GET YOUR STUDENTS WORKING ON THEIR MINECRAFT COMPETITION ENTRIES

It’s the most popular competition of the year – you’ll be in big trouble with your students if you miss it! Yes, we’re talking the INTERFACE Minecraft Student Competition 2023. We’ve teamed up with the Marine Stewardship Council and your challenge is to design and build a new exhibit for the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier. There’s still time to take part. Entries don’t close until the end of Term 3.

Students choose the type of environment for the exhibit, maybe a penguin enclosure, a shark tank, a home for a creature from the deep, a refuge for an endangered species, or something else. But whatever the design, it must help visitors to the aquarium to better understand marine life in and around our oceans, as well as make sure the animal’s needs can be met.

HOW ARE YOU USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN YOUR CLASSROOM?

We know teachers are doing amazing things with digital technology – and we want you to tell us about it! From coding to esports, CAD to STEAM, to …

Once they have a plan, students need to create it in Minecraft, write a short explanation on how the exhibit meets the requirements, and provide a short video tour.

There are three age categories to choose from: Primary (Years 1-6); Intermediate (Years 7-8) and Secondary (Years 9+). And some great prizes to be won.

For full details, judging criteria and entry form go to interfaceonline.co.nz/Minecraft2023 well, whatever it is you’re digitally doing, we’d love to hear from you. Contact Editor Greg Adams at greg.adams@interfacemagazine.co.nz

Congratulations To Our Latest Competitions Winners

Thanks to everyone who entered the July competitions. There were some great prizes up for grabs.

We had two Foldable, Wired Over-Ear Headphones to give away. The first names drawn were Karen Gilmour, Lytton Street School, Feilding (red) and Wendy Fleming, Greymouth High School, Greymouth (blue).

The Brainbox FM Radio Electronic Kit proved a popular choice and is on its way Rose Martin, Ohakune School, Ohakune.

See pages 30 and 31 for latest competitions or go to interfaceonline.co.nz/competitions/

SURVEY: WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT AI

Try 4 New Arts And Ai Experiments From Google

AI is looming large for education. But is it good or bad? Help or hindrance? Smart thinking or cheating?

Well, that’s what we want to find out with our AI in Education Survey. We’d love to know what you think. What have been your experiences so far? What would you like to see happening?

Find out more and how to take part on page 6.

MEET PHICTIONARY, THE PHISHING DICTIONARY

Google has launched four new art experiences powered by AI, each created by a Google Arts & Culture Lab’s artist in residence.

“Our artist residency programme has been running since 2014 and supports artists and creative coders experimenting with emerging technologies to solve a cultural challenge, or to connect audiences with culture online in new ways,” said Freya Murray. The four experiences are:

• XYZ TOY (guess the hidden word)

• Odd One Out (guess the ‘imposters’ hidden among artworks)

• Un-Dough! (guess the landmark under coloured dough)

• Haiku Imagined (illustrated and animated haiku)

“The starting point for these new experiments was applications of Google AI Image Generation Research to inspire cultural discovery and learning through play.” More at bit.ly/aiartgoogle

Learning about online scams and phishing with your students? Created by Norton, Phictionary is a dictionarystyle guide to help spot the tell-tale signs of phishing attacks. It’s a useful checklist with real-life examples of scams to help people proactively recognise fake and fraudulent communications.

Find out more download the guide at nz.norton.com/blog/online-scams/phictionary

ENERGISE AT #MAKEANIMPACT HUI 2023

Join impactED for #makeanimpact hui 2023, on 26 -27 September, at St Thomas College of Canterbury. Experience an electrifying two-day hui, forged by educators for educators, as it brings together international and local speakers, sharing deep insights on pedagogy and curriculum. Find out more at impacted. co.nz/energise-makeanimpact-hui-2023/tools.

DEAL VALUES KAHOOT! AT NEARLY US$2BILLION

Popular online quiz platform Kahoot! is set to be valued at US$1.7 billion if an acquisition offer from Goldman Sachs Asset Management is approved. The move would take the Oslo-based company private and provide investment for expansion and take advantage of the growing global market for digital learning tools.

Education Perfect has partnered with the Ministry of Education to create a free, online Beginners’ Samoan language (Gagana Sāmoa) course. This makes it the first Pacific language course on the company’s platform, sitting alongside 10 other languages.

“We’re incredibly proud to provide this course to all schools in Aotearoa for free, supporting our educators in teaching Gagana Sāmoa,” said Education Perfect on Facebook. “Together, we can provide a platform for Pasifika communities and their voices, and create a truly inclusive Aotearoa.”

Gagana Sāmoa is the third most spoken language in New Zealand. The course consists of 30 lessons, which include content such as the alphabet, days and months, White Sunday and Siva Sāmoa (dance).

Register for the course at hsl.educationperfect.com/ beginners-samoan-registration

AND THE YUBIKEYS GO TO …

Congratulations to Rob Oliphant, from Farm Cove Intermediate, Auckland, who was drawn as the winner of The Ministry of Education’s Yubikey competition. Ten security keys from Yubico are on their way to Rob.

SURVEY SHOWS STUDENTS PREFER SNAPCHAT TO TIKTOK … JUST

Snapchat has emerged as the top app among high school students in New Zealand, with 61% of them reporting that they used it four or more times the day of the questionnaire, according to the CensusAtSchool survey. TikTok was a close second (60%), followed by Instagram (49%), YouTube (48%), Discord (18%), and WhatsApp (17%). Primary school students, however, preferred YouTube (59%), ahead of TikTok (29%) and Snapchat (22%). More at new.censusatschool.org.nz

New Forum To Promote Responsible Ai

Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI are launching the Frontier Model Forum, an industry body focused on ensuring safe and responsible development of frontier AI models. Its objectives include identifying best practices for the responsible development and deployment of AI, and collaborating to share knowledge about trust and safety risks. In the coming months, the FMF will set up an Advisory Board to help guide its strategy and priorities.

Rwandan Schools Go Online With Starlink

Fifty schools in Rwanda have gone online thanks to satellite-based internet provider Starlink, giving 18,000 students access to online learning opportunities – with 450 further schools planned.

Almost half the country’s schools (approx. 3,000) currently don’t have any internet connectivity. In March, the Rwandan Ministry of ICT and Innovation launched the ‘School Connectivity Program’ to connect all primary and secondary schools in the country to high-speed internet by the end of 2024.

N4l Appoints New Chair Of Board

Jeremy Banks has been appointed new Chair of Network for Learning (N4L). After six years as a board member, he took up his new role last month.

“I’ve seen the valuable role technology can play in online education,” he said. “It’s an exciting time for us at N4L, as we explore what role we can play to help support all ākonga in Aotearoa having equal opportunity for and access to online learning – ahakoa ko wai, ahakoa ki hea – no matter who they are, or where they are.”