The good, the bad, the hopeful? Social media, the internet and young people

It seems that the popular media is filled with examples of the internet and social media’s insidious influence on society, and particularly young people. There have been examples showing how young people are becoming increasingly sexualised at a young age due to the prevalence of online pornography, and others that show that young people are being exposed to radicalising and terrorism-related materials via the internet. Read More

ClassCoach’s short cycle to better teaching

Everything you read will tell you that short cycle data, the assessment of students’ progress in close to real time, is the best way to improve results; you get to see where each student is after every lesson and adjust teaching on the fly.

The problem is that gathering and assessing the data takes a lot of time and effort. For time-poor teachers accessing short cycle data required a trade-off between creating engaging lessons or gathering information on how students were progressing.

Equity needed for STEM innovation in schools

While policy makers acknowledge the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in schools, Dr Jane Hunter a researcher from the STEM Education Futures Research Centre at the University of Technology of Sydney (UTS) says not enough focus has been placed on teacher learning, resources and infrastructure. Read More

Machinam gets maths in context

Making the connection between maths and the real world can be a bit of a leap but if there’s a group of people who know how to apply maths in real life situations it’s engineers.

From that premise Machinam, a start-up founded by three engineers, conceived the In Real Life (IRL) maths learning program.

“IRL is really aimed at increasing the engagement of the students by allowing them to learn maths through real world concepts rather than the traditional approach of learning a formula and then regurgitating it for an exam," says co-founder Jillian Kenny.

Classrooms powered by renewable energy to be trialled in NSW schools

Classrooms powered entirely by renewable energy and able to power two other classrooms has got to be a good thing and ‘Hivve’ modular classrooms, now being trialled, amazingly can do just that.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing Hivve Technology Pty Ltd with $368,115 in funding to pilot their modular classrooms in two New South Wales schools. Read More

Revolutionary technology provides teachers with virtual assistants to enhance the classroom

Queensland based organisation List Premier Education (List Premier) has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based, digital support tool called ZenoBot, to assist teachers and other education/training providers to deliver content in the classroom and engage with their students. Read More

Kids from poor families resilient and doing better

While it looks like coming from a low socio-economic background remains a barrier to academic success the number of students from less well-off backgrounds who did meet standards increased. PISA data show that several countries have been able to increase the share of students among those in the bottom quarter of socio-economic status who perform at Level 3 or above. Read More

$8.28 million to upgrade Abbotsford Primary School

Better classrooms and a new covered sports area will be part of an $8.28 million upgrade of Abbotsford Primary School (in inner Melbourne) which was built in 1877.

A lift to provide access for students with special needs, new toilets and stairs as well as upgrading teaching and learning spaces so they are fit for modern learning will also be on the cards. Read More