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The Ministry of Education’s new Cyber Security in School team has launched its ‘Say No to Cyber Nasties’ campaign. Dedicated to helping schools improve their cyber security, the initiative will provide advice and encouragement to help you keep your school safe.
For more go to page 18 and
education.govt.nz/cyber-security
SOLVE FOR TOMORROW: PLANS DUE BY END OF TERM 2
Solve for Tomorrow is a nationwide competition with $20,000 in prizes, including Samsung tech for the winners and their school. Supported by MOTAT, it’s designed to build interest and proficiency in STEAM and challenges Year 5-10 students to identify an issue the community is facing, then unleash their creativity and demonstrate how STEAM and design thinking can be applied to find a solution.
Project plans need to be submitted by 8 July, with feedback provided by 25 July. Final entries are due by 2 September. More information is available on pages 12 and 13.
NEW TELA+ DEVICES FROM MICROSOFT
Looking to refresh your TELA+ devices? Check out the new Surface Pro 8, Surface Laptop Go and Surface Laptop 4 available now on TELA+. If you’re keen to learn more about how the Surface can be a powerful teaching tool, contact Venus Taare, Venus.Taare@ microsoft.com, for a free, 30-minute hui.
BREAKING GROUND AT MILLDALE SCHOOL
Recently, Principal Wendy Sandifer hosted a blessing by the local Iwi, Ngati Manuhiri, and ground-breaking ceremony to mark the beginning to construction at the future Milldale School, in Millwater, north of Auckland. We’ll be finding out more about the school’s digital development in a future issue. In the meantime, you can follow the progress at milldaleschool.nz
ANTI-BULLYING RESOURCES ARE STILL ACCESSIBLE
Last month’s Bullying-Free New Zealand Week, in conjunction with Pink Shirt Day, was a big success. The week followed the theme He kōtuinga mahi iti, he hua pai-ā rau: Small ripples create big waves. While the week might have ended, this important message continues and many excellent resources created to support it are still available. You can download student action packs, a teacher activity pack and other information at
bullyingfree.nz
SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR INFOCUS J TOUCH INTERACTIVE PANEL
Canon is offering a $950 discount on a new, 65-inch InFocus 50 Series Interactive Panel (4K resolution, total touch control and Android app ready). Conditions do apply and the offer is valid until the end of next month, 31 July. See page 10 or call 0800 222 666 for more details.
Once you get rolling with Science in Motion...
SCIENCE LESSONS
ARE SIMPLE!
• Easy, fun activity plans for Years 1-10 • Build science capabilities and concepts.
For more info check out
www.education.nzta.govt.nz/science
Teachers and parents in the UK want to see esports play a more significant role in the education of young people, according to a OnePoll survey, commissioned by Dell Technologies and Intel. Sixty-nine per cent of parents surveyed said that esports allowed their children to develop skills they might not otherwise acquire with traditional education methods. Of those, 54% said that esports gave children more confidence, with teamwork (62%), problemsolving (57%), and technological skills (55%) seen as the main benefits. Nearly half of parents said esports should be a part of the school curriculum. Four-fifths of decision-makers in schools said they believed esports should be a part of the curriculum, and of those, over half thought that this would benefit grades. “We welcome further quantitative research around esports in education to support the feedback we’re getting from teachers and students about the positive impact esports has in their classrooms,” said Tom Dore, Head of Education at British Esports Association. “Esports is a vehicle to motivate and engage a broad demographic of young people. As a teacher myself, I have seen first-hand the benefits to my students when they participate and compete in esports.” Read the full report at
bit.ly/supportforesports
Elevating esports in education: Preparing students for their digital futures Advocacy, inclusivity, and accessibility are key to driving engagement
January 2021
JOIN MICROSOFT FOR PD IN TERM 2
Throughout Term 2, you’re invited to join Microsoft’s Learning Delivery Specialist, Conor McHoull, for a free weekly online training series. Each week, he will take you through a different topic, as well as hot tips and tricks, alternating between ‘Microsoft Teams for the Classroom’ and ‘Building an Inclusive Classroom with Microsoft Accessibility Tools’. The sessions will run from 3.30pm to 4.30pm on Tuesdays, from week three onwards. All training sessions align with a PLD module from the new Microsoft Learn Educator Centre, so attendees will gain industry-endorsed badges. Visit aka.ms/termtwotrainingnz to register.
ENTRIES OPEN SOON FOR BRIGHT AWARDS 2022
Open to Year 12 and Year 13 students, the Bright Awards are a nationwide creative arts competition. There are five categories to choose from – Graphic Design, Photography, Games, Animation, and Web and Interactive – with the winner of each earning $1,000 for themselves and $3,000 for their school. Entries are open from 10 August to 7 October.
Full details at mediadesignschool.com/competitions/
bright-awards
TWO LANGUAGES FOR N4L’S CYBERSECURITY SERVICES
Want to know more about N4L’s cybersecurity services? The company’s produced videos in both English and TereoMāori explaining how its team of security experts helps keep an eye on school networks and work with schools and kura, along with their IT providers, to improve security settings.
GOOGLE WORKSPACE VIDEOS AND WEBINARS
In a new series of videos and webinars, Google Workspace documentation experts lead you through setting up Google Workspace, using your Admin console, and making the most of apps like Gmail and Calendar at work or school. More at support.google.com/a/
answer/11424845
Google for Education has also launched a free ‘Did you know?’ Training Series, where you can catch up with all the latest updates to teaching and learning tools, as well as safety and security tools for schools. The 30-minute demo-based, training sessions examine technical features of Google Workspace for Education and Chrome. Register at bit.ly/DYK2022 to catch up at a time that works best for you with the recorded webinars.
BESPOKE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS BY TEACHERS
Ministry of Education Accredited Provider Nationwide
Specialising in hybrid learning, digital technologies, fluency, citizenship, STEAM, integrated and localised curriculum
Apply for funded PLD & explore our free teaching resources:
www.digitalcircus.org.nz
