This ECAWA Update was sent to members registered email addresses on the 21st of November, 2022.
A Message from ECAWA President Michael King
Good afternoon ECAWA members,
I hope this message finds you well as we approach the end of another busy year.
ECAWA State Conference
ECAWA held its state conference during the October holidays and I wanted to thank all of the presenters, participants and people who assisted the event. It was wonderful to see and talk with many of you and engage with some wonderful presentations. I know that I have taken away some great tips and am implementing them in my classes already.
Thank you to Christ Church Grammar School for hosting us.
We would love to get some feedback from you about the timing of the next event. Please look out for a survey in the near future asking about when a conference would work best for you.
We understand some of the challenges to getting released for PL but also want to give you the time to recuperate during your holidays. Your input will help us choose a time appropriate for everyone.
New Computer Science Syllabus
The new Computer Science syllabus for implementation in 2023 (Year 11) has been approved and there are several events coming up that we wanted to ensure you knew about. There will be more events in 2023 to network and help you implement the new syllabus.
This PD will focus on Year 11 ATAR programming using Python, giving support for schools who are transitioning to the language. We will cover coding basics, arrays, modules, testing, error detection and debugging.
This will work through the skills in the Year 11 programming section of the syllabus, then provide some potential coding projects for students.
The session will be facilitated by teaching and research staff from Curtin Computing. The PD is for Monday the 5th of December at Curtin University.
| Schedule | |
| 8.30 | Registration for an 8.45 start |
| 8:45-9:00 | Introductions/welcomes |
| 9:00-10.45 | Workshop |
| 10:45-11:00 | Break for 15 mins |
| 11:00-1:00 | Workshop |
| 1:00-1.30 | Lunch |
| 1.30-3.15 | Workshop |
| 3.15- 3.30 | Closure, etc |
The registration form is:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/teachers-professional-development-tickets-463254866777
Please also complete: Curtin Professional Development Survey – to help tailor/plan for future teacher PD
https://curtin.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5d55FCvlzX1WmrQ
Australian Teachers and Virtual Reality Study
Professor Matt Bower and his colleagues from Macquarie University are conducting a national scoping study about the use of Immersive Virtual Reality in schools.
They would love to get your input about the use of VR in schools and have asked us to let you know about it.
Here is an introduction from Professor Bower:
Virtual reality has a lot of potential for learning and teaching. However, we don’t know a lot about why and how Australian teachers use VR and what the perspectives are of those who haven’t tried it in class.
This 15-20 minute survey is for early childhood, primary and secondary teachers who are considering the technology or have used in their classroom.
Your participation would assist in finding solutions that address the implementation and scaling up of VR for education.
This study is being conducted by researchers from the Newcastle, Macquarie, Central Queensland, South Australia and Bond Universities.
More information and survey can be found here https://mqedu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5z5oJHK1DGN3TGS
As always, if you have anything that you would like to suggest please let us know. We look forward to being able to help support our colleagues across the state.
Regards,
Michael King
President – ECAWA
ECAWA
The Educational Computing Association of Western Australia (Inc)
w: ecawa.wa.edu.au e: president@ecawa.wa.edu.au
