New grants help Australian teachers build digital skills

In a world where technology is evolving rapidly, it’s vital that Australian teachers have the knowledge and access to the resources they need in order to equip students for the future.

<https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-asia/australia/new-grants-help-australian-teachers-build-digital-skills/>

The state of education – one year into the pandemic

Few groups are less vulnerable to the Coronavirus than school children, but few groups have been more affected by the policy responses to contain this virus.

<https://www.teachermagazine.com/au_en/articles/the-state-of-education-one-year-into-the-pandemic>

The Science of Blended Learning – a research-practice partnership

Like all areas of life, last year was a challenging one in education but it was also a year of important learning and growth – and not just for students!

<https://www.teachermagazine.com/au_en/articles/the-science-of-blended-learning-a-research-practice-partnership>

Strategy to get more women in STEM jobs falls flat

A $100 million investment encouraging women to take up jobs in the science and technology sector has come to little, with a new government report showing the number of females in related occupations has barely budged over the past decade.

<https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/education/strategy-to-get-more-women-in-stem-jobs-falls-flat-20210504-p57oni>

Hitting the books: how we’re boosting diversity in STEM 

We must do all we can to support more diverse young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). That’s why we’re funding new high-tech spaces, and awarding a number of scholarships to diverse University of Melbourne students. We spoke with our 2021 scholarship recipients to find out what it means to them to pursue a career in STEM.

<https://exchange.telstra.com.au/how-were-boosting-diversity-in-stem/>

Children own around 3 digital devices on average, and few can spend a day without them

More than nine out of ten parents think digital media and technologies are a negative distraction in their lives. And 83% think their children are also negatively distracted by digital devices.

<https://theconversation.com/children-own-around-3-digital-devices-on-average-and-few-can-spend-a-day-without-them-159546>

Greg O’Connor: How technology can help solve Australia’s declining maths results [subscription]

Poor numeracy and maths skills are some of the most significant barriers to employment, but one key thing can help Aussie students, writes Greg O’Connor.

<https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/opinion/greg-oconnor-how-technology-can-help-solve-australias-declining-maths-results/news-story/a9ee1d5467244b3e93dec147849176f4>

Tech takes show to homes from Bourke to Bomaderry

World-leading technology developed by an Australian start-up in collaboration with the Department of Education is bringing ARTEXPRESS works within reach of all NSW residents.

<https://education.nsw.gov.au/news/latest-news/tech-takes-show-to-homes-from-bourke-to-bomaderry>

Investigation of Emerging Trends in the E-Learning Field Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation

Abstract: E-learning studies are becoming very important today as they provide alternatives and support to all types of teaching and learning programs. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational systems has further increased the significance of e-learning. Accordingly, gaining a full understanding of the general topics and trends in e-learning studies is critical for a deeper comprehension of the field. There are many studies that provide such a picture of the e-learning field, but the limitation is that they do not examine the field as a whole. This study aimed to investigate the emerging trends in the e-learning field by implementing a topic modeling analysis based on latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) on 41,925 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2019. The analysis revealed 16 topics reflecting emerging trends and developments in the e-learning field. Among these, the topics “MOOC,” “learning assessment,” and “e-learning systems” were found to be key topics in the field, with a consistently high volume.

<http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/5358/5506>

OCEARCH + STEM

What is STEM? STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific areas — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — in an applied approach. Rather than teach the four disciplines as separate subjects, STEM integrates them into a cohesive learning model based on real-world applications.

<https://www.ocearch.org/ocearchstem/>

Sphero indi Brings Robotics to Pre-Kindergarten

Sphero has just announced a new educational robot called indi, a not-at-all-spherical little four-wheel car-thing with a cute face, what appears to be a spoiler of questionable aerodynamic value, and a color sensor underneath. The infuriatingly noncapitalized indi can be programmed using tiles of different colors that call different functions that the robot executes as it drives over them, making it super accessible to even pre-kindergarteners. It’s never too soon to get kids excited about robots, and it doesn’t get much sooner than this.

<https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/at-work/education/sphero-indi-brings-robotics-to-prekindergarten>