USB with worthwhile resources and have post workshop access contact for further support after the event. |
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9:30pm - 3:30pm, 4 August DLTV Brunswick and 9:30pm - 3:30pm, 18 August 2021 Wangaratta Digital Hub |
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Bridging the gap from blocky coding to text programming can be daunting for many teachers.
Attendance to this grant-funded event is free. In this full-day workshop:
- Learn the basics of writing programs in two programming languages popular in Australian classrooms: Python and JavaScript.
- Explore strategies for teaching programming, with fun tasks and learning sequences.
- Discover a range of free resources to bring Python or JavaScript to the classroom, including some hands-on coding with the micro:bit.
The Australian and Victorian curricula see students transition from block-based coding environments like Scratch to General Purpose Programming by Years 7 & 8. Python and JavaScript are both popular languages at Secondary years, as well as Upper Primary years. |
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Cybersecurity: careers and the classroom
1:30pm - 3:30pm, 31 August The Hive@South West TAFE, Warrnambool and 1:30pm - 3:30pm, 1 September 2021 DLTV Brunswick |
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Are you an educator interested in Cybersecurity? Tim Edwards will provide a brief overview of the Australian Signals Directorate’s CyberEXP online career awareness program. This will include background information on ASD’s mission, a program overview, importantly its application in the classroom, the instructor dashboard and resources for teachers. Tim will also share information about the Cyber Teacher professional development program and other resources from LifeJourney. |
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COVID-safe notice
DLTV follows up-to-date state government health recommendations for all face-to-face events.
- Social distancing is in place, as required.
- We supply hand sanitiser and facemasks (if required).
- All surfaces are cleaned and sanitised before and after events.
- Records of all attendees and contact details are retained for contact purposes.
If you have any concerns or questions about an event, please contact us. |
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PHD Opportunity: Swinburne University
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A unique PhD opportunity, exploring topics in the area of technology, innovation practices and design relevant to secondary school education is available. This is a great opportunity to take on a PhD with a 3 year scholarship in education and digital technologies More information can be found at the Swinburne website |
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PRODUCT REVIEW: Ned Robotic Arm
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The landscape of educational robotics is exciting and ever changing, so it can be a challenge to identify and implement the right robot solution for your educational setting. Each platform will have its pros and cons, and it’s important to test and trial before you invest. This is why I am reviewing the Ned Robotic Arm.
What is Ned?
Ned is a French-made, collaborative 6-axis robotic arm that has been designed to bridge the gap between industrial uses of robots and education. Ned’s 6 degrees of freedom give it the ability to complete similar movements to a human arm. When combined with its conveyer belt system it is able to simulate industry use cases.
Context: Robotic arms & industry
Robotic arms have been an integral part of the manufacturing industry since the 70s and 80s. Large scale robotic arms have been building cars and completing complex tasks in assembly lines for many decades. We’re now reaching a point where robotics technology is being used with humans collaboratively. Fulfilment centres for major supermarkets & retailers are an example.
Why is Ned useful for education?
Ned gives students and educators an opportunity to investigate and model industrial uses of robotics. This gives students a real-world context and application for their Digital Technologies and Design and Technologies skills.
From an implementation perspective, students are easily able to transfer their coding skills quickly to Ned – they can use Blockly & Python to program Ned’s movements.
For educators and students wanting to create advanced functions, Ned is fully compatible with ROS (robot operating system) and is open source.
If you would like to know more about Ned please feel welcome to contact me directly.
Reviewed by Sam Kingsley, Lead STEM Educator and Technology Manager at the Brainary.
03 5229 2260 Sam@thebrainary.com |
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CREATING EQUAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES: A case study from our major sponser at Acer for education
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Manaiakalani is a community of learning. It relies on the collaboration between educators, students and their families, and the partnering with technology providers such as Acer to achieve improvements in education outcomes. Ensuring that all students, no matter what ethnicity, school or decile they may represent have equal digital learning opportunities is the driving force behind Acer’s commitment to the Manaiakalani Programme.
This case study provides an overview of the Manaiakalani Programme with insights from convenor, Russell Burt, who is also principal of Point England School in Auckland – one of the schools in the Manaiakalani collective. It also discusses the support that Acer provides as a technology partner, and the significant value this brings to learners in the Manaiakalani community.
The success of the Manaiakalani Programme has been well-documented, and it has now become an educational model for other like communities across New Zealand Aotearoa.
To read more go to the Manaiakalani Case Study |
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CYBERSAFETY COURSE FOR STUDENTS: Genius Armoury
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Cybersecurity is an exciting career opportunity for people with a great eye for detail, an enquiring mind, good memory and an ability to focus and to see patterns.
Genius Armoury is a FREE virtual experience course developed for autistic individuals. It comprises five modules which will give you an introductory level of understanding of the current state of cybersecurity.
In this self-paced program you will get to explore:
- the basic components of the related technologies;
- an overview of the current cyber crime landscape;
- cyber attack methods commonly utilised;
- potential career pathways in cybersecurity; and
- case studies of historical cyber attacks.
Completion of the Genius Armoury modules enables students who are interested to engage in the Genius Armoury platform information about education and employment options that participants may choose to pursue.
All students that complete the course will receive a completion certificate that can be included on their CV.
To register for the course, visit https://www.theforage.com/virtual-internships/prototype/avbGLNY7iDcHLDeJk/GeniusArmoury_CybersecurityProgram |
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TAX TIME FOR TEACHERS: From the ATO
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The timely information below came from the Australia Tax Office.
Learn what you can (and can’t) claim this tax time.
You can claim a deduction for the work-related portion of excursions, school trips and camp costs.
You can’t claim the cost of gifts you buy for your students or for their personal expenses (e.g. their
lunch, excursion fees or school books).
You can claim self-education expenses if the course relates directly to your current job.
You can’t claim a deduction if your study is only related in a general way to your current job, or enables
you to get or change employment.
You can claim a deduction for teaching aids used for work. Remember if the aid you buy is used for
both work and private purposes you can only claim the portion used for work.
Check out the ATO’s top tips on what teachers and education professionals can and can’t
claim at ato.gov.au/teacher21
The ATO has prepared a range of resources to help teachers and education professionals this tax time.
1. Poster for teachers and education professionals
http://www.ato.gov.au/teacher2021pr – This downloadable poster provides
helpful information and a summary on which expenses that teachers and
education professionals can and cannot claim at tax time.
2. Teachers and education professionals Toolkit
http://ato.gov.au/TKEducation2021pr – This toolkit contains practical and
tailored information and tips to help anyone in the education sector.
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EDSTART ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
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Through this program, Edstart is aiming to support some of Australia’s extraordinary young minds across a range of disciplines. Students can apply for awards in the fields of Technology, Sustainability, Performing Arts and others. It’s a great opportunity for students to be recognised for their contributions and ambitions in an area that they are passionate about. The winner of the award will receive a $1,500 grant to fund a project, initiative or training related to their category. For more details go to https://edstart.com.au/award |
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Sent by Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria |
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P +61 3 9349 3733 | 61 Blyth Street, Brunswick, VIC, 3056 | dltv.vic.edu.au |
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