CSIRO invests $500K to help Indigenous students pursue futures in STEM

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has bestowed more than half a million dollars to the University of Wollongong (UOW) to enable more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to pursue a future in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

<https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/News/2023/September/CSIRO-invests-$500K-to-help-Indigenous-students-pursue-futures-in-STEM>

Robotics educators Andrei and Mila Loginovski: 'Perhaps our students will invent something on Mars'

Mila and Andrey Loginovsky, founders of Thinklum, told us about their first major robotics competition for Sydney's children, and their new book about a friendly robot that they dream of donating to every school in NSW.

<https://www.sbs.com.au/language/russian/en/podcast-episode/robotics-educators-andrei-and-mila-loginovski-perhaps-our-students-will-invent-something-on-mars/ykm2shqls>

14-year-old launches UN AI & mental health initiative

The Dynamic Teen Coalition, co-led by an Australian teen, will debut at IGF 2023 in Kyoto, amplifying teen voices for a brighter technological future.

<https://channellife.com.au/story/14-year-old-launches-un-ai-mental-health-initiative> 

Schools can accurately detect AI writing, even if OpenAI can’t – experts

OpenAI – the organisation behind ChatGPT – made the eye-opening decision to discontinue a tool meant to detect AI-generated writing, due to its insufficient accuracy. The company says it is now refining more reliable AI detection methods while creating new mechanisms to help users identify AI-created audio or visual content.

<https://www.theeducatoronline.com/k12/news/schools-can-accurately-detect-ai-writing-even-if-openai-cant--experts/283341>

App-y ending for COVID-inspired work

Three students at Warners Bay High School have won the 2023 Tech Girls NSW Secondary School competition.

<https://education.nsw.gov.au/news/latest-news/app-y-ending-for-covid-inspired-work>

Meet the year 12 student who spent two years crunching HSC data

Baulkham Hills High HSC student Syed Ahmad can pinpoint the moment when he started thinking seriously about a career in software development. “I was in year 7 and had just finished at my local primary school, Winston Heights Public, but I didn’t know anyone at Baulkham. So I joined their Tuesday lunchtime computer programming club and became their youngest-ever member,” he says.

<https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/meet-the-year-12-student-who-spent-two-years-crunching-hsc-data-20230920-p5e67t.html>

Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person's Smartphone Use

Smartphones have become a constant companion in our teens' lives. From connection with family and friends to entertainment and literal white noise, young people rely on their smartphones for different types of support, relaxation, and distraction—at home and at school, and during the day and night.

<https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/constant-companion-a-week-in-the-life-of-a-young-persons-smartphone-use>

Skip the AI Hype: What Can Educators Do With It?

Artificial intelligence can provide practical assistance in the classroom, in the front office, and at home.

<https://www.edweek.org/technology/opinion-skip-the-ai-hype-what-can-educators-do-with-it/2023/09>

ISTE: Most New K-12 Teachers Not Confident About Technology

A report from the International Society for Technology in Education suggests educator preparation programs should go beyond just preparing entry-level teachers and provide ongoing professional development for technology.

<https://www.govtech.com/education/k-12/iste-most-new-k-12-teachers-not-confident-about-technology>

New Research Study From ISTE Examines Educator Preparation Landscape

Today, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), a nonprofit focusing on accelerating innovation in education, released Transforming Teacher Education – a research study that examines the current landscape of educator preparation programs (EEPs) by combining data from two seminal surveys conducted last year.

<https://www.iste.org/explore/press-releases/new-research-study-iste-examines-educator-preparation-landscape>

ChatGPT can now access up to date information

OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed creator of ChatGPT, has confirmed the chatbot can now browse the internet to provide users with current information.

<https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66940771>

‘I’ve never met my classmates’: the Australian high schoolers sitting their year 12 exams at home

For the average year 12 student, weekdays tend to consist of PowerPoint presentations in packed classrooms and exam cramming in the library.

<https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/05/ive-never-met-my-classmates-the-australian-high-schoolers-sitting-their-year-12-exams-at-home>

New report reveals $2.9b in education Australia can unlock with cloud-enabled technologies

A new report has revealed micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in education that embrace cloud-enabled technologies in Australia could unlock AU$2.9 billion in annual productivity benefits by 2030.

<https://www.educationmattersmag.com.au/new-report-reveals-2-9b-in-education-australia-can-unlock-with-cloud-enabled-technologies/>

Reports of students using AI to produce sexually explicit content raises concerns

Australia’s online safety regulator has urged schools to overhaul their safety policies after recording its first-ever case of school students using artificially-generated sexually explicit material to bully others.

<https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/breaking-news/reports-of-students-using-ai-to-produce-sexually-explicit-content-raises-concerns/news-story/74112ffce251bfb0a85cfcdd145df7de>

Concerns over AI grooming of school-age kids, bullying and sexual images [subscription]

There are growing concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on school children as the technology becomes more widespread, including in relation to grooming and sexualised abuse.

<https://educationhq.com/news/concerns-over-ai-grooming-of-school-age-kids-bullying-and-sexual-images-156806/>

Students take on cyber security challenge

With demand for cyber security workers growing exponentially, a NSW Department of Education initiative is looking at ways to help meet the need.

<https://education.nsw.gov.au/news/latest-news/students-take-on-cyber-security-challenge>

Rethinking artificial intelligence through a relational lens

Artificial intelligence (AI) prompts an existential crisis for universities (Bearman et al., 2022), stoking concerns that we may lose the human touch or that teachers and institutions may be replaced by AI. Many educational commentators suggest we should embrace these new technologies as AI will be another fabulous tool for educators and students. While human versus machine is an old debate – which could usefully be reset (Bayne, 2015) – there has been a recent rise in these binary perspectives due to generative AI technologies such as ChatGPT.

<https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/rethinking-artificial-intelligence-through-a-relational-lens>

PISA to test student motivation, self-regulation in digital learning in 2025

PISA’s new area of assessment examining how students engage with digital tools comes amid a dreary backdrop in education.

<https://www.k12dive.com/news/pisa-test-digital-learning-2025/689881/>