INTERFACE Magazine, Issue 122, March 2024

Which way forward for your digital development?

DATES FORYOUR DIARY

24 24

Upskill, Update, Upgrade

Looking for direction with your digital technology? Book your place for the best PLD day of the year at INTERFACE Xpo 2024.

Learn about the newest e-learning trends and developments through a mix of workshops, presentations, exhibition, and networking.

PLUS, hear the latest on artificial intelligence in education from AI New Zealand founder Justin Flitter.

Choose from 3 locations in 2024!

Lincoln-Christchurch, Thursday 23 May

Rotorua, Tuesday 28 May

Auckland, Friday 31 May

INTERFACEXpo is FREE for educators to attend. Don’t miss this awesome PLD opportunity to find out what lies ahead.

Places are limited. Book your spot at interfacexpo.nz/bookyourplace2024/

Auckland

Trusts Arena, Henderson

Friday 31 May

Rotorua

Novotel Lakeside

Tuesday 28 May

Lincoln

Lincoln Event Centre

Thursday 23 May

Gold

Silver Plus:

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Supporting:

2 INTERFACEXpo2024 – Book your place

7 INTERFACE Student Minecraft Competition 2024

8 INTERFACE News and Views

10 Noticeboard

12 New face is on the same page as ambitious Accessit. Last October, Natalie Screen joined Accessit as General Manager. Her remit is to continue to build on the New Zealand company’s global success and ambition of the past 20+ years, and she’s relishing the challenge.

13 How do students feel when accused of cheating with AI?

14 Grok gives online resources to schools for free. Grok Academy’s extensive range of online resources – from programming and web design to cybersafety – has been made available for free to schools. The content complements the NZ Digital Technologies curriculum and is accessible to all teachers and students.

16 Hector and friends are back safeguarding kids online. Sink or swim? Teaching young children to safely navigate the internet can’t be left to chance. Thankfully, a familiar face is back to offer a helping hand (or should that be fin) as they surf the web with the launch of a new series of Hector’s World.

17 Accessit: Can your library system be used to track drones? Accessit Library has been working with schools and libraries for more than 20 years and is continuing its mission of taking the library beyond books and into the modern era.

18 See your students’ writing skills come to life. If you think the name sounds fun, just wait until you give this multi-awardwinning literacy game a try. Frankenstories is a creative writing game that challenges students to stitch a story together from an initial idea. From simple beginnings, it’s now coming to life in a growing number of classrooms.

20 How are you unlocking your digital teaching skills? Developing a comfortable and productive relationship with digital teaching tools can be a challenge. It takes time and effort, but the results will be well worth it. If you’re looking for ways to unlock new ways of doing things digitally, here are 10 easy steps to e-learning excellence.

22 New initiative is putting smartphones in schools. Happy Phones/Nga - Waea Koa is a pioneering project that rescues and refurbishes smartphones for use in the classroom. It’s been trialling kits that contain pre-loved smartphones and learning resources in primary schools.

24 File Share: two pages of online resources for educators.

26 Competitions: Heaps of great prizes to be won!

28 Te Kawa O Tangaroa – Ocean Centred Learning: Download free teaching resources from the Marine Stewardship Council

Get ready for this year’s INTERFACE Student Minecraft Competition.

The official launch is on World Ocean Day, Saturday 8 June. However, so you can plan ahead, we wanted to let you know what’s happening.

With a focus on Kaitiakitanga*, the challenge will be the creation and management of a marine habitat – either a natural or artificial environment – in Aotearoa New Zealand. Come up with the design within our guidelines, construct it in Minecraft, record a short, 3-minute video tour, and submit your entry.

PLUS, there’s some extra help this year. We’ve teamed up with wildlife experts across the country, who are willing to share their skills and knowledge with you and your students as you design and build your entries.

Look out for entries opening. Or sign up to receive the latest competition news at interfaceonline.co.nz/headsupminecraft2024

*Kaitiakitanga is a concept of guardianship, encompassing the processes and practices of protecting and looking after the environment around us.

In partnership with:

With expert support from:

EDITOR

Greg Adams

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Michelle Durbin

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Paul Colgrave

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NEW ZEALAND INTERFACE™

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

© G MEDIA PUBLISHING LIMITED 2024. 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 hope you are rested, refreshed and already getting stuck into what promises to be an exciting year ahead in 2024. Don’t miss the INTERFACE Xpo events in May and our popular Student Minecraft Competition, which officially launches in June (although there is a heads-up about what to expect on page 7). Inside this issue, we look at ways to successfully develop your digital teaching and how students feel when they’re accused of cheating by an AI detector, as well as profile engaging initiatives Frankenstories and Happy Phones.

Looking ahead, will it be AI that’s on your radar? Perhaps you’ll explore computer coding and robotics. Or maybe it’ll be STEAM, social media, digital storytelling, or 3D printing. Whatever happens, INTERFACE will be right there with you, supporting and inspiring the use of digital technology in your teaching.

SHARE WITH US YOUR EXPERIENCES USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

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, VR/AR to 3D printing, gamification to … well, whatever it is you’re digitally doing, we’d love to find out more. It could be a schoolwide initiative or an app that’s perfect for a quiet afternoon; maybe it was a huge success … or didn’t go quite as you’d hoped (that can be a valuable learning experience, too!).

We want to know about it all. Get in touch with Editor Greg Adams at greg.adams@interfacemagazine.co.nz

The last year has seen Artificial Intelligence (AI) explode onto the education scene. From the availability of AI-powered tools and resources like ChatGPT and Bard, to discussion and debate around both the practical and ethical use of the technology, it’s been overwhelming.

Until now. Joining as our keynote presenter at INTERFACE Xpo in May will be Justin Flitter. Founder of New Zealand AI (newzealand.ai), he’s one of only a handful of independent experts in the field. He’ll cut through the hype and share his considerable knowledge and insights into AI in teaching and learning.

EXPERT SHARES INSIGHTS INTO AI IN EDUCATION NOW YOU CAN FOLLOW INTERFACE ON INSTAGRAM

There are three opportunities to hear him speak, at our events in Lincoln (23 May), Rotorua (28 May) and Auckland (31 May). Come along and update your digital knowledge and skills, by keeping ahead of the latest e-learning trends and developments through a mix of workshops, presentations, exhibition, and networking.

Don’t miss out. Registrations are now open. your spot at interfacexpo.nz/bookyourplace2024/

We’re always looking for ways to improve our communications with readers. So, when you asked us to add Instagram to our social channels (which already include Facebook, X and YouTube), how could we refuse! Now you can keep up to date with news, stories, event updates, and more by following us at interfacemagnz

Thanks to everyone who entered our latest competitions. Check out what’s up for grabs in this issue on pages 26 and 27.

Keeping a close eye on things will be Gurpreeet Kaur, Botany Downs Secondary College, Manukau, whose name was drawn first and wins a Wireless Mini Surveillance Camera.

The Mini Bluetooth Wireless Speaker with Phone Holder is on its way to Aimee Davis, Waipukurau School, Hawke’s Bay, and the Adjustable Bluetooth Selfie Stick with Tripod goes to Ross Stevenson, Timaru Boys’ High School, South Canterbury,

Lastly, we were giving away a 10W Personal Solar Charger. Powering up with the sun with be Joyanne Comrie, Gonville School, Wanganui. Congrats to you all. We hope you enjoy your prizes.

GROK ACADEMY GIVES SCHOOLS FREE ACCESS TO ONLINE RESOURCES

Grok Academy is offering its online platform and classroom resources free of charge to every student and teacher in New Zealand. Complementing the curriculum for students in Years 4–13, these include courses in coding and web design, ‘unplugged’ activities for classrooms, and a full suite of teaching resources, as well as a student portal to track progress.

Read more on pages 14 and 15 and at grok.nz/free

NETSAFE LAUNCHES AI POLICY TEMPLATES

Netsafe has added to its education resources a new school policy and class charter documents for using artificial intelligence (AI).

“We recognise that the introduction of generative AI tools is bringing opportunities, as well as new questions around intellectual property and digital citizenship, which schools want to support their students through,” explains the Netsafe announcement.

“During the next few months, these initial documents will be accompanied by a modular toolkit that will take teachers – and students if applicable – through the use of generative AI as an education tool. We hope these are a helpful starting place for your school team to consider how to incorporate the topic of generative AI into your existing policies and classroom practices.” You can download both documents at netsafe.org.nz/ai-school-policy-and-class-charter

KAHOOT! TEAMS UP WITH WIKIPEDIA

Game-based learning platform Kahoot! has announced a partnership with Wikipedia to create games using the online encyclopaedia as a resource.

“Educators and learners use Kahoot! to find, create and share learning content that amplifies engagement through interactivity and play,” said Kahoot! CEO Eilert Hanoa. “This partnership with Wikipedia is an important step towards offering even more localised courses and kahoots.”

Kahoots on topics ranging from Halloween to Famous Landmarks, Ancient Civilizations, English Literature, and Sports History are now all available in the new Wikipedia channel on Kahoot!. Each showcases knowledge found on Wikipedia, with images from the world’s largest free-to-use-library of illustrations, photos, drawings, videos, and music.

More at bit.ly/kahootwikipedia

GOODBYE BARD, HELLO GEMINI

Google’s Bard AI chatbot is now Gemini, and now boasts a dedicated Android app and a premium subscription tier for power users. The name change is intended to help people understand they’re engaging with the Gemini AI model via the chatbot, according to Sissie Hsiao, VP of Gemini experiences and Google Assistant. “Gemini changes are a first step to building a true AI assistant,” she added. Try it at gemini.google.com

NORTON RELEASES SCAM DETECTOR

Is a text, email, or social media message a scam? Is a website you’re visiting risky? If you’re teaching about internet scams and cons a new app from Norton could help with the learning. Norton Genie is available as an app (Android and iOS) or online. Just upload a screenshot, or copy and paste the text message, social media post, email, or website you want checked. Know in seconds if it could be a scam. Genie can also answer any scam questions you have plus give you tips on what to do next.

More at genie.norton.com

N4L’S ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF CYBERSECURITY

Network for Learning (N4L) has released its 2023 Annual Report on delivering its managed broadband, Wi-Fi and cybersecurity services for schools. The findings include:

• 95 per cent of schools now have N4L Safe & Secure Internet recommended settings switched on;

OPENAI PREVIEWS VIDEO CREATOR SORA

• 900,000 users are on the network;

• Data consumption by schools during the year was 46.55 petabytes (or nearly 50 billion megabytes);

• Nearly 40,000 customer support cases were handled by N4L’s Customer Support team;

• 158 million security threats were blocked by N4L’s Security Operations Centre; and

• 3.6 billion access attempts were blocked to undesirable websites.

“N4L’s overarching goal is to deliver affordable, national and sustainable services to schools, ensuring all learners, regardless of their geography or socioeconomic circumstances, can access safer, more reliable digital technology for learning,” said CEO Larrie Moore. “This reliability, where everything ‘just works,’ allows educators and students to concentrate on teaching and learning, promoting efficiency and effectiveness in our educational institutions.”

Read the full report at bit.ly/n4l2023

CHANGES TO RULES FOR BULK EMAILS AND E-NEWSLETTERS

From 1 February, Google, Yahoo and Xtra email services require bulk email senders to have additional email security protocols in place. These protocols authenticate the sender and help cut down on phishing and spam. If your school regularly sends bulk messages, the Ministry of Education recommends putting in place some or all of the following email security protocols to make sure that you effectively reach parents, caregivers, and whānau:

• SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance)

• DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail)

For further guidance on protecting your email domain go to bit.ly/schoolsecuremail

FIJIFILM RECORDS 90 YEARS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Interested in photography?

From film rolls to colour, X-rays to xerography, instant to digital photography, check out a fascinating history timeline Fujifilm has created to celebrate its 90th anniversary.

Visit holdings.fujifilm.com/special/90th/en/history/

OpenAI – maker of ChatGPT – has revealed a new tool that can generate videos from text prompts. Nicknamed Sora after the Japanese word for ‘sky’, it can produce realistic and imaginative footage up to a minute long from a user’s text instructions on both subject matter and style. The company has limited initial access to a few researchers and video creators, who will test it for susceptibility to skirt OpenAI’s terms of service, which prohibit “extreme violence, sexual content, hateful imagery, celebrity likeness, or the IP of others”. The videos will also bear a watermark to show they were made by AI. Learn more at openai.com/sora

HECTOR’S WORLD: NEW SERIES COMING SOON!

Netsafe’s launching a new series of Hector’s World to engage and educate Years 0-6 about online safety. Learn more about these resources and integrating them into your school curriculum with Netsafe’s introductory Planning Pack. This contains all the information you need to start mapping out how Hector’s World will fit into your annual online safety education and classroom plans. It provides an overview of the programme and episodes and the online safety themes covered, as well as information on the supporting resources that will be available.

More on page 16 or view and download the Planning Pack here

MOBILE PHONES TO BE BANNED IN SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND

Mobile phones in schools

Guidance for schools on prohibiting the use of mobile phones throughout the school day

February 2024

The UK’s Department of Education has released a guidance document confirming plans to ban the use of mobile phones in schools in England. The guidance is not statutory, and offers schools a variety of ways to implement the ban, ranging from an order to leave all phones at home, to handing them in on arrival or keeping them in inaccessible lockers, or allowing students to keep them on condition they are not used or heard.

More at gov.uk/government/publications/mobilephones-in-schools

New face is on the same page as ambitious Accessit

Last October, Natalie Screen joined Accessit as General Manager. Her remit is to continue to build on the New Zealand company’s global success and ambition of the past 20+ years, and she’s relishing the challenge of delivering exceptional service to thousands of schools, librarians and students across 40 countries.

What attracted you to the role of General Manager?

Accessit ticked all my boxes and more! In fact, at one point through our many conversations about the role, I thought someone must be pulling a prank on me because it seemed too good to be true. Working in both public and private sector over the past 20 years it’s become very clear to me what my five non-negotiables are when choosing the next role: Great people; Positive culture; Potential; Global company scaling and growing; and Purpose, because life’s too short to not have a positive impact on the world!

For me, Accessit software is about democratising the world to the next generation. Books are a gateway to worlds beyond where you come from, they open minds and possibilities that enable a successful, smart and literate generation.

It’s these factors that make work fun. It creates the environment to dream and imagine what could be, work out a strategy and plan to get there!

Can you tell us a little about your background?

I’m an experienced executive in both the technology industry and public sector where I have been responsible for creating visionary sales and service experiences at scale.

Prior to joining Accessit, I worked at Xero for 10 years in various senior roles leading Support, Sales, Marketing, Product, and Operations. Over this time a big part of my focus was on establishing high-performing teams to lead growth, scale, efficiency and experience improvements while we grew our customer base from 50,000 to 3.7 million and employees from 200 to 5000 people around the world.

What skills and experiences do you bring to the role?

Even though I’m a kiwi and we don’t always like to toot our own horn, it’s important to think about and know what your superpowers are (and aren’t). Superpowers are where you simply know you will add the most value and get the most enjoyment and fun from work. Here are mine:

• Building a vision for the future, converting that into plan to get there and delivering it in bold new ways;

• A focus on progress over perfection and a relentless drive for outcomes over output;

• Extensive leadership with a passion for coaching and motivating to create high performing teams;

• Having a foot in both strategy and operations to bridge the gap between ‘what’ and ‘why’ to the ‘how’;

• Taking complex business, customer and employee problems and creating a clear path forward to solve them; and

• I develop strong internal and external networks and connections, and I thrive on bringing the right people together at the right time to collaborate for better outcomes

What do you think will be the most challenging part(s) of the new job?

The biggest challenge for me personally, and what I always need to work on is my patience. There’s always more to do and more opportunity than we have time so having clear focus, taking strategic bets, and celebrating wins along the way is so important.

What’s first in your sights?

The first three months have been learning as much as possible about

where we’ve come from, where we are today, what’s working and what’s not, which has informed our 2024 strategy. We’re now well on our way to putting our plans into action and reaching out to more schools and partners.

When the first 12 months are done and you reflect on the year, what do you hope you will have achieved?

I would love to see Accessit in more schools, offering a better solution for the whole school and giving students and staff a way to connect with the resources they need. Whether it’s books or Chromebooks, we want to see the right tools in the right hands to help our Tamariki develop, and that success will help Accessit grow as well.

Natalie Screen is Accessit Library General Manager and was talking to INTERFACE Editor Greg Adams.

NEW GM: NATALIE SCREEN

How do students feel when accused of cheating with AI?

Students go through a range of emotions when accused of cheating using AI tools, according to a recent study. They also have questions about detecting this type of cheating – many of which education institutions are struggling to answer.

While the public release of the artificial intelligence-driven large-language chatbot, ChatGPT, has created great excitement around the promise of the technology, it’s also created anxiety around what a program, that can churn out a passable college-level essay in seconds, means for the future of learning.

This concern has driven a proliferation of detection programs – of varying effectiveness – and a rise in accusations of cheating. But how are students feeling about all of this? Recently published research offers a first look into some of the reactions of college students who have been branded cheats.

detection programs like Turnitin or GPTZero had flagged their assignment as being AI-generated. They asked how they could present evidence to prove that they hadn’t cheated, some commenters advised continuing to deny that they had used the program because the detectors are unreliable.

The US study analysed 49 Reddit posts and their related discussions from students who had been accused of using ChatGPT on an assignment. Lead researcher Tim Gorichanaz, who is an assistant teaching professor in Drexel University’s College of Computing and Informatics, identified a number of themes in these conversations, most notably frustration from wrongly accused students, anxiety about the possibility of being wrongly accused and how to avoid it, and creeping doubt and cynicism about the need for advanced education in the age of generative artificial intelligence.

Proving innocence

“As the world of education collectively scrambles to understand and develop best practices and policies around the use of tools like ChatGPT, it’s vital for us to understand how the fascination, anxiety and fear that comes with adopting any new educational technology also affects the students who are going through their own process of figuring out how to use it.”

Of the 49 students who posted, 38 of them said they did not use ChatGPT, but

“Many of the students expressed concern over the possibility of being wrongly accused by an AI detector. Some discussions went into great detail about how students could collect evidence to prove that they had written an essay without AI, including tracking draft versions and using screen recording software. Others suggested running a detector on their own writing until it came back without being incorrectly flagged.”

Too dependent

Another theme that emerged included questions about an institution’s preparedness for the new technology and concerns that teachers would be too dependent on AI detectors, whose accuracy remains in doubt.

The study also highlighted an erosion of trust among students – and between students and their teachers – stemming from the students’ perception that they’re persistently under suspicion of cheating. Generative AI technology is forcing educators to reconsider assessment practices and policies about cheating.

According to the study, students are asking many of the same questions.

“There were comments about policy inconsistencies where students were punished for using some AI tools, such as ChatGPT, but encouraged to use other AI tools like Grammarly. Other students suggested that using generative AI to write a paper should not be considered plagiarism because it is original work.”

Harrowing experience

The study could play an important role in helping institutions communicate to their students about the use of generative AI technology, Gorichanaz suggests.

“While this is a relatively small sample, these findings are still useful for understanding what students are going through right now,” he said. “Being wrongly accused, or constantly under suspicion, of using AI to cheat can be a harrowing experience for students. It can damage the trust that’s so important to a quality educational experience. So, institutions must develop consistent policies, clearly communicate them to students and understand the limitations of detection technology.”

Lastly, the study noted that even the best AI detectors could produce enough false positives for dozens of students to be wrongly accused.

“Rather than attempting to use AI detectors to evaluate whether these assessments are genuine, instructors may be better off designing different kinds of assessments: those that emphasise process over product or more frequent, lower-stakes assessments. They could also add modules on appropriate use of generative AI technology, rather than completely prohibiting its use.”

Source: Drexel News (drexel.edu/news/ )

Grok gives online resources to schools for free

Grok Academy’s extensive range of programming and web design resources have been made available for free to schools. The content links with the NZ Digital Technologies curriculum and is accessible to all teachers and students.

Access to Grok Academy’s online resources has got a whole lot easier. In fact, there’s now nothing stopping you.

From the start of the year, the not-forprofit company has made its online platform and classroom resources available free of charge to all teachers and students in New Zealand thanks to a partnership with WiseTech Global. One of ANZ’s most successful technology companies, it has pledged one per cent of its annual pre-tax profit to enable tech education initiatives that develop technology skills and passion for creatively solving real-world problems in school-age children.

Barrier removed

Complementing the NZ Digital Technologies curriculum for students in Years 4–13, these resources help simplify planning and support delivery of digital technologies classes and are designed for educators of any experience.

“Grok Academy’s mission is to educate all

learners in transformative computing skills, empowering them to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the future,” said James Curran, CEO of Grok Academy.

“By exposing more students, particularly females, ethnic minorities and those from disadvantaged groups, to the wonders of computer science and technology in school, Grok hopes to increase the diversity of students studying and continuing on to tech careers.

“Thanks to WiseTech Global’s support, more schools will be able to access our coding and web design resources as the cost barrier has been removed. Ensuring every teacher and homeschooling parent has access to top-tier computing education resources empowers our next generation to succeed in an increasingly digital world.”

Grok (verb): to understand intuitively or by empathy.

Inspire and enable

Since 2013, New Zealand schools have been subscribing to Grok Academy’s coding and web design resources. More than 300 schools already use the materials, and this number is expected to increase now that access is free.

“Early engagement and positive experience in the creative world of digital technology is critical to attract more young people to technology careers,” said Richard White, CEO and Founder of WiseTech Global.

“What students experience in primary school and in the early high school years strongly influences what they elect to study later in high school and university. It’s also time to dispel social biases about

About Grok Academy

Grok Academy (or simply Grok) is an online learning platform that provides teaching resources and courses that complement the New Zealand Digital Technologies curriculum.

what’s appropriate for girls to study, so that they don’t self-select out of technology subjects and consequently out of high-value, well paid tech careers. Through our partnership with Grok Academy in New Zealand and Australia, we aim to inspire and enable more young people from diverse backgrounds to enter the tech industry.”

Unplugged activities

Grok’s platform includes hundreds of courses in coding and web design, ‘unplugged’ activities for classrooms and homes, and a full suite of teaching resources including a student portal to track progress.

“Digital Technologies are an increasingly vital component across the levels of the New Zealand curriculum,” says Malcolm Clarke, President of Digital Technologies Teachers Aotearoa and Digital Technologies specialist teacher at Ko - whai Intermediate School in Auckland.

“The importance of integrating and embedding these skills early is paramount, as they are not only essential life skills but are increasingly opening doors to diverse career pathways.

“Amidst the growing demand for educators, Grok Academy stands out by providing a comprehensive and structured platform that offers equitable access for both learners and teachers. Grok Academy’s resources support teachers, especially those new to teaching Digital Technologies.

“The resource also equips educators with well-structured and easily deliverable programs, ensuring equity in the educational landscape by catering to diverse learning needs and empowering students to experience options that otherwise might be out of reach,” says Malcolm. For more information go to grok.nz/ free. Or register for your free account at groklearning.com/register/

Empowering students in the face of evolving cyber threats

From Grok Academy, Cyber Skills Aotearoa provides classroom-ready activities to develop students’ cyber security and digital literacy skills. All learning resources are aligned with the NZ Curriculum, available in English and te reo Ma-ori, and free for students in Years 6-13.

In today’s interconnected world, digital literacy and cyber skills have become essential for everyone. The rapid advancement of technology has brought immense opportunities but also numerous challenges, particularly in the realm of cybersecurity. To help address these, Grok Academy has created free Cyber Skills Aotearoa/Pu - kenga a - -Ipurangi Aotearoa programme, which aims to teach cyber security skills for Years 6-13.

Developed in collaboration with CORE Education Ta - tai Aho Rau, and supported and sponsored by the New Zealand Government, ASB, Amazon Web Services (AWS), BNZ, CERT NZ, N4L and the Ministry of Education, the programme comes in both English and te reo Ma - ori. It’s aligned to the Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko curriculum area and is available free to all schools, kura and kura kaupapa Ma - ori.

The innovative activity has been designed to provide students with comprehensive cybersecurity education, including insights into cybersecurity careers. By introducing the fundamental concepts, the course fosters a culture of digital resilience, critical thinking, and ethical behaviour. Through engaging and hands-on learning experiences, learners are equipped with practical skills that enable them to protect their personal information, identify and mitigate cyber threats, and make responsible decisions about their online data and social media interactions.

Feedback and support

The Grok Academy online learning platform provides teachers with a dashboard for managing students and monitoring their progress. There’s an automated feedback and marking system to reduce workload and provide a - konga with support to complete the online learning tasks. In addition, there are unplugged activities and a teacher guide for each module that provides suggested follow-up classroom activities and discussion topics.

Recognising the importance of early intervention, the course offers age-appropriate modules for upper primary and intermediate school students, introducing them to basic concepts of cyber security with a focus on responsible sharing and password security. As students progress to secondary school, they delve deeper into the world of cybersecurity, exploring topics such as multi-factor authentication, phishing and scams, web application security, ethical hacking and encryption.

Real-world scenarios

The programme has an emphasis on practical application, going beyond theoretical knowledge, encouraging students to actively engage with real-world scenarios and hands-on activities.

Participants interact with simulated social media and web interfaces in the role of an ethical hacker to sleuth out information and solve problems. They gain valuable insights into the intricacies of cybersecurity, enhancing their problem-solving abilities and critical thinking skills.

The course also promotes collaboration and teamwork, reflecting the collaborative nature of cybersecurity operations in the professional world.

Lastly, in addition to its educational impact, Cyber Skills Aotearoa plays a vital role in promoting diversity and inclusion in the field of cybersecurity. It encourages students from all backgrounds to explore the exciting and rewarding career opportunities in this field.

Article by Julie McMahon, Grok Academy.

For more information, including topic and careers videos go to grokacademy.org/cybernz/#cyber-involvement and grokacademy.org/cyber-nz-maori/#cyber-involvement

Hector and friends are back safeguarding kids online

Sink or swim? Teaching young children to safely navigate the internet can’t be left to chance. Thankfully, a familiar face is back to offer a helping hand (or should that be fin) as they surf the web with the launch of a new series of Hector’s World.

In an era dominated by connecting to digital devices, opportunities for entertainment, communication and education coexist with the potential for online harm.

Online safety education predominantly focuses on teenagers, assuming that this is the age from which access to smartphones, social media and gaming platforms will begin. However, online safety charity Netsafe consistently receives helpline reports related to digital incidents involving children aged between five and nine. As primary school students increasingly engage with technology, the significance of providing them with a robust online safety education from the moment they start interacting with digital technology cannot be overstated.

Developing lifelong skills

Online safety education is not just about navigating the internet safely and avoiding potential dangers, it’s also about developing the foundation of life-long digital literacy and exploring responsible digital citizenship.

Intermediate and secondary schools looking to incorporate this education in their curriculum have a range of online resources to choose from. But how does online safety education show up for the year groups who are typically deemed ‘too young to be online’?

Until now, there’s been a lack of dedicated and engaging online safety education resources for primary year groups.

A tool for 2024 and beyond

Netsafe will soon launch a brand-new series of Hector’s World, an animated series first developed in 2007 that’s been a staple in many classrooms, but that needed bringing up to date to reflect today’s technology and online challenges. Netsafe engaged with schools, as well as backers Ministry of Education and Microsoft, to gather feedback on what was needed from a new series. This informed the development of seven

episodes in which the hero characters are empowered to make informed decisions about being online.

The series will be available in both English and te reo Ma - ori with optional subtitles, and is supported by more than 50 classroom resources to extend the learning. Netsafe CEO Brent Carey says that by combining entertainment with essential lessons, the Hector’s World package helps to equip kids with the tools to stay safe online.

“The programme’s success lies in its ability to make complex concepts accessible to young minds, encouraging a proactive approach to online safety from an early age.

“The reality is being online is integral to young people’s lives. Using these free materials can significantly support students’ mental and physical wellbeing as they start to further explore online.”

From school to home

While schools do play a crucial role in delivering online safety education via the curriculum, Hector’s World provides wraparound support by echoing this education in the home through ‘take-ithome’ activities, worksheets and factsheets to encourage conversations about online safety and digital citizenship

with parents and whanau.

“We’re excited to see the beloved Hector’s World return refreshed with new videos and resources,” said Danielle Vandendungen, Digital Security Engagement Advisor at The Ministry of Education. “Netsafe has done a wonderful job using the characters to help children learn topics like cyberbullying, digital footprints, mis/disinformation and privacy, in fun and thought-provoking ways.

“We hope to see a new generation of children introduced to Hector’s World become well-equipped digital citizens who can navigate the online landscape securely and responsibly.”

Article compiled by Netsafe.

How to get Hector’s World in your school

Learn more about Hector’s World resources and integrating them into your school curriculum with the Planning Pack. View and download here via the new Netsafe education website. A public launch is planned for the end of April, after schools have had time to preview the animated series and accompanying resources.

Can your library system be used to track drones?

Accessit Library has been working with schools and libraries for more than 20 years and is continuing its mission of taking the library beyond books and into the modern era.

As schools continue to reimagine what they need from a system designed to catalogue and track important resources, Accessit Library continues to develop and ensure that we support the wider school. So, what are we seeing happening out there?

Literacy is being linked with the whole curriculum

First and foremost, students need to be able to read and access library resources that help them connect with all their subjects – not just English. The scope is going beyond books and that’s been an ongoing trend as eBooks, audiobooks, ClickView, and other integrations grow in popularity.

Literacy journeys often start with a passion, and by having one hub of resources that also allows dedicated spaces for subjects or topics (in Accessit’s case Topic Dashboards) then students can delve deep into their passion subject and grow their literacy skills without realising that’s what they’re doing.

Schools want one place to track resources

Similarly, school leaders need a place to catalogue and track school resources beyond books. These might include cameras, Chromebooks, drones, instruments, and even sports equipment and uniforms.

Schools are increasingly asking what else they can store, catalogue and track within Accessit rather than paying for different inventory software or hoping they don’t crash the spreadsheet they’re trying to use now.

Flooding, fires and earthquakes

More and more school boards and insurance companies are needing to know what the value of a school’s assets are, especially with those one-in-100-year floods becoming a yearly event!

As weather events cause havoc, more schools are using Accessit Library as the place to track resources, so, if the worst does happen, they have a reliable inventory, value and often an image of what was lost or damaged. We never thought we would be friends with insurance companies the way we are now!

School archives are cool again

With the additional focus on school archives these days, we’re seeing schools converting their newsletters and yearbooks into Accessit resources as indexed PDFs – meaning they will be searchable and accessible for years to come.

Plus, like uniforms and instruments, school trophies are being added to collections, including photos and the list

of previous winners in the record to preserve a school’s history. When a child gets to school they can search a parent’s name and see how they really were the best left handed trumpet player in the school back in the day!

For the team here, we’re glad that Accessit Library has become an even better solution; our software makes the library’s learning resources accessible to students at school or from home and for the school, Accessit is the one place to track and manage all a school’s resources.

Becoming resource hubs

Our hearts lie in the library, but we’re seeing libraries truly embracing becoming the resource hubs for the school, and it makes us proud to see the arms of the library and our Kiwi-made software embracing the wider school.

Interested in tracking more? Get a free, no-obligation demonstration from one of our experts, and if you’re already an Accessit customer but want to keep your library and archives separate, we can arrange that for you, too.

Article by AJ Johnston, Accessit.

For more go to accessitlibrary.com or call 0800 542 727.

See your students’ writing skills come to life

If you think the name sounds fun, just wait until you give this multi-award-winning literacy game a try. Frankenstories is a creative writing game that challenges students to stitch a story together from an initial idea. From simple beginnings, it’s now coming to life in a growing number of classrooms.

Frankenstories is a fast-paced, multiplayer creative writing game. It’s competitive (against the clock and others) but also improvisational and collaborative, as players work together to create and put together their Frankenstory – all while developing and honing their writing skills.

“Students can play as a whole class, in small groups, or even as individuals,” explained co-founder Andrew Duval.

“At the start of a game, players see the same writing prompt – a combination of text and image – and then write to a time limit. When the time’s up, players read each other’s anonymised responses and vote on the one they like best. The winning response gets locked in as the text for that round of the game. They then repeat the process for multiple rounds, building on winning replies until they have a complete text.”

Surprising and exciting

Like most seemingly simple ideas, bringing Frankenstories to life has been anything but straightforward. It has quite a story of its own.

“About 10 years ago, we won a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant to begin creating a mentor-text modelling resource called Writelike.org, which we developed as a side project in our day jobs for many years.

“Writelike is like an interactive textbook. It has real strengths and is genuinely effective, but in the same way that working out at the gym is effective: if you do the exercises, you’ll get the rewards – but doing the exercises takes a lot of motivation.”

Frankenstories evolved from a long line of initiatives trying to make the act of writing more surprising, exciting and rewarding for students.

“When we began prototyping Frankenstories, two and a half

years ago, we thought it was going to feel like that ‘telephone’ style writing game, where you write on a piece of paper, fold it over and pass it on. But once we started playing it with groups of people, we realised the experience was far deeper and that we could take this simple mechanic of timed writing rounds with anonymous voting and create a powerful and engaging teaching tool.”

What’s in a name?

The Frankenstories team is based in Brisbane. Currently, the site has 20,000 users per month, including more than 2,000 teachers. About two-thirds of users are in the US and Canada, and the rest in Australia and New Zealand (with a smattering in Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and the UK).

With its nod to Mary Shelley’s famous novel, Frankenstein, the name seems perfect for a game that asks players to create something from a number of different parts. And, like the game, it came about through collaboration, as well as a little bit of luck.

“We had a group chat brainstorming session with some friends, looking for names that suggested a shared story created in stages. We were in the middle of the discussion and a friend suggested ‘Frankenstories’. It was the one that everyone kept coming back to. It captured the patchwork sense of the game, it

was playful, had a nice rhythm, let us coin a noun – to write a Frankenstory – and, perhaps most importantly of all, it let us create our mascot, Franky.”

Channel enthusiasm

While there are a number of reasons for choosing to use Frankenstories, Andrew believes two stand out.

“One is that it’s such a powerful way to get students engaged and enthusiastic about writing. We get the same feedback over and over from teachers: when playing Frankenstories, students ask for more writing time and longer word limits, and even disengaged students will try to write something. In many ‘educational games’, the learning experience is just a game that is occasionally interrupted by a quiz, whereas Frankenstories turns writing itself into a game.

“The second reason is that Frankenstories gives teachers a way to take all that enthusiasm and channel it into the development of advanced writing skills. We have hundreds of scaffolded game prompts that cover a whole curriculum of writing skills –including narrative, persuasive, informational and poetry writing.”

In addition, every aspect of Frankenstories is customisable, so you can create any type of writing experience in any subject, any language, for any year level that you like.

Three-layer impact

As for learning outcomes, Andrew identifies impacts in three layers.

“Firstly, Frankenstories has an affective, emotional outcome. It makes students feel like writing is valuable and makes them want to invest some effort to get better at it. “Secondly, when used with intention by a skilled teacher, Frankenstories helps students develop higher-order writing skills.

“Lastly, it develops creativity and collaboration in a specific, tangible (not hand-wavey) way. For instance, playing develops skills in observation, free association, and mental flexibility – which is critical to creativity – and it does it within the context of applying a specific craft skill. And it rewards selflessness, cooperation, and shared attention, all of which are crucial components of collaboration.”

Targeted tool

So, while on the surface, Frankenstories might look like a fast and funny game, underneath it’s a deeply-considered teaching tool. And, along the way, the team has had to overcome a

number of challenges.

“One challenge has been simply the time, effort, and funding required to make something both new and good. Another is the time it takes teachers to ‘get the hang’ of Frankenstories. It’s easy to play a casual game but learning how to use it to get the best learning outcomes for your particular students in your particular class takes a little time and experimentation, and most teachers don’t have time for experiments unless they know they will pay off.

“And finally, there’s a kind of challenge in the edtech sector as a whole, which is that providers are incentivised to create monolithic, whole-of-curriculum solutions that tend to consume school budgets and crowd out smaller, more targeted tools like us”

Hall of fame

One regular source of entertainment is submissions to the Frankenstories Hall of Fame.

“We often have groups of students who play Frankenstories for fun and then nominate their games to the Hall of Fame – except we have a PG13 publishing policy and these lunchtime/ homeroom games are almost never PG13. For example, there was a recent one about a kitten crime boss that was very funny but completely unpublishable on our site.”

Feedback is also welcome by the Frankenstories team.

“We were talking to a Year 4 teacher in Little Rock, Arkansas, who told us her students were predominately underprivileged, semi-rural Hispanic kids who liked adventure stories but never recognised themselves in our random images.

“So, we asked her kids to write a list of scenarios and, from that, we created the Little Rock Request Line image set, which is full of pictures of Hispanic middle schoolers riding giant insects, talking to dragons and fighting marauding robots in downtown Little Rock.”

Game for all ages

The site underwent a major upgrade in August last year and is hoping for a big year in 2024.

“We tailored Frankenstories for a middle years’ audience but we have always believed it’s great for older ages. It’s been gratifying to see classes all the way up to Year 13 playing. What’s been more surprising though are Year 3 and 4 teachers who say their kids love it. We always thought typing speed and cognitive load would be a barrier for those younger groups, but apparently not.

“We have several big ideas related to feedback and publishing, but we want to see what’s really important to teachers first. We’re now in the process of collecting teacher feedback and figuring out what might be next.”

Frankenstories co-founder Andrew Duval was talking to INTERFACE Editor Greg Adams.

Find out more about Frankenstories at frankenstories.org

You can play casual games for free. There’s also a free 30-day trial available of Frankenstories Pro.

How are you unlocking your digital teaching skills?

Developing a comfortable and productive relationship with digital teaching tools can be a challenge. It takes time and effort, but the results will be well worth it. If you’re looking for ways to unlock new ways of doing things digitally, here are 10 easy steps to e-learning excellence.

Familiarise

Get used to the technology in your classroom. If you have tablets, robots, STEM kit, and similar, have a good play with it all. Maybe take things home for an evening or weekend, so you can explore in your own time and space. Play games, listen to music, write letters, operate robots, build experiments, and take photos/video. By becoming familiar with these devices and their capabilities, you’ll not only feel confident using them but also, more than likely, think of great ways to use them with your students.

Flexibility

Things change constantly and quickly in the digital world, so be prepared to adapt and evolve. Being willing to learn new skills, try new things and embrace change will ensure you’re able to manage classes effectively in today’s ever-evolving digital environment. What’s more, being flexible and open-minded will help you to stay one step ahead of your students – making sure your classes remain fresh, engaging, and relevant.

Patience

Changes don’t happen overnight. Remember to always be patient – it takes time to get used to new technology and new ways of doing things. The success of your project may be measured in months, terms or even years. There will be bumps and course correction along the way. In fact, you’ll likely want to factor in time to grow and evolve.

Ask for help

You are not alone. If you’re stuck or need a helping hand, colleagues, friends or family members already savvy in tech are likely to be more than happy to assist and point you in the right direction. You can even ask your students for help. Let them teach you something for a change. They might surprise you! Seeking out guidance and support can make any task more manageable and comfortable.

Get social

Social media apps are a great way to connect with fellow teachers. The likes of Instagram, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn, can be used to build relationships in the education profession and create a wider network foster collaboration with your peers.

From these connections come knowledge, ideas, resources, and tools to help. Having a ‘social’ presence will also promote your visibility among other professionals, with the opportunity to share your own experiences and become a thought leader.

Technology will never replace great teachers, but in the hands of great teachers, it’s transformational.

GEORGE COUROS

INNOVATIVE TEACHING CONSULTANT

Keep up

Staying up to date on the latest trends makes a huge difference. Keep up with the latest trends and shifts in digital pedagogy by reading literature and articles, following tips and advice on social media, and generally watching what’s going on. This will help you to personally stay ahead of the digital curve, not only making you better prepared but also giving you knowledge of materials and technology to provide the best learning experience for your students.

Discomfort zone

Challenging. Scary. Interesting. Whatever the reason, take a step out of your comfort zone and try out something totally, technologically new. It could be a risk, it could test you, and you may not feel confident. However, shaking up your routine will see you thrive.

Boundaries

Too much tech isn’t a good thing. Don’t be ‘glued to the screen’. Long periods of screen time have been linked to mental and physical health issues. Both for yourself and for your classroom, consider scheduling screen-free time, which could mean not technology or simply engaging with it in other forms, such as listening to music or an audiobook.

Try to make a habit of avoiding screen time before bed, particularly work-related screen time (like marking homework). Similarly, don’t post assignments or respond to student emails late in the day. Set boundaries and encourage your students to adopt similar habits.

Embrace AI

In the last 12 months, the availability of tools like ChatGPT has seen a huge leap forward in the use of Artificial intelligence in classrooms. The technology’s here to stay, which makes it well worth your while exploring how it can help you. From automating admin tasks and assessment generation, to creating assignments and information gathering, there are potential benefits for teachers and learners.

Go for it!

So, what are you waiting for? Give something a go. Try the app you’ve heard so much about. Introduce a new tech-related activity. Make friends with a robot. Start a social media account. Book your place at INTERFACE Xpo. Whatever you choose, you won’t look back.

New initiative is putting smartphones in schools

Happy Phones/Nga - Waea Koa is a pioneering project that rescues and refurbishes smartphones for use in the classroom. It’s been trialling kits that contain pre-loved smartphones and learning resources in primary schools. The results have been positive and the goal is to spread across the country – with schools encouraged to make their own kits!

From attractive trade-up deals to ever-changing functionality, smartphones can have an all-too-brief lifespan. Add to this the upcoming shutdown of 3G networks and the result is thousands of unwanted devices being discarded every year.

But a new initiative means that needn’t be the end of their usefulness. If a phone is in working order, it could still have a productive, second life according to Happy Phones/Nga - Waea Koa.

“Smartphones are amazing learning tools. They can be rescued, cleaned up, and configured to support learning,” said Geoff Bentley, a sustainable tech educator

and PLD facilitator at TechLeap, who started the project off the back of his volunteer work with a community e-waste collection.

Smartphone schools

Launched last year in schools around the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, Happy Phones is rescuing and providing phones in easy-to-use educational kits for the classroom.

“Each box consists of 15 pre-loved Android smartphones, 15 USB cables and a 15-port USB charging station. Resources for teachers and students are also inside and online, with more lesson plans around sustainability and digital technology planned.

“I tested the idea during Terms 2 and 3 last year, got some funding to develop lesson plans and other resources, and now have schools hiring the kits.

“One class took our phones out on a field trip to their local marae, took photos of different parts of it, created a presentation at school for their junior class, and then gifted the presentation back to the marae. Other students have used them for recording and rehearsing speeches, making films, taking photos of artwork –basically capturing all their mahi using the camera.”

The photos and videos then get transferred to student laptops via a USB cable and shared or used in digital projects.

“It’s completely offline. Students get to learn about files and file transfer, wired versus wireless, and there’s zero set up required.”

Motivating and engaging

So far, feedback has been positive.

“Teachers say it’s been a great motivator and engager for learning with students, giving them agency, and inspiring conversations about privacy and phone

etiquette, what makes a good photo, and the environmental impacts of technology.”

The irony of this project’s success happening while there’s political talk of banning smartphones in schools isn’t lost on Geoff.

“The Government has banned ‘personal’ phones. Happy Phones are ‘school’ devices being used offline, all unnecessary apps are removed or disabled, and the teacher decides when they get used, so it’s not a distraction.”

Equity opportunity

Although these phones are meant to be used offline, Geoff believes there’s potential for students to use them as online devices in schools if this is needed.

“Many students are more comfortable with the mobile user interface than a laptop, so if devices are needed and money is an issue, why not make use of these devices people are chucking away?”

Geoff admits there are hurdles to implementing such a system but thinks the pay-off of closing the digital divide is worth the effort.

BOXING CLEVER: HAPPY PHONES KITS

Going nationwide

Happy Phones kits are hired to local schools on a termly or annual basis to cover costs. However, Geoff’s dream is to help others around the country to make their own and he’s creating step-by-step instructions for anyone to do it.

“I’m supporting a high school environmental group in Ta-maki to create a box for their local primary school but need a few more ‘testers’ for these resources, so I’m keen to hear from anyone who’s interested.”

Ethic of care

Overall, the project fits with Geoff’s sustainability aspirations.

“You have to start with an ethic of care for the things you have, then slowly re-examine each item you use, and think ‘is there a more sustainable way?”

“Re-purposing these phones for use in the classroom is an example of this, valuing all the time and energy that goes into creating these powerful devices. I called them Happy Phones because they’ve been saved from death and destruction, are having their life extended, and are getting used by lots of awesome tamariki!”

For more go to sites.google. com/view/techleapnz/ happy-phones

You can also meet Geoff and Happy Phones at INTERFACE Xpo events in Rotorua and Auckland.

Free webinar: Create your own Happy Phones kit

Geoff is running a free webinar on creating your own Happy Phones kit with Technology Education NZ (TENZ) on 27 March. Members and non-members can sign up at bit.ly/hp-tenz

NZ’s 3G mobile networks shutting down

Both Spark and One NZ have announced plans to close their 3G networks. Spark’s doing so towards the end of 2025. One NZ will start to switch off 3G from 31 August this year, having rolled out 4G and 5G coverage.

Read more at spark.co.nz/help/ mobile/understand/3g-networkclosure/ and one.nz/3g-switchoff/

HAPPY STUDENTS: KITS IN USE AT CAMBRIDGE EAST SCHOOL

AI TOOLS

TextFX (textfx.withgoogle.com) is an AI experiment that uses Google’s PaLM 2 large language model. These 10 tools are designed to expand the writing process by generating creative possibilities with text and language, including Simile, Explode, Unexpect, Chain, POV, Alliteration, Acronym, Fuse, Scene, and Unfold.

Kids Think Wide (kidsthinkwide.com) uses AI-created images to inspire student storytelling. Each image comes with discussion questions and suggested writing prompts. Use the filters to narrow the search for images into text types, such as poetry, descriptive, informative, and additional.

Harness the power of AI in your presentations with SlidesGPT (slidesgpt.com). Explain what you want your presentation to be about, and it’ll do the rest. The site works with PowerPoint and Google Slides. The basic (free) plan provides access to simple design templates and lets you create and share unlimited presentations.

Enhance students’ debating skills by participating in practice debates at DebateAI (debateai.org). Identify a topic to discuss and pick a suitable opponent (either a specific person or type of person). Make a point to kick off the debate, then type responses to the opponent’s AI-generated arguments.

Want a quick summary of a YouTube video? Try Summarize.tech (summarize.tech). Simply paste the YouTube URL, submit and the site will provide a short summary of its contents. Most results also have an expand option, so you can read more. The free version has a daily video limit of ‘just a few’.

Receive AI-powered help for maths and science problems with Sizzle (web.szl.ai). Type in your question or upload a picture or scan, and submit. The site will lead you through each step of the answer before sharing the next. It also provides tips for correct solutions if the incorrect answer is chosen.

COOL GIZMOS

Collect and share files with New Space (new.space). Add images, documents or links to a ‘Space’ – these could be related to a study topic, collaborative project, presentation or homework. To share with someone, simply send them the link or QR code. It’s encrypted, so only they can access it. The Space deletes after 14 days.

As the name suggests, Online Teleprompter (bigvu.tv/create/freeonline-teleprompter) lets you create an online teleprompter. Enter the text in the box provided and choose the reading speed in words per minute (WPM), which will estimate the time needed. Click the green button to start reading.

Quickly and easily create bar graphs with Bar Graph Maker (bargraphmaker. net). Just add all the information needed – such as titles, data values and legend –then determine the overall design, using different fonts and colours. When it’s done, download the graph as a jpg, png or svg image file.

HISTORY

Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories (aotearoahistories.education.govt.nz) is home to NZ curriculum content, guidance and resources. Here you’ll find information on course structure and getting started, an overview of ‘Understand, Know, Do’ and the progressions model, as well as support for schools and kura.

Find a range of digital resources for learning about Anne Frank and her father at the Anne Frank Trust UK (annefrank. org.uk/online-learning). Explore the power her life and diary has to challenge prejudice and encourage people to embrace positive attitudes, responsibility and respect for others.

Learning about American history? Smithsonian’s History Explorer (historyexplorer.si.edu) provides access to 100s of artefacts and online resources from the National Museum of American History. From inventions to politics to wars, there are lesson ideas and activities, videos, and a guide for teachers.

WATER

UN-Water (unwater.org) coordinates the United Nations’ work on water and sanitation. Packed with information and resources, learn about the organisation’s policy processes and dealing with emergency issues, monitoring and reporting, and how it aims to builds knowledge and inspire people to take action.

Something Fishy (somethingfishy.ie) is an educational programme about fish, water quality and the marine environment. Based on Irish fisheries, there are eight lessons beginning with ‘Water, Water, Everywhere’ through to ‘Will There Be Any Left For Me?’. Each comes with various teaching resources, including lesson plans, activity sheets, presentations, and videos.

How much water is there? Where is it?

What’s the water cycle? How is it used?

Find out all about water at the US Geological Survey’s Water Science School (usgs.gov/special-topics/water-scienceschool). There are information, images, data, maps, interactive activities, and more to explore.

SPACE

From NASA, Imagine the Universe (imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov) lets you do exactly that. From black holes to quasars, exoplanets to astronomy as a career, the site’s packed with information and advice, lesson plans and teaching materials, including a cosmic distance scale, colouring pages and a space dictionary.

For local space policy, regulation and news check out New Zealand Space Agency (mbie.govt.nz/science-andtechnology/space/). Learn about the country’s values and objectives on space, and international engagement.

NZSpaceTalk has the latest sector news and there’s even a ‘Careers in Space’ section.

View any of the planets and moons with Solar System Simulator (space.jpl. nasa.gov). Select what you want to see and where you’re viewing from in the Solar System. Select the field of view and object size, plus add options like orbits, brightness and spacecraft. Sit back and run the simulator.

We have some awesome prizes up for grabs this issue.

USB CURRENT AND VOLTAGE POWER TESTER 1to WIN!

Is a USB port working properly? Is electrical current adequately flowing to a device for charging? Find out with a USB current and voltage power tester. This useful gadget can conveniently measure the output voltage of a USB port and the working current of the device – from 0-3A and 3V-9V (DC). It can also detect the charging current and voltage of any USB charger (computer, mobile or car charger). It’s compact, convenient to use, and does not require a power supply or other auxiliary devices to operate. Simply plug it in and read!

We have one USB Current and Voltage Power Tester to give away. If you’d like to get your hands on it, simply enter the competition on our website.

Entries close Tuesday 4 June.

THUMBS UP ADJUSTABLE HOLDER 4to WIN!

Have fun setting your mobile phone or tablet in exactly the right position with the easy-to-use and funky Thumbs Up Adjustable Holder. Made from flexible but durable plastic, simply place the device in the moulded hand grips –horizontally or vertically. It will be held safely and securely while you view the screen totally hands free. You can either have it ‘handy’ on your desk or take it with you as you move around.

We have four Thumbs Up Adjustable Holders up for grabs. When you enter, choose your preference from four colours – green, blue, yellow, or orange.

Entries close Tuesday 4 June.

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

BITE ANIMAL ANTI-BREAK DATA CABLE PROTECTIVE COVER

With continual plugging in and unplugging, bending and folding, charging and data cables can easily become damaged. They can fray, crack and even break, making them useless for the job intended. Help is at hand, however, with Bite Animal Anti-Break Data Cable Protective Covers. You can use these cute little critters to cover and protect the ends of your cables. Made of tough silicone, they’re more than up to the task, plus, they look awesome, too!

To add some bite – and some fun – to charging time, we have a pack of 10 to win (with assorted animal shapes). Enter your details online and they could be yours.

Entries close Tuesday 4 June.

GEL DUST CLEANER AND KEYBOARD CLEANING BRUSH

Keep your keyboard clean of dust, crumbs, hairs, and all manner of debris, with a Gel Dust Cleaner and Keyboard Cleaning Brush combo. The silicone, multipurpose cleaning gel can be pressed into all the nooks and hard-to-reach crannies between the keys. It’s simple to use (just make sure your hands are dry), sticking to any dirt particles and removing them as you pull it out again. The bendable cleaning brush has soft nylon bristles that are perfect for wiping between the keys and flicking away any unwanted bits and pieces. If you’d like this dynamic dirt-busting duo to help keep you clean, enter on our website.

Entries close Tuesday 4 June.