INTERFACE Magazine, Issue 117, April 2023

23 23 DATES FORYOUR DIARY!

Are you interested in keeping up to date with digital technology in education?

Want to know the latest updates from Google for Education and what Amazon Web Services has to offer schools? Or how AI and educational games are changing the way students learn?

Sign up and join us at INTERFACE Xpo 2023 to keep ahead of the newest e-learning trends and developments through a mix of workshops, presentations, exhibition, and networking.

Don’t miss this opportunity to not only find out what lies ahead for your school’s e-journey but also network with the digital learning community.

Choose from 4 locations in 2023!

Dunedin, Tuesday 16 May

Lincoln-Christchurch, Friday 19 May

Cambridge, Tuesday 23 May

Auckland, Thursday 25 May

INTERFACE Xpo is FREE for educators to attend.

Registrations are open. Places are limited. Don’t delay. Book your spot at interfacexpo.nz/register2023

Cambridge

Cambridge Raceway

Tuesday 23 May

Auckland

North Harbour Stadium

Thursday 25 May

Lincoln

Lincoln Event Centre

Friday 19 May

Dunedin

Forsyth Barr Stadium

Tuesday 16 May

Gold Silver Plus:

Silver:

Supporting:

CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTSAND

2 INTERFACEXpo 2023: Registrations are open. Book your spot!

8 INTERFACE News and Views

10 Noticeboard

13 Inspiring STEAM curiosity the fun way in primary ākonga Have a blast and gain confidence teaching STEM by signing up for the Wonder Project Rocket Challenge in 2023. As students design, build and launch their own water rocket, they’ll learn about Newton’s laws, the engineering design process, and working as a team.

14 Netsafe launches bite-sized online safety modules

educational resources called ‘Micro Learning Moments’. Supported by the Ministry of Education, the new classroomfriendly materials are bite-size interactive modules that can be used to encourage critical thinking around topics important to young people.

15 Promoting digital inclusion with bilingual keyboard unveiled a new bilingual keyboard, which will be available soon on ThinkPad and Yoga 13W devices. Developed in collaboration with AMD, the aim behind it is to allow students and teachers to easily type the macrons required when writing te reo Māori.

16 Secure your school’s online presence with SchoolDNS – a free new service The Ministry of Education is offering a free new DNS registration and hosting service to schools and kura across the country. Meet SchoolDNS, whose aim is to make life easier

for you by centralising the registration and renewal process of domain names, as well as covering the annual costs.

18 Special feature: What are you thinking about AI in your classroom? Is Artificial Intelligence going to revolutionise the way you teach? Having promised so much, for so long, is it finally starting to have a real impact? ChatGPT is the latest AIpowered tool to hit the classroom, sparking amazement and angst in varying measure. Here we explore how teachers are already leveraging the technology’s educational potential to enhance learning.

26 Pieces fall perfectly into place for design

When Bunnings donated to Bailey Road School some ceramic tiles in different colours, the challenge was to use them in art projects that would beautify the school. Technology teacher Karishma Kumar used the opportunity for her Year 7 and 8 students to learn the process of digital and physical mosaic design.

28 File Share: Four pages of classroom-friendly online learning resources.

32 Gamefroot lesson: Mashing up culture and coding in a Mihi Maker refresh.

33 Free broadband offer extended

With many households feeling the pinch of inflation and other financial challenges, Spark New Zealand and Ciena have confirmed that they will continue to offer free broadband throughout 2023 to eligible students who find that cost is a barrier to having an internet connection at home.

34 Competitions: Heaps of great prizes to be won!

The Lenovo 13w Yoga Gen 2 supports teachers and students across every classroom. This versatile, portable device is built for the way modern educators create, share, and grade content with features that include an FHD IPS Touch display, and a garaged Active Stylus plus new Pencil Touch technology. A 360-degree hinge enables Lenovo 13w Yoga Gen 2 to transform to the task at hand, yet its rugged design ensures that learning never stops.

Meet the team

EDITOR

Greg Adams

027 255 1301

Greg.Adams@interfacemagazine.co.nz

ADVERTISING

09 575 2454

A dvertising@interfacemagazine.co.nz

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Michelle Durbin

09 575 2454

Michelle.Durbin@interfacemagazine.co.nz

DESIGN

Design@interfacemagazine.co.nz

EVENT MANAGER INTERFACE Xpo

Paul Colgrave

Paul.Colgrave@interfacexpo.co.nz

FOLLOW US

facebook.com/interfacemagazine

@interfacemag

youtube.com/interfacemagazine

SUBSCRIBE TO INTERFACE

For details go to interfaceonline.co.nz/subscribe/

NEW ZEALAND INTERFACE™

(ISSN 1177-973X) is published six times a year by G MEDIA PUBLISHING LIMITED

OUR PLANS FOR ARE COMING TOGETHER 23 23

Want to know what Amazon Web Services (AWS) has to offer in the education space? Should you be using ChatGPT? How are educational games changing the way students learn? What’s the latest news from Google for Education?

If you’re interested in keeping up to date with digital technology in education, there’s only one place to be! Join us at INTERFACE Xpo 2023 in May to learn about these and so much more. We’ll be visiting Dunedin (16 May), LincolnChristchurch (19 May), CambridgeHamilton (23 May), and Auckland (25 May).

We’re busily putting the final touches to plans for this year’s INTERFACE Xpo. It’s coming together really well and we’re confident they’ll be four awesome events! There’s a fantastic line-up of sponsors, including new faces AWS, OfficeMax, The Wonder Project and AccessIT Library (so far). Learn about all this year’s sponsors at interfacexpo.nz/sponsors2023/

INTERFACE is FREE for school educators to attend and is the perfect opportunity to find out what lies ahead for you and your school’s e-journey. Don’t leave your digital technology decisions to chance. Book your spot at interfacexpo.nz/register2023/

CHATGPT IS HOT TOPIC OF DISCUSSION FOR KEYNOTE SPEAKER

© G MEDIA PUBLISHING LIMITED 2023.

Editorial opinions are not necessarily those of the publisher. We do not endorse or accept responsibility for any third party featured in this publication, unless stated otherwise.

While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information in this magazine, the publisher does not accept liability for inaccuracies, omissions or misinterpretations that may occur, and urges readers to always check online resources before using them in class.

We’ll be welcoming two keynote speakers at this year’s INTERFACE Xpo events, who will tackle two of the current hottest topics of digital discussion in education.

In Lincoln, Douglas Park School teacher James Riley will be speaking about his experiences using artificial intelligence in his classroom and developing learning resources for his students with AIpowered writing generator ChatGPT.

In Auckland, Landcare Research’s Catriona MacLeod will talk us through educational game development and the creation of Kiwi Kai, an app designed for young people to learn about biodiversity in New Zealand.

If you and your students are mad for Minecraft, then read on. It’ll soon be time to get your thinking caps on and your blocks on the move again because the INTERFACE Minecraft Competition 2023 is set to launch in our May issue. We’ll set the construction challenge and you’ll have until the end of Term 3 to complete and submit your entry.

Going on some awesome entries in previous years, we can’t wait to see what your students can create. Plus, we’ll also be asking teachers to share with us how they are using the building program in their classrooms.

For some ideas and inspiration, check out last year’s winners at interfaceonline.co.nz/minecraftwinners2022/

TELL

US

YOUR THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCES ON GAMIFICATION

Got a story to share about bringing game play elements into your teaching? From competition to point scoring, fun moments to more serious pursuits, we want to know what you’re doing to gamify your classroom. We’d love to hear from you for a feature we’ll be running soon. Contact Editor Greg Adams at greg.adams@interfacemagazine.co.nz

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LATEST WINNERS

Thanks to everyone who entered the competitions in our February issue. There were some choice items up for grabs.

The Bits & Bytes Coding Card Game is on its way to Karen Nicholls, Matamata Intermediate, Waikato.

The Desktop Condenser Microphone was won by Sue Way, Wellington Girls’ College, Wellington. There were two 3D Hologram Visualisers on offer. The first names drawn from all entries were Michelle Warren, Hobsonville Point primary School, Auckland, and Janine , Harewood School, Christchurch.

Lastly, there was a choice of gold or black for the two JVC Portable Bluetooth Speakers. The two winners are Gaylia Bundle (gold), Katikati College, Bay of Plenty, and Elizabeth Trudeau (black), Garin College, Nelson.

Congratulations to you all. Missed out this time? You could try our new competitions on pages 34 and 35

NETSAFE LAUNCHES BITE-SIZED ONLINE SAFETY MODULES

Netsafe has unveiled new educational resources called ‘Micro Learning Moments’. Designed specifically for Year 9-11 students, the new classroom-friendly materials are bite-size interactive modules that can be used to encourage critical thinking around topics important to young people, as well as improve their digital literacy and online safety. The Ministry of Education funded initiative is available free to schools across Aotearoa. More on page 14.

RESOURCES KEEPING IT SAFE ONLINE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

N4L ADDS PARTNER COMPANIES FOR WI-FI UPGRADE Network for Learning (N4L) has partnered with five private sector IT companies to upgrade schools’ Wi-Fi networks. One of the largest IT projects in the country, Te Mana Tūhono (TMT, ‘the power of connectivity’) programme is being delivered on behalf of the Ministry of Education. The initiative involves the design, procurement, replacement and support of Wi-Fi networks in schools and kura across the country.

“Our IT and Installer partners play a pivotal role in delivering new and upgrading existing products and services,” said N4L CEO, Larrie Moore. “They know the schools and they have worked hard to build the trust of principals over many years. Knowing we have a network of partners with long-standing relationships and a proven record of delivery makes us confident about delivering a world-class Wi-Fi service to schools and kura across the motu.”

Te Tari Taiwhenua’s ‘Keep it Real Online’ has information and resources to help educators keep young people safe online. The Department of Internal Affairs’ website contains age-appropriate tools, information and advice from a number of organisations for primary, intermediate and secondary school children. Educators can use these tools to empower their students to stay safe online. The site also contains resources such as videos that can facilitate those more challenging conversations about online harm in the classroom. More at keepitrealonline.govt.nz

Are you ready for new ideas?

Re-charge your teaching with our Gifted Intensive introductory course for classroom teachers

Online, 4 modules, for classes at all age levels

Our work with gifted learners has inspired exciting strategies for all learner s.

Join us and enjoy expert tutor support as you build new skills!

For more information go to www.aotearoagifted.nz

Enrolnowfor5Maystart.

The new agreements with TTS, MB3, Isometric Solutions, GoCloud and Entity Hub mean N4L now has partnerships with 15 IT companies and 17 companies focused on the installation of equipment.

More at education.govt.nz/school/digital-technology/ your-schools-ict-network/te-mana-tuhono/

TO THE MOON MODE AND BACK

Samsung’s new cameras have a 100x zoom and a special AI-powered ‘moon mode’ that can take detailed pictures of the moon … sort of. In fact, the AI just knows what the moon looks like and can add detail to images.

GET YOUR CLASS EXCITED ABOUT STEM. JOIN THE ROCKET CHALLENGE!

Blast ākonga engagement with STEM to the stars by signing up for the Wonder Project Rocket Challenge, aligned to Level 3 of the NZ Curriculum. The programme is designed to teach STEM in a hands-on, engaging way –inspiring even the most disengaged ākonga and increasing their confidence with STEM. It’s free, fun and supported by industry professionals. Secure your spot on the Term 2 Rocket Challenge before lift off!

More on pages 12 and 13.

AotearoaGifted. nz Specialists in professional development in gifted education REACH Education Consultancy (est. 2005)

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN FIJI SET FOR HIGH-SPEED INTERNET

Digicel Fiji, Southern Cross Cable Network and Ciena have teamed up to launch Project Semata, an initiative to provide high-speed internet access and online learning resources to three schools in Savusavu, Fiji. The initiative will give dedicated direct 10Mbps internet access to the Digicel Fiji network to all students and teachers at the Kamendra School, Savusavu Secondary School and St. Bedes Secondary School.

“We have been moving towards e-learning with the installation of interactive boards and overhead projectors for our Years 12 and 13 students and, with this timely assistance of free internet, we are able to empower our students with the best in learning,” said Rusiate Musudroka, Principal at Savusavu Secondary School. “Access to online resources is also helpful to our teachers in furthering the education experience.

KEEPING OUR PLEDGE

Digicel Fiji CEO, Farid Mohammed, added: “During the pandemic, Digicel pledged to keep everyone connected. We formed partnerships with the Ministry of Education to give students access to their schools’ virtual learning sites and classes, and provided subsidised data plans and zero-rated data access to essential learning sites. With Project Semata, we are keeping our pledge alive to provide internet access to these schools in Savusavu.”

Project Semata will support schools in Pacific Island communities for the next two years.

“It’s part of the Ciena Digital Inclusion programme, which is designed to help close the digital divide through greater connectivity, access to technology and digital skilling,” said Ivan Polizzi, Regional Managing Director, Ciena Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

POLYMATH RECEIVES ACCELERATOR AWARD

Auckland education start-up Polymath is one of only two New Zealand companies selected as one of 12 techdriven start-ups for Startmate’s 2023 Summer Accelerator. This accelerator awards $120,000 in capital to help founders across Australasia propel their early-stage ventures. The 12-week programme aims to help founders set up short-term goals in addition to mapping out a year-long plan.

More at polymath.how

SURVEY ON IT SUPPORT SERVICES TO SCHOOLS AND KURA

Can you help spread the word? As part of the Ministry of Education’s goal to strengthen cyber security and digital support in kura and schools, it would like to better understand what digital support services are being provided by suppliers into schools and kura, and identify any potential gaps.

A request for information (RFI) has been published on the Governments Electronic Tender Service (GETS). To help get as many responses as possible, please can you share the link to the survey with your school’s digital services suppliers. Survey Link here.

ARTEMIS MISSIONS TOUCH DOWN IN MINECRAFT

NASA is returning to the Moon with the Artemis Missions. To mark this endeavour, Minecraft Education is partnering with NASA and the Challenge Center to bring Artemis Mission worlds into Minecraft. Learners can explore Newton’s Laws to design and launch a moon rocket, use code to navigate the Orion space capsule, and work as a team to build a survival base on the moon – meeting scientists along the way.

More at aka.ms/artemismissions

BY THE NUMBERS … DID YOU KNOW, THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 4.1 BILLION PHOTOS TAKEN AND 100 TRILLION WORDS MESSAGED EACH AND EVERY DAY?

Take STEM learning to new heights

… and have fun doing it!

Having a fun and engaging experience teaching STEM is written in the stars when you sign up for the Wonder Project Rocket Challenge, aligned to Level 3 of the curriculum.

We supply everything you need for a flying start –student modules, detailed lesson plans, challenge kit, and an industry professional to help you teach STEM the fun way.

Take the pressure off planning for the school year and sign up now for the Term 2 challenge.

wonderproject.nz

Inspiring STEM curiosity the fun way in primary a -konga

Have a blast and gain confidence teaching STEM by signing up for the Wonder Project Rocket Challenge in 2023. As students design, build and launch their own water rocket, they’ll learn about Newton’s laws, the engineering design process, and working as a team.

‘A fun way to learn’ is the most commonly cited reason why teachers sign up to participate in the Wonder Project Rocket Challenge – a sentiment frequently echoed by their students, and the industry professionals who support the challenge in classrooms across Aotearoa.

The free schools’ programme seamlessly blends the thrill of fun, hands-on activities, like launching rockets, with STEM learning aligned to The New Zealand Curriculum. And by connecting classes with volunteer STEM industry professionals, as well as supplying teaching resources, student resources, and a challenge kit free, participating schools are empowered to teach STEM with confidence.

“From a teacher who was always a bit scared to teach STEM with great confidence, I now absolutely love it thanks to the guidance in the Rocket Challenge!” said a teacher from Bankwood School, Hamilton.

Fun and dynamic

Feedback on last year’s challenge was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting that the opportunity to deliver a fun and dynamic hands-on learning challenge has not only kept students engaged with STEM, but also made the experience teaching STEM more enjoyable.

• 93% of teachers and 79% of students said they would do it again;

• 95% of students were fairly or completely engaged in the learning;

• 57% of students were more interested in STEM jobs after the challenge; and

• 96% of teachers said their confidence in teaching STEM was increased.

Funded by Callaghan Innovation, The Wonder Project is Engineering New Zealand’s free programme for schools, designed to get young Kiwis excited about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The series of hands-on programmes knit into the New Zealand school curriculum. They’re designed to spark wonder and awe in young Kiwis from Year 5–13 and get them excited about a future STEM career.

“[The Rocket Challenge] was one of my favourite units of work over my teaching career thus far” said a teacher from Raumati Beach School, Paraparaumu.

Wonder Project challenges are designed to be accessible for kids from all backgrounds to encourage all a - konga to form a connection with STEM. To support this, everyone that signs up for the Rocket Challenge in 2023 will have the option of using student activities in English or te reo Ma - ori.

All learning material is developed alongside teachers, industry professionals and students, and aligned to Level 3 of The New Zealand Curriculum, to take some of the pressure off planning for the school year.

Curriculum links

Rocket Challenge achievement objectives include:

Science: Physical world: Physical inquiry and physics concepts. Identify and describe how movement and forces affect the motion of rockets.

Technology: Technological knowledge: Technological modelling. Undertake functional modelling of rocket prototypes to inform decision making. Evaluate rocket prototype fitness of purpose to refine further developments.

Mathematics and statistics: Geometry and measurement: Measurement and shape. Represent rockets through drawings and models. Use metric units to find length, volume, weight (mass) of the rockets and the angle of rocket launch.

Sign up now for Term 2

The Wonder Project Rocket Challenge is live for registrations. Sign up to be part of the wonder today at wonderproject.nz or contact wonder@engineeringnz.org for a ko - rero with our with project advisors.

Article by the Wonder Project team

STUDENTS AT ST ANNES CATHOLIC SCHOOL WATCH THEIR ROCKET BLAST OFF.

Netsafe launches bite-sized online safety modules

Netsafe has unveiled new educational resources called ‘Micro Learning Moments’. Supported by the Ministry of Education, the new classroom-friendly materials are bitesize interactive modules that can be used to encourage critical thinking around topics important to young people.

A new online learning platform has been launched by Netsafe. Designed specifically for Year 9-11 students, it aims to improve digital literacy and online safety among young people. The Ministry of Education funded initiative is available free to schools across Aotearoa.

The learning platform features six ‘Micro Learning Moments’ –interactive modules that are less than 20 minutes long. These bite-sized modules are designed to be engaging and accessible, and they cover a range of topics that are important to young people, including online bullying, online identity, and digital wellbeing.

Co-designed topics

The six topics chosen as most important to the young people who co-designed them (and their learning outcomes) include:

• Be Your Selfie – how to think critically about images we see online and discuss how altered images can affect wellbeing;

• Block the Bullies – exploring how laws in Aotearoa protect us from bullies, what we can do about bullying and who can help us;

• Find your Balance – planning how we can get the best out of live on and offline;

• News or Views – investigating how to tell what is real and not real online and what we can do when people share something that isn’t trustworthy;

• Protect your Brand – creating a reputable online brand and explore how you can respect the future you; and

• Own your Info – exploring how the internet learns from us, what that data can be used for and what we can do to take control of our information.

While the learning moments are aimed specifically at Year 9-11 students, they are designed to incorporate easily into existing curriculum and can be used by parents and young people who are home-schooling. Siblings and other family members of students in the school community can also access the resources freely, creating a partnership between home and school that promotes digital literacy and online safety for all.

Societal problems

What makes the launch of this platform particularly special is that it was developed as part of the CreativeHQ GovTech Accelerator (creativehq.co.nz/govtech/ ). Netsafe participated with teams from across government and other organisations to learn how to develop innovative products and solutions to big societal problems.

The development included a process of co-design with design jams hosting teachers and students alike, who chose the topics and created the storyboards with Netsafe. Schools then tested the demo versions in classrooms, gathering feedback, so Netsafe could improve them before launch. Co-design and user experience processes were key to ensuring the learning moments were relevant and resonate with end-users. The result is a set of learning modules that are not only informative but also engaging and fun to use.

With these new resources for schools, teachers, and parents – Netsafe further demonstrates its commitment to digital literacy and online safety among young people. The informative and engaging Micro Learning Moments are a great way to build digital literacy and online safety among young people, helping them to stay safe and thrive in today’s digital world.

Check out Netsafe’s new online learning platform at netsafe.org.nz/netsafe-online-learning-platform/ Article supplied by the Ministry of Education.

Promoting digital inclusion with bilingual keyboard

Lenovo has unveiled a new bilingual keyboard, which will be available soon on ThinkPad and Yoga 13W devices. Developed in collaboration with AMD, the aim behind it is to allow students and teachers to easily type the macrons required when writing te reo Ma-ori.

On 21 March, the Nga Whare Waatea Marae in Mangere, Auckland, hosted Lenovo’s unveiling of its ground-breaking Aotearoa New Zealand bilingual keyboard. INTERFACE was invited to attend and heard how the idea came about thanks to Lenovo New Zealand Country Manager Libby Macgregor’s eight-year-old son Felix, who was beginning to learn te reo Ma - ori in school and questioned why there wasn’t hardware available to support his learning.

“He came home one day and asked me ‘Mum, why can’t I find the keys on the keyboard to type in te reo Ma - ori?’ It was then I realised we didn’t have the hardware to make this as easy as it should be,” explained Macgregor. “Lenovo has an incredible Product Diversity Office, and it was in consultation with this team that we created something that could support the learning and use of te reo Ma - ori. This is why this launch is a particularly meaningful one for me, personally.”

“Digital devices in countries with large English-speaking populations often miss out on products with alternate characters for languages. This results in a digital divide for consumers who do not have a viable solution to use technology the way they want to, impacting their daily use of preferred languages.

Everyday lives

“Ma - ori is a culture that stays alive predominantly through use of the language. A number of organisations are leading this important Kaupapa, however, the journey is ongoing. Lenovo wants to contribute by enabling Aotearoa’s rangatahi and professional workforce to utilise te reo Ma - ori with ease in their everyday lives, through the launch of this keyboard.”

In 2020, Lenovo launched its Product Diversity Office to ensure that its solutions are easily accessible, and reflect the diversity needs of its worldwide customer base with a goal to have 75 per cent of all products vetted for inclusion by 2025. The launch

of the bilingual keyboard signifies a further step in changing the landscape of digital equity and inclusion, through smarter technology for all Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Language is fundamental when it comes to culture, preserving it allows us to pass on history and traditions for generations to come.”, said Peter Chambers, Managing Director, Sales, AMD Asia Pacific & Japan. “We, at AMD, are active champions of diversity and inclusion. Our relentless drive to innovate means we always seek to redefine the status quo. Today, it is through the launch of the Lenovo Aotearoa New Zealand bilingual keyboard in select ThinkPad and Education laptop devices. We are incredibly thrilled to be a part of this significant step forward in promoting greater diversity in education”.

Indigenous languages

The launch of the bilingual keyboard follows Lenovo’s ongoing investment into the preservation of indigenous cultures through its Lenovo Foundation, which has most recently seen Motorola partnering with UNESCO to conduct further research on the impact and potential of digitising endangered indigenous languages.

“Together with the Lenovo Foundation, Motorola is proud to be partnering with UNESCO to digitise endangered indigenous languages over the next 10 years. Our plans to include te ao Ma - ori on the handset user interface of all Motorola devices this year further highlights Lenovo and Motorola’s commitment to help close the gap in digitally inclusive technology,” said Kurt Bonnici, Head of Motorola, Australia and New Zealand.

The Aotearoa New Zealand bilingual keyboard will be available soon on selected ThinkPad and Yoga 13W devices, for use in learning environments – including through the TELA+ scheme. Lenovo plans to release the device to consumer customers at a later date.

LENOVO’S LIBBY MACGREGOR SPEAKING AT THE LAUNCH.

CLOSE-UP OF MACRONS ON THE KEYBOARD.

Secure your school’s online presence with SchoolDNS –a free new service

The Ministry of Education is offering a free new DNS registration and hosting service to schools and kura across the country. Meet SchoolDNS, whose aim is to make life easier for you by centralising the registration and renewal process of domain names, as well as covering the annual costs.

When we type in a domain name, it’s easy to assume that the result we’re looking for will simply appear. But to ensure that this process occurs seamlessly – there is the small administrative task of ensuring that an organisation’s domain name is currently registered.

So, who registers your school’s or kura’s domain name each year? For busy schools, it can seem like such a low priority task. Even so, it’s an important task. As it might not be until a school’s website goes offline or staff and students can no longer receive emails – that it becomes apparent the domain registration has lapsed!

If a DNS registration expires and it’s not renewed quickly, someone else could purchase your domain, and in a worst-case scenario you may need to go through the courts to try to get access to that domain back. Or as an alternative, you may need to start over again with a brand-new domain name. All of which creates more admin and headaches that busy schools and kura simply don’t need.

Administrative burden

To take this administrative burden away from schools, the Ministry of Education has set up a free new domain name system (DNS) service, called SchoolDNS. It offers DNS registration and hosting for schools and kura. By centralising the registration and renewal process of domain names, as well as

What actually is DNS?

The Domain Name System (DNS) converts 9-digit (or longer) IP addresses into domain names, which helps us to navigate to websites. Instead of typing in an IP address – like 198.0.119.72 – to visit a website, you can type a domain name address into your browser to easily access a website, for example www.yourschool.school.nz. Essentially, domain names are used as an alias for an IP address.

To set this up, organisations pay for the address and redirecting service (from the alias to your IP address) each year. DNS registration and hosting is offered by various companies. In New Zealand, 95 per cent of schools use domains under .school.nz.

covering the annual DNS registration and hosting costs, the Ministry aims to increase the level of security and control that schools and kura have over their domain name(s).

So, what’s included? The SchoolDNS service offers the following:

• Set up and running costs for up to two domain names. This includes any subdomains. Costs for any additional domain names need to be covered by the school.

• Access to the DNS portal where schools can easily make account changes, such as updating key people or contact details.

• Yearly registration renewal as a default. This ensures continuity of the domain and reduces the risk of losing access to the domain temporarily or permanently.

• Reduced administration risks – for example, if due to staff turnover, no-one at your school has knowledge about renewing or changing registration details.

• 24/7 support based in New Zealand.

• A higher level of reliability and security that meets New Zealand government requirements.

Own and manage

Schools and kura who opt-in to this Ministry-funded service will continue to own and manage their domain name directly. You, and your nominated IT partner, can log into the portal to view, manage or update your domain records.

Website hosting is not included as part of the service – for this schools will need to get their website hosted by a web hosting company.

For more information and to opt-in to receive the SchoolDNS service, please visit education.govt.nz/schooldns

Digital services market research survey

As part of the Ministry’s goal to strengthen cyber security and digital support, its digital team would like to better understand what digital support services are being provided by suppliers to schools and kura.

A survey has been created to better understand the kind of IT support services being provided in our sector. Please share the survey link with your digital services suppliers.

What are you thinking about AI in your classroom?

Is Artificial Intelligence going to revolutionise the way you teach? Having promised so much, for so long, is it finally starting to have a real impact? ChatGPT is the latest AI-powered tool to hit the classroom, sparking amazement and angst in varying measure. Here we explore how teachers are already leveraging the technology’s educational potential to enhance learning.

Using AI ‘superpowers’ to foster and promote true human connection

For many years, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) was seen as a distant concern, something to worry about in the future.

However, we’ve already seen how AI tools are being used successfully to harvest our focus and attention. Social media platforms, with endless scroll and advertisement models being optimised by AI to keep us glued to our apps and screens. The more we engage, the more data we generate about what interests us, and the more valuable we become as a target for advertisers.

Social media has become an AI-powered social slot machine, with algorithms designed to keep us hooked, scrolling, and clicking.

It’s easy to be pessimistic about the role of AI in our lives, especially when we see how it is being used to manipulate us on a social media level. But it’s also hard to see technology ever replacing our need for true human connection. My recent teaching experiences have led me to believe; we can use these newfound superpowers to help us connect.

Generate conversation

We recently conducted a workshop with some teenagers using GPT-3 and witnessed something amazing. Instead of being a tool for distraction and manipulation, the AI was being used as a tool for connection. During the activity, we used it to generate conversation topics, write stories, tell jokes, even create a basic video game.

The prompts were unique and unexpected, sparking hilarious conversations that might not have happened otherwise. It created a

By Kane Stewart

shared experience none of us will ever forget. This event led me to think about the potential for this technology to help us connect in other meaningful ways. Instead of seeing AI as a threat to human connection, we could see it as a tool to nurture people’s creativity. We’ve been using it as a tool to build creative confidence in our students, so they feel like they can create anything.

Creative potential

If you’re looking for an AI lesson to run in your classroom, try using an art tool called Dream by Wombo (dream.ai) to expose students to the creative potential at their fingertips. Or see who can get Chat-GPT3 to write the most comedic script (it tells amazing Dad jokes).

Despite the potential benefits of AI, there are clear concerns. Tools like DeepFake make it possible to fake someone’s identity online. It is going to be ever harder to differentiate what is true. As such, it is crucial to educate students on the implications of such technology.

Recent AI developments are just another reminder that the future is already here. We just need to be mindful of how our future generations are using this new technology. Are they using it to be creators or consumers?

True human connections are ever more important in a digitally-fuelled world. With the right approach and mindset, AI could help us to have more authentic and meaningful interactions, rather than just keeping us glued to our screens.

Kane Stewart is founder of Egg Academy (eggacademy.co.nz).

What is a chatbot?

This is a computer program that simulates human conversation (either written or spoken), allowing people to interact with digital devices as if they were communicating with a real person. They can be as simple as a basic program that answers a basic query with a single-line response, or as sophisticated as digital assistants that ‘learn’ to deliver increasing levels of personalisation as they gather and process information.

Meet ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot. Developed by OpenAI, it lets you type natural-language prompts to which it offers conversational responses, answers questions, and assists with tasks such as composing emails and writing essays. ChatGPT is currently free to use and despite only being released last November, already has more than 100 million users.

Go to chat.openai.com, create an OpenAI account and start chatting.

ChatGPT v GPT2 v GPT3?

These are variations on the same technological theme, each offering different capabilities and limitations. And if you were wondering, GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer.

OpenAI is also responsible for creating AI art generator DALL-E 2. More on page 30.

Developing my own chatbot assistant has changed the way I teach

By Laura Wheeler, Meadowbank School

From 2020-2022, I completed a Master of Contemporary Education with The Mind Lab. During this time, I created a change project to personalise my students’ learning to increase their agency. As I taught them during lockdowns, I noticed that they were keen on receiving instant responses to questions about their learning, which I was not always able to provide. In class, I found that a lot of learning time was wasted when children had to search for resources to help them achieve their goals. That’s when I decided to research what could solve these problems, but I was unable to find exactly what I was looking for.

During my research, I found examples of universities using chatbots to give quick responses to frequently asked questions. AI was described as an emerging and disruptive technology that could free up teacher time to focus on supporting individual learners. Although I didn’t find any chatbots that were made for younger children, I thought this was precisely what I needed, so I decided to create my own using Dialogflow.

My Agency Bot System

It took about six months to learn how to code it, decide on the flow of the conversation and input the data. I wanted to provide my students with choice about how they wanted to learn, so I made question cards, videos, and found online games to match all of the learning goals at my year level in the Number strand of Mathematics.

To make the chatbot more ‘kid-friendly,’ I gave it a name: My Agency Bot System or MABS for short. Due to their age, I needed to carefully code my chatbot to ensure that differences in literacy ability did not hinder their experience. Students used MABS independently to find the best learning activity to achieve their goals.

I utilised the AI capabilities to train the chatbot to understand the intention of requests from children. It could interpret spelling mistakes or autocorrect them. I also added textbased responses and buttons for them to click to make more complex requests faster.

Tailor content

Having my students provide feedback and influence the design of MABS helped make it an integral aspect of our classroom learning. They helped add content based on their interests or next steps, and designed the favicon for my website. By creating MABS myself, I was able to tailor the content to meet the interests of my students. It quickly became a highlight of my classroom, and after a few tweaks, I shared it with the other Year 4 classes at my school. MABS was also a useful tool when their child’s learning needs. It allowed them to access resources they could use

even commented used to struggle to get their child

Maths homework, but their child loves MABS, and they struggle to get

The learning outcomes of using MABS were

MABS: STUDENT USING THE CHATBOT

huge. As part of my Master’s, I had to track their achievement and analyse their progress. The cohort that used MABS made, on average, double the progress of the cohort the previous year. Their understanding of what they needed to do to achieve their goals developed. All were excited to complete their Maths tasks as they got to choose how they accessed the information. Plus, MABS had lots of little features that made it fun to use. Using one of the pre-built agents called ‘Small Talk’ helped to humanise MABS and meant children had more realistic conversations with it.

Significant coding

Creating MABS required me to have a logical and systematic approach to coding. Drawing on my knowledge of block coding, I had a basic understanding of how to create my own code. Although there was plenty of content online for support, some of it was too complex for me to understand or irrelevant, so I enlisted the help of my husband, who is a more competent coder. Once I had the structure of the code for each intent and event, I could use it for other requests.

The biggest challenge I faced was the sheer scale of coding required to cover all

ASK

the learning goals in multiple ways. I had to spend a significant amount of time researching and planning the flow of the conversation, and then inputting the data. As the chatbot was designed for younger children, I had to ensure that differences in literacy ability did not hinder their experience with it, which required additional effort to design the chatbot to be accessible to all learners.

The process of developing MABS changed my teaching practice substantially, and I had to be adaptable and flexible to incorporate new teaching strategies and practices. However, the positive outcomes, such as the significant progress made by students and their increased understanding of their learning needs, made it all worth it in the end.

Quickly grasped

I’m proud of the love and effort I put into developing MABS, and the positive effect it had on my students’ interest toward Mathematics. I was thrilled how quickly they grasped MABS’s functionality.

I now use MABS all the time in my classroom. It serves as an independent activity for students to work on and make progress toward achieving their goals. This year I’m adding more content to MABS, as well as working with a new team of teachers who aren’t yet familiar with it, so their students can benefit from this tool.

Sharing MABS with others is a great way to give back to the teaching community and to continue exploring the potential of AI in education.

Embracing innovation in my teaching practice proved to be a game-changer, yielding substantial positive outcomes. I encourage other educators to explore new technologies, seek feedback from learners to enhance the learning experience, and be open to change and disruption as they navigate the learning process.

Laura Wheeler is a Year 4 Teacher at Meadowbank School in Auckland.

About Dialogflow

This is a Google service which operates on a Google Cloud Platform. It’s an NLP (Natural Language Processing) platform that can be used to design and integrate a conversational user interface into apps and websites. dialogflow.cloud.google.com

WINNING ROBOT OREO

ASK MABS: EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

ChatGPT provides me with a starting point from where I can add my own style and ‘humanness’

By Linda Chong

Digital technologies have always been a passion of mine and in my current role I have the privilege to disrupt classes with technology and innovative thinking. My personal view on the use of AI in my teaching and learning is … I love it!

For example, ChatGPT is a real game changer in terms of enabling me to use my time better. It has improved my productivity. It provides me with a starting point from where I can add my own style and ‘humanness’ to it. ChatGPT provides the draft from which I can create what I need for.

If we, as adults, are using artificial intelligence to help us, then I reckon we should be teaching our students how to best utilise this tool, too. It’s a bit like the feeling of when we first experienced the internet. AI has opened up many possibilities of potential uses in education. Just like anything, there are lots of positive benefits but this also comes with some negative uses, as well. I like to focus on the positive. AI is not going away. I see it as the way of the future and that it is my responsibility as an educator to open the minds of many people who see this technology as a threat.

The impact of assessment tasks with the use of access to AI was an immediate negative reaction that many seem to have jumped to. Students already have access to the internet – why is AI so much different? I believe it’s a tool with so much potential.

Help not hindrance

As you can probably guess, I am an early adopter, and love to rethink ways in which this tool can be embraced and work for our gain. AI used smartly can help teachers rather than be a hindrance. This innovative technology can provide students with feedback almost instantly and because it responds to common language, then it’s almost like having a conversation with your teacher. Just like BossGPT, I’m hoping that a TeacherGPT might be created, so that responses are made from a specific curriculum area expertise. AI can definitely be a time saving tool for teachers, which can lessen time pressured tasks and free up teachers to a degree.

To ensure that students are submitting their own original work, teachers already use strategies such as making projects and tasks personal. Assessments where students need to respond to their own feelings, reflections or opinion, helps to reduce the practice of simply copying and pasting from other sources. Putting the human factor into assessments can make it more valid and connected to what has been individually experienced and learned in class.

Authentic work

Although time consuming, monitoring student progress can ensure that the work from students is authentic and generated by the individual. Most teachers have a handle on what their students are doing within class and how far along they are progressing with a learning task. It has been interesting to see what ChatGPT highlighted when I completed a model answer for a task I had set for my students. The tool highlighted a number of sentences that were not taken from AI and were purely generated as my own thoughts. The accuracy of AI continues to evolve and similarly all sources need to be checked.

When I asked AI how it can enhance the learning experience of students at high school, it responded “Overall, AI has the potential to transform the way students learn, providing more personalised, engaging, and effective learning experiences that can help them to achieve better academic outcomes.”

Just like remote learning has been an adaptive method of teaching, AI brings us another tool that can be used to support existing teaching and learning.

I’ve been teaching for more than 30 years and I continue to adapt with the everchanging environment of education. Rethinking what’s possible allows me to build pathways for tomorrow’s students.

Linda Chong is Head of the Centre for Innovation at St Margaret’s College in Otautahi Christchurch.

Detecting AI-generated content

Having unleashed ChatGPT on the world, OpenAI has quickly created AI Text Classifier (platform.openai.com/ ai-text-classifier), a tool that will distinguish between AI-generated and human-generated text.

It’s also released GPT-2 Output Detector Demo (openai-openaidetector.hf.space).

Copyleaks has developed its own AI Content Detector (copyleaks.com/ ai-content-detector), as has Grammarly with its GrammarlyGO ( grammarly.com/grammarlygo).

Another is GPTZero ( gptzero.me). Enter the text and it provides an overall assessment, highlight the likeliest AI-written content, and offer scores for ‘Perplexity’ (a measurement of the randomness of the text) and ‘Burstiness’ (a measurement of the variation in perplexity).

Or you could try AI Detector (contentatscale.ai/ai-contentdetector/ ) and AI Content Detector (writer.com/ai-content-detector/ ).

Letting ChatGPT do the heavy lifting, leaving more time to focus on teaching

By Tim Watanabe, Catholic Cathedral College

I’m generally interested in IT, and always interested in tools that would improve my pedagogy in efficiency and efficacy. When I saw what ChatGPT was capable of, I’d initially thought that it could be a good tool for providing written materials, especially in areas where information is difficult or time consuming to come by.

I begin by asking it to output information for High School students on particular topics. Once I’d compiled information from this and other sources, I then diversified the output to lesson aims, starter and content questions, overview, list of popular culture analogies, tables, dialogues, relevant quotes, and lesson summary as relevant. I would have to be selective about the information I used, and correct, augment, refine, and/or replace some as appropriate (with or without ChatGPT).

Being a computer program, sometimes the instructions do need to be fairly specific if you’re looking for any particular style or focus in the output. I found I had to refine the prompt with follow up directions (which ChatGPT understands). I have a fairly prescriptive lesson format, so this may differ from what most others

would do.

I’m generally happy with it. While the information is not always accurate, it does much of the ‘heavy lifting’ and it also helps with ideation. Things like tables help to visualise the information in a more compact and, hopefully, comprehensible way for students.

For Religious Education, it came up with the analogy of Clark Kent and Superman for Jesus being the person best able to reveal his true identity; I was pleased that it could come up with an example that students could relate to that I had not thought of before.

Improve quality

One of the main benefits for teachers is that it can help to improve the quality of pedagogical materials (and even methods), as it’s able to output things in the time it would previously have taken too long to implement. Students can reap the benefit of more comprehensive lessons that are presented in more accessible ways. It can also help with ideation for content and activities. I’m told that it can even help with marking, although I’ve yet to use it in this way.

The prompt Tim’s saved for use in each lesson

Write out in Markdown for junior High School students providing:

1. Lesson aim(s);

2. Starter question(s) that do not assume much knowledge of lesson content;

3. Prayer in full and its title;

4. Short overview bullet point summaries;

5. Notable relevant quotes (not from lesson content itself);

6. List of relevant terminology;

7. List of 10 analogies to the topic in popular culture or daily life;

8. Set of questions for each section of the content;

9. Comparison table (if relevant);

10. Philosophical explanation for difficult concepts;

11. Q&A section for tricky questions;

12. Catholic Church’s teaching citing the Catechism;

13. lesson summary in short bullet points;

14. A summary table of who, what, where, when, why, and how;

15. Suggestions for best ways to teach the lesson;

16. List of interesting discussion questions.

These are just the tip of the iceberg for the possibilities the tool allows, which are only limited by one’s imagination and creativity.

Students themselves can use it as an instant formative feedback tool, ways to quickly provide information on any topic, assist in ways to improve in any area, etc. Again, only limited by their imagination. Perhaps the greatest benefit lies in the fact that it can be personalised by feeding it your own input according to your specific needs to a level previously not possible.

Nuance and accuracy

It’s important that a tool like this isn’t thought of as a replacement for teacher and ‘human’ expertise.

The most obvious flaw is that it is not always accurate with the information it provides in the output. It also does not always have the level of specialised knowledge that a teacher should have in a subject area, so these would have to be supplied. It also may not have the level of nuance required, especially when it comes to writing dialogues.

I now use ChatGPT on a daily basis. I’ve even started a Facebook group, ChatGPT for Education, to share ideas for ethical use of the tool by both teachers and students. I’ve not used it in the classroom, other than to prepare the lesson material beforehand. There’s a potential to use it for personalised feedback by providing prompts for students to use to receive feedback from ChatGPT on their writing, so I may do this in the future.

Tim Watanabe teaches at Catholic Cathedral College in Christchurch.

AI is putting teachers on the cusp of a revolution in learning

As artificial intelligence-powered chatbots edge into the education sector, researchers are encouraging teachers to take an active role in testing and using these cutting-edge tools to maintain a competitive edge further in their profession.

ChatGPT (and similar technology) is part of a new wave of AI that can generate highly cohesive, human-like responses to questions and prompts. ChatGPT continues to be criticised because of concerns about student learning and the potential for plagiarism. However, AI technology will also create opportunities for teachers, according to Professor George Siemens, International expert in artificial intelligence (AI) and education at the University of South Australia.

“Chatbots, such as ChatGPT, are innovations that are here to stay,” he said. “But rather than avoiding or banning them, it’s far more beneficial for teachers to explore and experiment with them to get a better sense of what is possible.

“For example, if you ask ChatGPT to produce a sample lesson plan for grade 5 algebra, the platform creates a set of objectives, any materials you’ll need, plus a range of suitable activities for students at that maths level. Or if you’re teaching programming, ChatGPT can create and debug code.

Generate ideas

“If you’re a teacher, you can see how this tool could help you plan, generate ideas, and organise your weekly lessons. Importantly it frees time for you to connect and engage with your students, so that you can create more personal and meaningful learning opportunities.

“Teaching is rapidly changing. By embracing new technologies, and learning how AI can complement teaching, we can prepare students for a future where they will be able to compete with the best and brightest.”

Growing sophistication

As teaching innovations grow in sophistication and complexity, Siemens believes it will be vital for assessment and teaching models to keep up.

“Existing assessment models that only test the product, but not the process of learning, will not fare well under an AI-shaped future.

“We already know that managing AI for out-of-class assignments could be

challenging, but perhaps it’s also indicative of the need to change traditional assessment models to better match modern learning?”

Siemens adds that AI can help reduce teacher administration, boost personalised learning experiences for students, and encourage real-world knowledge application. But to do so, the education sector must be open to change.

Explosion of innovation

“We are on the cusp of an explosion of innovation and creativity in education and AI is at the very centre of it.

“Teachers must start connecting with their peers around the impact of AI on their teaching; schools will need to advise parents about how they’re using AI in the classroom; school leadership teams must consider future options for professional development for their staff; and education departments should be actively evaluating how AI will affect policy, technology needs, and teachers supports.

“AI presents a tremendous new technology that opens a whole new opportunity for knowledge generation and idea creation in teaching.

“Getting started now will ensure teachers and students build the familiarity they need to excel in this new space.”

Article from University of South Australia News

Six ways to use AI writing generators

1. Use as researchers to compile information, along with references for students to follow up.

2. Use to produce text on a given topic.

3. Use different AI writers to produce text on the same topic, to compare and evaluate.

4. Use to generate writing prompts for students to respond to, by asking it to generate a story starter which students use as the basis for their own writing.

5. Use to improve reading comprehension, by asking it to generate a passage on a topic that students are studying, for them to read and answer questions on.

6. Use as a vocabulary builder, by generating sentences using words that students may not be familiar with.

How are you using AI writing generators? Let us know at comment@interfacemagazine.co.nz

AI not only saves me time but also ensures that questions are relevant

By Matt Sheaff, Tarawera High

School

As a teacher, I have been developing quick daily 10-word problem-solving tasks for my students. However, instead of manually creating new problems every day, I use AI to generate new word problems based on the questions I input. This saves me a lot of time and allows me to focus on other aspects of my teaching. Another way I am using AI is by pasting YouTube transcripts into Chat GPT and having it generate questions related to the clips. This not only saves me time but also ensures that the questions are relevant to the content my students are learning. Additionally, I use Chat GPT to generate writing prompts based on the ideas presented in the videos, which helps my students improve their writing skills. Finally, I paste student readers into Chat GPT and get it to generate inference and evaluation questions that relate to the students. This helps me better understand my students’ comprehension levels and identify areas that may need more attention.

In addition to generating questions and writing prompts, I use Chat GPT to

differentiate tasks for students who have a lower reading level. By pasting an article or story into Chat GPT, I can ask for a shorter summary or for it to explain the text in simpler terms. This results in all students learning the same topic but with a reading that is accessible to them. Using AI in this way has helped me ensure that all students can access and understand the same content, regardless of their reading level. It’s exciting to see how the technology can be used to personalise learning and support student success in new ways.

Exciting possibilities

I haven’t informed my students about my use of ChatGPT as it’s primarily for creating learning resources. Sometimes ChatGPT requires more specific requests or reprompting to get the desired response. It’s important to be aware of the limitations. When using AI to generate resources, it’s crucial to check if the content is appropriate for your students. However, overall, it’s a useful tool from both technical and teaching perspectives.

I was inspired by videos and podcasts

about AI, so I started experimenting with it to see its capabilities. While I have been exploring YouTube videos on AI prompts, I am currently satisfied with the quality and speed of resources that ChatGPT provides for my students. Although I am sure in the future more teachers will be releasing content on how to use it more efficiently

I am excited about the possibilities that AI offers in education, and I believe that it can play an important role in enhancing students’ learning experiences.

Matt Sheaff is Year 9 Team Leader and Digital Curriculum Leader at Tarawera High School, Bay of Plenty.

5 ways to tackle cheating with ChatGPT

Tools like ChatGPT can create sophisticated text outputs with originality, as if they were written by different, real people. It’s designed to do so and that’s a challenge for educators as it limits the ability of current plagiarism detection tools to identify AI-powered cheating.

Not surprisingly, there are opposing views on how to respond. Some argue educators should embrace AI as a valuable teaching tool. Others believe more resources and training are required so educators are better able to catch instances of cheating. Still others, want to ban AI apps, such as ChatGPT. Clearly, artificial intelligence will spur changes in contemporary schooling. Here are some steps you can take now.

1. Consider ways to incorporate AI in valid assessment.

AI’s here to stay, so look at appropriate uses and how it can be selectively incorporated into classrooms and embrace it as part of our learning environment.

2. Engage students in setting learning goals.

Inviting students to collaboratively establish learning goals and criteria for the task, with consideration for the role of AI software, will help them to evaluate and judge appropriate contexts in which AI can work as a learning tool.

3. Require students to submit drafts for feedback.

Although students should still complete essay assignments, research suggests they should be required to submit drafts of their work for review and feedback. Apart from helping to detect plagiarism, this kind of ‘formative assessment’ practice is positive for guiding student learning.

4. Grade subcomponents of the task. Students could receive a grade for each subcomponent — including their involvement in feedback processes. They would also be evaluated in

relation to how well they incorporated and attended to the specific feedback provided.

5. Move to more authentic assessments or include performance elements. Good assessment practice involves an educator observing student learning across multiple contexts.

For example, educators can invite students to present their work, discuss an essay in a conference format or share a video articulation or an artistic representation. The aim here is to encourage students to share their learning through an alternative format.

Source: World Economic Forum

Pieces fall perfectly into place for design project

When Bunnings donated to Bailey Road School some ceramic tiles in different colours, the challenge was to use them in art projects that would beautify the school. Technology teacher Karishma Kumar used the opportunity for her Year 7 and 8 students to learn the process of digital and physical mosaic design, as she explains.

It started with conversations about beautifying our school and how we could get all our students involved in a Technology project that could be hands-on and incorporate some digital skills too, as we all enjoy using digital technology.

I reached out to Bunnings Warehouse and asked for some support with project ideas and they organised for me to come and attend a DIY skills workshop in creating mosaic art. I was absolutely inspired and loved breaking down the tiles and arranging them to create something beautiful. Triss from the Mt Wellington store was a massive help in supporting us and donating the tiles to help us get started.

From this, I explored how to create digital mosaic art using Google Drawings, and thought it would be an amazing opportunity for our students to learn this and replicate their digital art in real life!

Intricate details

Students began by creating a digital version of the design to help them plan how their mosaic art was going to look.

They worked with Google Drawings and picked the same colours as the tiles using hex colour coding. They used the polyline tool to make different shapes to represent the ‘tiles’, picking the fill colour, line colour and thickness, then using the magnifying glass icon to ‘zoom in’ on their artwork to create the details.

Google Drawings was a new tool to them, so this was a way they could learn some digital tech skills, as well as produce a digital masterpiece.

After I modelled this first, it was amazing to see how quickly they picked up the skills they needed and started obsessing over their designs. They learnt how to navigate through the menu, fill in shapes, explore various colours, cut, copy, paste, crop and

edit images to their liking. I provided a computer mouse for each student to help create intricate designs, and having smaller groups made it easier for me to move around and provide any additional support.

Using Google Classroom made it easy for me as the teacher to create a blank drawing template for each student, be able to monitor their progress and have access to all their creations so that I could print and laminate their designs. Students knew exactly where to find their design each time they logged in.

Hammer and tile cutter

For students, the skill of learning how to create this on a computer was brand new and rewarding. They not only learnt how to use Google Drawings, but also how to replicate images with the polyline tool, create that ‘mosaic’ effect with simple shapes and colours, and feel accomplished and excited about it all! They learnt to make decisions for themselves on their creative content, and how to digitally manipulate images and share them.

Students used their picture as a template to help them guide where to put the real tiles. They used a hammer to smash up large tiles and a tile cutter to make smaller cuts.

After they organised their tiles, they used tile glue to secure their design. Once the glue had dried, they used ready-made grout to fill in the gaps and damp rags to polish it up.

When it came to creating their actual art with tiles, you could see their confidence grow as they knew the process. They could decide which tool would help them break up the tiles (tile cutter or hammer), organise the various tiles to look like the image they’ve designed, glue the pieces together and apply the grout once it was dry.

When students were finished, they would offer to help their peers. It was so amazing to see the collaboration and support among each other, it felt like I was learning from them!

Desired look

There are always going to be unexpected challenges when starting something new, but it is important to give it a go and be upfront with students about how much you know and that you are still learning. I think they appreciated my honesty and that we were on this learning journey together. If I didn’t have the answer, we could Google it or watch a tutorial on YouTube. I think the digital mosaic art was easy to do and very engaging for all my students but cutting and organising actual tile pieces was time-consuming and frustrating when they couldn’t find the right size or coloured tile to achieve their desired look. In the end, it all worked out and they couldn’t wait to take it home. I think everyone appreciated all the effort that went into this project, which took up most of the term!

Five steps to creating a digital and real mosaic

1. Make a template using Google Drawings.

Trust the process

I would absolutely do it again. I think it would be so valuable for any Year 7 and 8 students to explore this process as part of their Technology programme. I only wish I could provide more colours. There was so much learning and rich conversation around this whole project. I have started introducing digital mosaic designs to Years 5 and 6, and I was surprised at how quickly a lot of them picked it up so easily and enjoyed it, too.

They were showing different designs to their peers, talking about which image they would create, and some were even so engrossed in this process that it became almost therapeutic for them. As a teacher, you just have to let go and trust the process. Trust in yourself and trust in your students, and most importantly, enjoy every minute of it because if you are positive about the learning then your students will be, too.

I was really impressed with the outcomes, as were the students. They loved their creations so much that they ended up taking them home.

2. Print the template, cut out and place onto a plate.

3. Break the tiles, using hammers and tile cutters.

4. Organise and glue in the tiles

5. Use grout to secure the tiles and fill in the gaps.

Karishma Kumar teaches at Bailey Road School in Auckland.

MULTIMEDIA

Access a huge library of multimedia resources at Mixkit (mixkit.co). Select from stock video clips, music tracks, sound effects, icons, and video templates. Search by subject, collection, theme or keyword. No sign-up is needed and you can download as much as you require for projects, presentations and social media.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Find out how you can take climate action at Gen Less (genless.govt.nz). Here you’ll find stories, tools, campaigns, and a whole range of things you can do – from travel to diet to appliance use – to change your lifestyle to one that will cut down energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.

Also from NIWA, Our Future Climate New Zealand (ofcnz.niwa.co.nz) is an interactive website that’s been designed to give you the ability to look at a number of climate change projections for the country. Check out maps and charts on temperature and rainfall projections for different parts of the country.

The Graphics Fairy (thegraphicsfairy. com) offers a fascinating collection of nearly 7,000 vintage and unusual images, digital graphics and craft clipart. Search 70 categories, from food and farm animals, to architecture and angels, to steampunk and silhouettes. Download resources as a jpeg file.

Award-winning Our Climate Our Future (ourclimateourfuture.org) is a video experience that aims to educate students on the science of climate change and empower them to take action. Educator resources are searchable by work type categories (such as lesson plans, posters and worksheets) and topic.

Explore key climate and environmental issues at Climate Kids (climatekids. nasa.gov). From NASA, information is divided into sections – Big Questions, Weather and Climate, Water, Atmosphere, Energy, and Plants and Animals. Each contains information, activities, games, videos, and more.

Nature Pic 4 Free (naturepic4free. wixsite.com/photos) is a small and simple site with some nice, naturerelated images that can be used freely. From cats to forests, sunrises to ducks, search by keyword and download. Or set up an account and create your own collection of images.

NIWA’s Climate Change (niwa.co.nz/ climate-change) offers information, advice, facts, timelines, videos, and resources. Learn how the organisation provides the science needed to adapt to and mitigate climate change. In addition, there’s the latest news and a detailed infographic on the changing climate.

Climate Ready Classrooms (knzb.org. nz/programmes/education/climateready-classrooms/) is a series of workshops introducing kids to the issues of climate change. Created by Keep New Zealand Beautiful, they offer an engaging and motivating way to understand and address the impacts of climate change.

MUSIC STEAM

Musicca (musicca.com) provides engaging lessons, exercises, and interactive tools to help students learn and develop musical skills. Explore notes, rhythms, intervals, chords, scales, and more. Interactive content adds game elements for understanding music, reading music, and playing an instrument.

MIT Full STEAM Ahead (fullsteam.mit. edu) is a collection of resources that MIT has put together. Originally set up for students to learn online during the Covid-19 pandemic, it offers videos, information, news, games and activities across a variety of topics, like inventions, disease, outer space, artificial intelligence (AI), and music.

TIMELINES

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (metmuseum.org/toah/chronology/) chronicles the New York museum’s extensive collection (930 essays and 7,000 objects), from 8,000 BCE to the present. Choose the time and location, or search for specific items, like artist, material or technique.

Bemuse (bemuse.ninja) is a web-based rhythm game. Simply enter and play by pressing the correct keys on the keyboard along with the music. The more accurately you recreate the music, the higher score you get! There are more than 40 songs for you to choose from various genres and you can challenge others.

OK Go Sandbox (okgosandbox.org) uses OK Go’s fascinating music videos as starting points for integrated guided inquiry challenges for students to explore various STEAM concepts. Learn about the principles of gravity, optical illusions and simple machines. There are also worksheets and educator guides.

Covering 400 years from 1600 to 2000, Histography (histography.io) is a made of dots, each representing an historic event. Select one to see what it is and link to further resources. Or limit the number by choosing a subject area, such as Literature, Wars, Empires, Discoveries, Riots, or Assassinations.

Find heaps of materials and resources for learning about the world of music at Inside The Orchestra (insidetheorchestra.org). Activities cover subjects like musical concepts, musical instruments, and creative expressions. Games include Highs and Lows, Musical Maps, and Pick the Tempo.

25 Kid-Tested STEM Projects (instructables.com/Project-BasedEngineering-for-Kids/) is exactly what is says. This collection of problem-based building challenges covers physics and structural and mechanical engineering. For each topic, there’s a list of materials required and a video with step-by-step directions.

Designed for students, Timeline of the Holocaust (timelineoftheholocaust.org) records and illustrates key dates from 1933 to 1945. Click on specific events to deepen your learning with additional information and primary source materials. There are also resources for teachers that support classroom instruction.

WHAT IS THIS? Wherever you see this symbol it means there’s a video to watch on the resource. Simply click and view. Or visit our YouTube channel.

Teach and learn through memes with Antimatter (antimatter.systems). Challenge students to create puzzles or tell stories through memes. Invite your class to a studio, where they can design, build and run activities based on a customised topic or project you have set them.

Calling all digital cartographers. Felt (felt.com) is a collaborative mapping tool that lest you create maps using a range of resources and data sets, and share them. This app makes it easy to create personalised maps using drawing tools such as markers, pins, labels, notes, and images.

Create amazing AI-generated artworks in seconds with NightCafe (creator. nightcafe.studio). Describe what you want to see – or go with ‘Random’ and it’ll choose for you – pick a style and click ‘Create’. Once registered, you can select from other features, including editing and additional styles.

Rackoot (rackoot.com) is a bookmarking tool that allows you to easily collect, manage and save weblinks and online resources. Called ‘tiles’, organise them in the way you like. You can have multiple tabs with different subjects, projects or classes. You can share your Rackoots with students and colleagues.

If you want to analyse a video, Proust (proust.app) could be useful to have to hand. Simply enter the video’s url and click ‘Scrape’. In just a few seconds, it will provide an editable transcript of any YouTube video, which you can also download as a PDF or Word file. It will even translate text.

DALL·E 2 (openai.com/product/dall-e-2) is an AI system that can create realistic images and art from a written description. Anyone can use it (but you need to register) and there are in-built rules to prevent the generation of inappropriate content. You can also edit and create variations of existing images and artwork.

Supa (supa.video) seems an easy-to-use tool for making engaging and professional-looking videos. Create from scratch or use templates designed for social media or YouTube. The free account offers access to a content library, unlimited videos, up to 40 seconds in length, and 480p resolution.

Groupmail (groupmail.io) is a quick and easy way to run newsletter campaigns. Work with predesigned templates or use the drag-and-drop editor to build your own designs. Store up to 5,000 contacts, create unlimited lists and send up to 1,000 emails (the paid accounts offer more).

Draw images from any text description with Craiyon (craiyon.com). Simply describe what you want to generate and click on ‘Draw’. Using the powers of AI, it will create a unique image in 1-2 minutes. Once your drawing is ready you can download and share it with others.

COOL GIZMOS

AI ART GENERATORS

YOUTUBE CHANNELS PLAGIARISM CHECKERS

Copyleaks (copyleaks.com) is a comprehensive plagiarism detector. Using AI-powered text analysis, it searches across 60 trillion websites, 15,000+ academic journals, and more. The free version is designed for individuals to verify authenticity and originality of content. It’s limited but will give you a feel for how it works.

If abstract expressionist artist Jackson Pollock can create emotionally filled drip paintings, so can you courtesy of JacksonPollock (jacksonpollock.org). There are zero instructions, no colour options, and simple controls, so simply let students experiment and explore. Right click to save and copy images.

Veritasium (youtube.com/@veritasium) explores the world of science, with a focus on physics. These engaging, informative, and often humorous videos aim to demystify complex concepts using animations, experiments, and interviews with experts, to bring the subject matter to life in an entertaining and approachable way.

Quetext (quetext.com) identifies plagiarised work through Contextual Analysis, Fuzzy Matching and Conditional Scoring. Just copy and paste content and receive a score showing the percentage of text that is an exact or near-match to existing text online. It’s quick and easy but the free version has limitations.

ScrapColoring (scrapcoloring.com) is a colouring site with a difference. Forget about plain printable colouring pages, the site’s innovative and customisable patterns and images give a wide and rich variety of gradients, fabrics, papers and textures for kids to develop their artistic sense.

For an enjoyable take on past events try Simple History (youtube.com/@ Simplehistory). Through animation, the videos help visualise the past. Witness how people lived throughout history: their culture, developments in technology, epic battles and events, from the WWI trenches to pirate ships in the Caribbean.

Grammarly’s Plagiarism Checker (grammarly.com/plagiarism-checker) checks for both plagiarism and writing errors. The free online checker compares text to some 16 billion web pages and academic papers. You receive an instant report saying whether or not plagiarism was found. The premium version, of course does even more … but costs.

Paint and draw online with Kleki (kleki. com). Choose from a range of features including brushes and colours, creating multiple layers of images, import images, adding filters, text and drawing elements, and more. When you’re done, download your digital masterpiece to your device in a PNG or PSD format.

Numberphile (youtube.com/@ numberphile) is dedicated to learning about the fascinating world of numbers and mathematics. Aiming to make math accessible for everyone, the site offers a wide range of videos covering everything from prime numbers and infinity to imaginary numbers and the Goat Problem.

Free broadband offer extended for school students

With many households feeling the pinch of inflation and other financial challenges, Spark New Zealand and Ciena have confirmed that they will continue to offer free broadband throughout 2023 to eligible students who find that cost is a barrier to having an internet connection at home.

“As the cost-of-living continues to increase, for some households this could mean having to choose between putting food on the table or paying for broadband,” said Spark CEO, Jolie Hodson. “In this instance, internet access naturally becomes a luxury that many choose to go without. However, students without broadband are at a significant disadvantage compared to their peers, who can get online to access extra learning, complete homework, and learn valuable digital skills.

“Furthermore, as we’ve experienced recently, sometimes unexpected events can occur, which can mean that students are unable to physically attend school. In these instances, those students who can’t get online at home are unable to continue learning and fall further behind.

“Our subsidised broadband product, Skinny Jump, provides over 23,000 homes across Aotearoa with low-cost wireless broadband from just $5 a month, but thanks to our partner, Ciena, we have been able to provide Skinny Jump free to eligible students since 2021.”

Game changer

The ‘Ciena Jump for Students Fund’ offers eligible students across New Zealand who find that cost is a barrier to having an internet connection at home, a free Skinny Jump wireless modem and broadband connection – including 210GB of free data per month, until the end of the school year. Shivika Prasad, Digital Equity Lead at Manurewa High School in South Auckland, says that the ‘Ciena Jump for Students Fund’ has significantly benefited its students since launching in 2021.

“This fund has been a real game changer for more than 100 of our students and their families. Having access to the internet at home has empowered these students to take charge of their online

learning, especially during more challenging times as we’ve experienced over the last couple of years.

“But the most remarkable thing is that providing internet access at home means that everyone in the household including the students’ wider wha - nau also receives access and a chance to develop digital skills and capabilities. By extension this benefits our wider Manurewa community as well.”

The New Zealand Government’s Digital Blueprint estimates that one in five New Zealanders experience digital exclusion in some form for a number of different reasons ranging from access, affordability, skills, motivation, trust and more. And although providing free access isn’t going to fix the issue of digital inequity on its own, a solution like the ‘Ciena Jump for Students Fund’ that addresses affordability is a good place to start, believes Matthew Vesperman, Regional Managing Director, Ciena Asia Pacific.

“As a key enabler of innovations that drive connectivity and fuel our digital world, Ciena remains committed to providing greater access to the Internet, an essential learning tool for today’s young minds,” he said.

“The Ciena Jump for Students fund is one of the first projects that we committed to fund as part of our Digital Inclusion social impact programme. To see it being continued, together with our customer Spark, is definitely a breakthrough in our goals to help bridge the digital divide.”

Students and schools can learn more, including eligibility criteria and how to find your nearest Jump partner by going to skinny.co.nz/jump/ciena

About Skinny Jump

Skinny Jump is a not-for-profit, subsidised broadband product from Spark for anyone who finds that cost is a barrier to having an internet connection at home. It was first launched in 2016, for households with school-aged children, but in March 2020 was extended to include anyone who finds that cost is a barrier to having an internet connection at home.

skinny.co.nz/jump

We have some awesome prizes up for grabs this issue.

ADJUSTABLE LAPTOP AND TABLET STAND (WITH COOLING FAN)

Want to be able to position your laptop or tablet at different heights and angles? This Adjustable Laptop and Tablet Stand could be exactly what you need, giving you the options for raising, lowering and tilting your device to the perfect spot. What’s more, it comes with a cooling fan and clip-on mousepad for a little extra awesomeness! And if you move around a lot, the light foldable design makes it easy to use and transport –measuring just 42 x 27.5 x 48cm and weighing 1.5kg. We have one Adjustable Laptop and Tablet Stand to give away. Simply enter online to be in the draw.

Entries close Tuesday 25 April.

2to

WIN!

1to WIN!

NO TEA NO WORK! USB WARMING COASTER

How often does it happen? You make a cuppa and by the time you get round to drinking it, the thing’s gone cold. Well, no more. Both fun and functional, a No Tea No Work Warming Coaster is the coolest way to keep your drinks warm. Simply plug into a USB port, place your cup on top, and it’ll happily heat away. Perfect for keeping warm your tea, coffee or hot chocolate in the staffroom, classroom and office (or at home).

We have two up for grabs. Just enter your details on our website.

are open. Choose from 4 locations.

1to WIN!

CYBERSECURITY LOGIC GAME

Can you outsmart cybercriminals? Hacker tasks you with defending the world from cybercrime by joining the white hat hacker team ‘Oblivion’. Play the role of a coder, hacker and security engineer in 40 beginner to expert challenges. Program your agents to collect data chips while avoiding viruses and alarms. As you discover how a hacker can damage your programs, you will learn how to secure them from future attacks. Each challenge includes three phases of play for a total of 120 coding puzzles. Full instructions are provided. Age 10 and above.

We’re giving away one Hacker game set. Enter online to be in to win it.

Entries close Tuesday 13 June.

CABLE TIDY CLIPS (4-PACK)

Are wires and cables on your desk, in your drawers or your bag, giving you grief? Keep everything neat and tangle free with Cable Tidy Clips. These handy cable managers are compact, lightweight and made from high-quality silicone. They let you easily wind, secure and protect all kinds of cables and cords (from charger cables to mouse wires to headphones) in a matter of seconds. Keep wires tidy when using them or neatly wound for storage.

There are two packs available, each containing four multi-coloured clips. Enter on our website.

Entries close Tuesday 25 April.

2to WIN!

To enter any of the competitions just go to our website.