At the end of last year, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to test two new design technology / makerspace projects utilizing MakeyMakey and Micro:bit. This is the second project, and it’s one that I am very keen to reteach and extend in the future. I ran this project with one Year 4 […]
Continue reading →At the end of last year, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to trial two new design technology /makerspace projects utilizing MakeyMakey and Micro:bit. This first project was inspired by an experience I had at the @Questacon Makerspace as part of the 2018 STEM X Academy. It was designed for Grade 4 students, […]
Continue reading →Why, hello. To cut a long and eventful story short, this post was originally drafted last year, prior to my leaving my school to pursue my long-held dream of traveling around the world in 2020. It was time to move on to something new, and explore the road less traveled. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak […]
Continue reading →In 2015, I was inspired to establish our school makerspace as a result of my experiences and learning at the International Society for Technology Education Conference. As I have reflected in past posts, it took me years to understand that effective STEM programs were built on inquiry learning pedagogy, curriculum integration, and hand-on ‘maker’ […]
Continue reading →This article was originally written in collaboration with Rachael Lehr (@rachaellehr ) for the 2019 STEM X Academy cohort, on behalf of the Australian Science Teachers’ Association. I’m republishing it here with Rachael’s permission. For more information about STEM X, please visit https://asta.edu.au/programs/stemx. For many of us arriving at STEM X, we are one of the […]
Continue reading →18 months ago, I had the privilege of attending the prestigious STEM X Academy in Canberra. In January 2019, I was one of four STEM X Alumni invited to return to Canberra, with the job of mentoring the Primary Teachers’ cohort, and sharing my experiences post STEM X 2018. It isn’t often that you can […]
Continue reading →Let’s not mince words: The STEM X Academy was a once in a lifetime learning experience. In late 2017, I received a wonderful surprise – receiving word that I was one of just 70 Australian teachers selected from 390 applicants to attend the 2018 STEM X Academy in Canberra. The STEM X Academy is […]
Continue reading →As 2017 draws to a close, I’d like to take this opportunity to look back on what learned this year. Designing and testing STEM Projects I spent the 2017 school year trying to develop a meaningful personal understanding of effective STEM teaching practice and projects, testing out some ideas and approaches in both collaborative and […]
Continue reading →Over the course of the 2017 school year, my approach to teaching Scratch changed dramatically as I came to better understand how to support my girls’ learning and engagement with Scratch visual programming. As I have previously explored here and here, my students thrive on challenging, authentic visual programming tasks which focus on storytelling and game […]
Continue reading →Well, in less than four weeks time, I’ll be traveling via Auckland on a 16 700 km journey to San Antonio, Texas. I will be presenting on my students’ learning adventures with Scratch game design and FIRST LEGO League robotics at the International Society for Technology Education Conference. Following ISTE, I’ll be embarking on my […]
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