INTERFACE Magazine, Issue 108, September 2021 by interfacemagazine

NEW ZEALAND

SUPPORTING THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN LEARNING

ISSUE 108 TERM 3 SEPTEMBER 2021 $11

Empowering girls to make IT their world Finding ways to engage and excite female students with STEM subjects. Pages 16-25

Should Should you be getting Micro-Credentials? Page 11

Cyber Cyber safety message is up and running

Is Is gaming as good as going to the gym?

Com and w progr t

Page 38

micro

Digita

Pages 26-27

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6 INTERFACE News and Views 8 Noticeboard 11 The Mind Lab: Is professional development a ‘nice to have’? Introducing MicroCredentials. 12 ETV: Resource rescue for time poor teachers wanting to capture students’ attention 14 The perfect way to promote all-round learning 15 TENZ: Design competition gets political to test creativity 16 Empowering girls to make IT their world While it can be a challenge engaging kids in general with science, maths and technology, research shows getting girls interested can be especially difficult, particularly through secondary school and into the workforce. How can they be encouraged to see STEM subjects as not just an exciting classroom choice but also an attractive career path?

26 High hopes for cyber safety message to run and run Scott Hillman is a keen runner and has participated in plenty of races but none quite like the one he completed last term. The Glenfield Primary School teacher jogged for 36 kilometres around the school grounds to raise awareness for cyber safety. 28 LEGO robotics team builds its way to national success Students need to be on their game to master the FIRST LEGO League Challenge. And piecing together creativity, coding and presenting skills, along with a block of experience, proved the winning formula for Kaiapoi North School as they were crowned national champions. 30 File Share: Four pages of online resources 34 Lesson Ideas: ‘Quick Draw!’ and ‘New Zealand Sign Language’ 35 Gamefroot: Celebrating Matariki by coding special effects 36 Competitions: Some great prizes to be won! 38 Shoot ’em-ups are as physically demanding as sit-ups We already know that playing computer games is more than just entertainment. Research has shown a range of benefits, from improving social connections and visual-spatial recognition, to promoting problem-solving and even boosting reading skills. Can we now add physical fitness to the list? Could gaming be as good as going to the gym? 39 Events Diary Insert: Acer Keyboard Finger Placement Guide

INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

TENTSVIEWSNEWSANDVIEWSNEWSANDVIEWSNEWSANDV Intel® Core™ i7 Processor

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NDVIEWSNEWSANDVIEWSNEWSANDVIEWSNEWSANDVIEW WE’VE GONE DIGITAL AGAIN TO ENSURE YOU RECEIVE YOUR FAVOURITE READ! The latest COVID lockdown meant we faced major obstacles to printing and mailing out your favourite magazine. So, to ensure this issue of INTERFACE reaches you wherever you are in New Zealand, we’ve gone digital again.

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We hope you enjoy reading this convenient and interactive format. While it remains a learning process for us, we’re confident we’re still bringing you the latest and best news, views and information about education technology. Have an awesome read! Stay safe and well from everyone here at the INTERFACE team.

WANTED: YOUR E-ADVENTURES IN THE CLASSROOM Got a story to tell about teaching with tech? An e-adventure to share? Using digital education in the classroom can be challenging and rewarding in equal measure. We want to hear from you about your e-learning experiences – big or small – and share them with INTERFACE readers. Just drop us a line. Contact Editor Greg Adams at greg.adams@interfacemagazine.co.nz

THERE’S STILL TIME TO ENTER OUR STUDENT GAMEFROOT COMPETITION

We’ve teamed up with game-making platform Gamefroot for an awesome student coding competition – ‘The Great NZ Histories Student Game Design’ – with the winner getting to visit the Gamefroot team at its studio in Wellington. If you’re already onto it, that’s great. If not, there’s still plenty of time to take part – entries don’t close until the end of Term 3. The challenge for your students is to design and build using Gamefroot an interactive fiction game about something from the New Zealand history books. All the details are on our website. Go to interfaceonline.co.nz/gamefroot2021

Everything is awesome for winning robotics team. See pages 28-29.

INTERFACE 103 NOVEMBER 20

WSNEWSANDVIEWSNEWSANDVIEWSNEWSANDVIEWSNEW CAN YOUR STUDENTS HELP US AT INTERFACEXPO 2022? We’re busy planning for next year’s INTERFACEXpo events and we were wondering if your students would like to be involved. There are two ways they can help. The first is assistance on the day to help us look after delegates (signing them in, showing them around, tidying up, and so on). It’s a way to gain a little bit of work experience in a fun environment. Usually, we require three or four older students (Years 12 and 13). The other role is making a video of the day – you can check out what’s been done before on our YouTube channel (youtube.com/user/INTERFACEMagazine). If you think your students would be interested in either of these roles, get in touch and we can provide more detailed information. Contact Editor Greg Adams at greg.adams@interfacemagazine.co.nz

22 DON’T FORGET TO PUT THESE DATES IN YOUR DIARY

Meet the team

EDITOR Greg Adams 027 255 1301 Greg.Adams@interfacemagazine.co.nz ADVERTISING 09 575 2454 Advertising@interfacemagazine.co.nz DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Michelle Durbin 09 575 2454 Michelle.Durbin@interfacemagazine.co.nz EVENT MANAGER Annette Nichols 021 621 373 Annette.Nichols@interfacexpo.co.nz DESIGNER Paul Colgrave Design@interfacemagazine.co.nz FOLLOW US facebook.com/interfacemagazine

Join us at INTERFACEXpo 2022. We’ll be visiting: @interfacemag

• Lincoln-Christchurch, Lincoln Events Centre – Friday 20 May

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• Taupo, Great Lakes Centre – Tuesday 24 May

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• Auckland, The Trusts Arena – Thursday 26 May Registrations will open early next year. For more go to interfacexpo.nz

NEW ZEALAND INTERFACE™ (ISSN 1177-973X) is published six times a year by G MEDIA PUBLISHING LIMITED PO Box 25155, St Heliers Auckland 1740, NZ © G MEDIA PUBLISHING LIMITED 2021. 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.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LATEST WINNERS

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.

There were some awesome prizes up for grabs in the last issue. Thanks to everyone who entered. Here are the winners. Charging devices will never be the same again for Karen Crosbie, Excellere College, Whangarei, and Carolyn Milne, Reefton Area School, West Coast, who both won a Three-in-One Streamoptic Magneto Charging Cable. The Adjustable Webcam LED Light with Suction Cup goes to Jacoba Glenny, Kaitoke School, Wanganui.

INTERFACE Magazine is printed using certified sustainably managed materials.

We wish a restful and peaceful time to Judi Buckley, Wairere School, Waharoa, Waikato, who receives the Wireless Bluetooth Sleep Eye Mask. And lastly, we had two Type-C to USB 3.0 Adaptors to give away. They go to Cameron Olliff, Remuera Intermediate, Auckland, and Mick Withers, Ilam School, Christchurch. NEW ZEALAND

Check out our latest competitions on pages 36 and 37.

USE OF SUPPORTING THE

Why is student creativity getting political? Find out on page 15.

INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

TECHNOLOGY IN

LEARNING

3 SEPTEMBER ISSUE 108 TERM

2021 $11

Empowering girls to make IT their world Finding ways to ite engage and exc female students with STEM subjects.

Pages 16-25

Cyber safety

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NOTICEBOARDNOTICEBOARDNOTICEBOARDNOTICEBOARDNO INSTAGRAM WILL REQUIRE USERS TO VERIFY AGE

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THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND GOOGLE ANNOUNCE NEW DEALS A new partnership agreement between the Ministry of Education and Google will allow state and state integrated schools to continue to claim the Ministryfunded Chrome Education Upgrade Licences (previously Chrome Education licence) for eligible school-owned, leased and BYOD devices. Through the upgrade, schools will be able to: • Select and push apps to student devices, ensuring they have the right apps they need; • Select Wi-Fi networks to connect to; • Customise the user experience by automatically loading websites on startup, adding custom bookmarks, and blocking URLs and distractions; • Centrally manage devices with more than 200 controls; • Protect user data with the sandboxing, Verified-Boot, and 128-bit encryption features of Chrome OS; • Prevent anyone from un-enrolling their managed Chromebook from the school’s domain; • Minimise lost and stolen devices; and • Manage student sign-in to prioritise educational use of devices during school hours. The Chrome Education Upgrade is a perpetual licence that covers the life of the device within the domain it’s enrolled in. As a part of the agreement, state and state integrated schools are also able to upgrade their Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals (the free for Education edition – previously called G Suite for Education) to Google Workspace for Education Plus. This is a set of Google Education tools and services that are tailored for schools to collaborate, streamline instruction, and keep learning safe and secure. Existing features include tools such as Google Classroom, Assignments, Google Meet, Google Docs, Google Forms, and Google Chat.

ENJOYING AUCKLAND MUSEUM FROM HOME Despite having to close its doors during lockdown, Auckland War Memorial Museum continued to provide plenty of things to see and do with Auckland Museum at Home. For a selection of fun and educational activities, videos, stories, blogs, and virtual tours go to aucklandmuseum.com/ your-museum/at-home

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After making it more difficult for adults to send messages to people under 18 (who don’t follow them) and starting to default new accounts belonging to people under the age of 16 into a private setting, Instagram is implementing more safety features designed to protect kids. For now, it will begin to require users to provide birth dates, and tailor access to content and services accordingly. Of course, people have been known to lie about such things. So, the company is also developing AI technology to help it identify these accounts, for example, by inferring someone’s birthday based on ‘Happy Birthday’ posts. Longer term, Instagram has plans to launch an ‘Under 13’ version of its service.

NEW ANIMATION SERIES TACKLES TEEN SUICIDE A new YouTube channel has been created to address teen suicide. My Life is Worth Living is an animated series that is focused on preventing teen suicide. It tells stories about teens who have had thoughts about suicide, and how it is okay to need and ask for help. For more information go to mylifeisworthliving.org

TENZ 2021 NATIONAL CONFERENCE GOES ONLINE Technology Education New Zealand (TENZ) has announced that its annual conference in October is switching to an online format. In a statement it said: “While it was a difficult decision to cancel the face-toface version of our conference, we still aim to make the most of our great line-up of presenters. Rather than live streaming the conference, we will work with our presenters to create and upload content that can be accessed by all members without registration. We don’t yet have a fixed timeline for this but will keep you updated.” More at tenz.org.nz/2021-conference/

TEAMS ADDS READING PROGRESS Microsoft is rolling out Reading Progress, a free education tool for Teams that uses AI to give teachers estimations of student fluency when reading text. Built into Microsoft Teams Assignments, the app lets teachers upload a single reading fluency passage for the whole class or provide different passages to suit students at various reading levels. Students respond via audio or video recordings. More at aka.ms/ readingprogress

OTICEBOARDNOTICEBOARDNOTICEBOARDNOTICEBOARDNO ESPORTS COMPETITION A HUGE SUCCESS Last month, Manurewa Intermediate School in Auckland hosted an esports competition, with nine schools taking part. Organiser Tanya White writes: “I put together an all-day tournament where teams were invited to participate in Rocket League. Teams consisted of boys and girls, from Year 6 to Year 12. It was a fantastic effort from everyone that came and gave it a go. Overall, Royal Oak Intermediate Boys were victorious, followed by Birkdale Intermediate Boys and Rowandale Primary Boys finished third.

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“The event is the result of my own personal and professional goal to set up a starter esports programme for our tamariki. The buy-in is huge, students come each week to practices and I feel that the team aspect is what makes this the most valuable new resource for our school. I think staff that are afraid to tackle this type of new learning should just give it a go. I didn’t know anything about this last year but just jumped in because I know it’s great for our students. “Without other support, however, events like this just cannot happen. So, big shout outs to Daniel Wyatt and Kathleen Mitchell for their amazing help, Conor McHoull for inspiring me last year, PB Tech, AKTIV and ESports Federation for their support, and my own MIS Staff, including Ken Bailey and Davi Tran, among others, that support me doing crazy things and trying their best to help make it happen.” If you’d like to talk esports with Tanya, you can contact her at tanya@manurewaint.school.nz

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INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

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Is professional development a ‘nice to have’? The Mind Lab believes learning is for life, and PD is a necessity that allows educators to remain relevant, focused and passionate about what they do. To meet the challenge of squeezing learning into a busy schedule, it’s designed new NZQA accredited micro-credentials. Micro-credentials are perfect packages of high-quality learning, delivered in manageable and practical formats. Think of them like a ‘crash course’ on the future – bringing you up to speed on what matters today but also what’s critical for a thriving tomorrow.

What’s on offer?

Delivered online, and combining selfdirected learning with live sessions, these courses are accessible from wherever you are, helping you manage the balance between work and wellbeing.

Digital and Collaborative Teaching and Learning

Gain the perfect combination of pedagogical foundations and innovative approaches to teaching with our selfpaced micro-credential specifically for educators, focused on preparing you for both current and future learners of Aotearoa.

• 15 weeks of online, part-time learning for just $900 incl GST.

Digital Skills for the Workplace A fun, collaborative and practical course to improve digital skills and build online confidence. You’ll get hands-on experience with digital tools that you can take straight back to your classroom, and you’ll create a tight-knit community of learners with weekly sessions. • 7 weeks of online, part-time learning – free for 2021, $295 incl GST from 2022 onwards.

Leading Beyond Sustainability

This is a brand new, compact online course covering a range of innovative and diverse approaches to sustainability underpinned by indigenous values. You’ll walk away with knowledge, tools and capability to help you begin to make practical and positive changes in your school or education context.

• 8 weeks of online, part-time learning – free for 2021, $900 incl GST from 2022 onwards.

Why take on a micro-cred?

The Mind Lab’s strong industry network and focus on applied practical learning means all micro-credentials have been designed in collaboration with the real world. There’s no outdated theory-based learning, no textbooks and no longwinded lectures. And because of their short, sharp, deep learning nature, you’ll gain that satisfaction of being able to apply your new knowledge immediately. They’re also the perfect way to get back into the professional development journey, offering bite-sized learning at its best. Micro-credentials are ideal for today’s busy lives. By Anna Reid of The Mind Lab and Tech Futures Lab.

New learning options for your busy life Comprising both self-directed learning and weekly live-online class sessions, our programme schedules recognise the need to balance work and wellbeing. Check out the NZQA accredited microcredentials available at The Mind Lab: Digital & Collaborative Teaching & Learning Digital Skills for the Workplace Leading Beyond Sustainability

themindlab.com

Frances Valintine, CEO & Founder of The Mind Lab

INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

Resource rescue for time poor teachers wanting to capture students’ attention From STREAM subjects to content supporting the new History curriculum, ETV offers both free and subscription based video resources for every teacher. Anywhere, anytime learning

In our radically different COVID world, teachers are enthusiastically embracing online resources to capture and hold the attention of students who are less likely to be learning in a conventional classroom. The value and effectiveness of video in teaching is well established. Even reluctant students will readily engage with video, thus reaping the benefits of its ability to communicate on both the cognitive and emotional levels. Audio visual content utilises sight, sound colour and movement, inspiring deeper learning, better retention and reinforced motivation.

Free Library access for every teacher

“As a not-for-profit trust, providing the free Library of resources for all teachers and schools across the country is our

philanthropic contribution to education”, explained ETV’s General Manager, Martin Drew. Available simply by creating a log in using a school email, the Library section contains a wealth of content from organisations like Nga- Taonga Sound and Vision, and Archives NZ for the history curriculum, and Netsafe, EQC and NZ Police for student safety and wellbeing material. For 11 years ETV has captured and catalogued over 150,000 programmes from New Zealand’s free-to-air channels, some overseas channels and legitimate internet sources, which are all available to subscription clients. A free trial of this catalogue is available by contacting ETV on 0800 438 388, or clicking the Enquire button at www.etv.nz

STREAMing video

STREAM subjects are also comprehensively covered in the ETV catalogue. A search of STREAM subjects reveals almost 20,000 results, covering all age groups from Early Learning to Tertiary. Video annotation tools that pop up while the student is watching allows teachers to turn any video into an enriched interactive experience, and name input enables teachers to receive interaction data from named individuals and classes. To explore ETV’s resources, create your own login by going to www.etv.nz and clicking the First Time User Registration button.

Canon sponsors the leaders of tomorrow at ‘Hands-On at Otago’ In partnership with the University of Otago, Canon is proud to sponsor the highly sought-after student experience. The Hands-On at Otago programme offers students going into Years 12 and 13 the opportunity to spend a week in the shoes that they’ll walk in once they begin tertiary education. Living in a hall of residence, attending classes, and socialising with their future peers, is a unique experience that really gives the students a front row seat into what their lives will look like after High School. Canon’s international guiding philosophy is Kyosei – ‘living and working together for the common good, with a particular focus on making a difference in people’s lives.’

“The Hands-on Otago programme is a fantastic example of us being able to provide our future leaders with a lifechanging experience they will carry with them for life,” said Marketing Manager Canon Business Solutions Jeannine Barnes.

Different academic fields

This year, Hands-On at Otago attracted 393 students from 149 different schools throughout New Zealand. They experienced a week of dawn-to-dusk activities that exposed them to hands-on research in several academic fields. Science students worked in wellequipped laboratories and out in the field. Whether in the lab bench making new molecules, driving a high-tech microscope to explore materials at the micro-scale, or at the foreshore exploring the ecology and behaviour of important species, they were guided on their journey of discovery by experts at the university.

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Students who selected Business or Humanities projects had the opportunity to examine artefacts and objects from history or prehistory. Some got to present a court case; others got to create and market their own products. Students also explored the NZ Curriculum and presented the skills they’d learned in theatre, music and dance. Hands-On at Otago 2022 runs 16-21 January and is open to all students who are in Year 12 or 13 in 2022. Applications close 24 September 2021. For further information go to otago.ac.nz/hands-on-at-otago/ To learn more about what Canon is doing in Education call 0800 222 666 or visit canon.co.nz/business/ education-solutions

Resource rescue for time poor teachers WIN THE HEARTS & MINDS OF YOUR STUDENTS WITH POWERFUL VIDEO LEARNING FROM ETV. Take the unique ability of video to utilise sight, sound, colour and movement, combine this with online “anywhere, anytime learning”, and you have a winning formula for deeper learning, better retention and reinforced motivation. Together with the Ministry of Education, we’ve set up every school on ETV, providing every teacher with unlimited access to our free Library. Here you’ll find NZ History resources from Ngã Taonga Sound and Vision, and Archives NZ, 100’s of videos from cyber safety to tsunami. Plus, explore our subscription catalogue to discover over 150,000 movies, documentaries and current affairs programmes captured from broadcast TV over the last 11 years. Register for your access now by visiting www.etv.org.nz Click on the First Time User Registration button and set up your own password using your school email address.

Free 3-month trial

While you are there, why not request a free 3-month trial of our entire subscription catalogue of 150,000 videos covering all curriculum areas and all age groups. (We’ll even take care of copyright if you don’t have a Screenrights licence). Simply click the Enquire button, complete your details, and we’ll do the rest. INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

The perfect way to promote all-round learning STEAM learning represents a turning point in learning as it creates a bridge between subjects that were traditionally studied separately. Combined with the latest Acer education technology, this makes it an effective enabler to engage students in an unprecedented way.

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The synergy of science, technology, engineering, art, and maths – or STEAM for short – is an increasingly popular way of teaching, and with good reason. Hands-on activities are at the core of this methodology, engaging students with projects that strongly rely on authentic, real-world evidence. Creativity, innovation, leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving are just a few of the skills that it can foster. And there are many other important, perhaps less obvious and unmeasurable benefits, that make it an all-round learning process. A group project based on STEAM can teach a class that nobody can be equally good at everything, that it’s okay to have both talents and weaknesses, and that if people with different inclinations put their heads together, everyone can bring something useful to the table and be part of a team.

Everything is connected

In STEAM learning, no subject is inferior or superior to another and all knowledge is connected. Students are encouraged to cultivate a healthy interest in both science and art. The real world is not like school, where you are largely expected to apply concepts and skills from only one field at a time. With an interdisciplinary approach, students are taught to make their own connections between subjects and perhaps even foster friendships with people who have different interests. If all knowledge is connected, the solution may sometimes come from an unexpected place. Therefore, treating different subjects as parts of a whole rather than separate units encourages creativity and critical thinking, and rewards unique solutions to problems, all things that will be immensely useful in a student’s future workplace.

Real-world application

Using STEAM principles to work on tangible projects that students can be proud of demonstrates better than anything the real-world usefulness of

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what they are learning. It gives them a chance to deal with safe but realistic simulations of real-world problems they might come across, such as troubleshooting, conflicts within the team, or working with clients who have very particular requests. Technology is an important part of educational programmes because today’s students need to learn how to use computers, tools and devices not only at schools but also in their daily lives. The more familiar they grow with tech, the easier it will be for them to implement it in their future employment.

Resourceful medium

Nevertheless, technology isn’t simply one of the five STEAM education fields, it’s a resourceful medium to engage students with interactive hands-on projects. Technology is the framework by which the subjects of STEAM can meet in several cross-over applications. Whether you’re setting up a makerspace or teaching in the classroom, choosing the right device to carry on STEAM lessons is undoubtedly the best way to start a journey into this world. The devices from the Acer TravelMate series make the perfect learning companion to carry out STEAM projects in the classroom.

Means and machines

For instance, have you ever thought about building a machine that emulates human hands? It starts with cardboard and straws to replicate anatomy and biomechanics, but it’s through tests and data visualisation that students can generate new ideas and explore new possibilities. It takes just the right device, some inventiveness and a great desire for offering a next-level experience to your students. Acer is at the forefront of developing technology that can enhance the learning experience. Empowering students is the TravelMate Spin B3, an ultra-durable learning device, combining high performance with low power consumption, and consistent connectivity for efficient learning. For teaching professionals, the TravelMate Spin P4 is a premium notebook that’s built to last and comes with the latest and powerful processing and connectivity. For a technology consultation on your school’s future needs contact Acer at education.aca@acer.com

Design competition gets political to test creativity The votes have been counted and the results are in for this year’s TENZ Design Competition. The challenge for students was to come up with a new three-story building for Ministers and MPs. It had to also accommodate a new press gallery offices, have a Green Star rating of 6, complement the existing Executive wing, and link to Parliament House. “The judges were amazed at the outstanding efforts that all students made,” said TENZ’s Sarah Washbrooke. “A wide range of design ideas were presented in lots of different formats, including annotated sketches, 3D modelling and videos in TinkerCAD, Roblox, Minecraft, and CoSpaces. The winning entries showed creativity, innovation, sustainable design links to Te Ao Mãori and New Zealand culture, as well as fulfilling the brief.”

Competition results ECE to Year 2 1st Myra Shanaya, Fruitvale School 2nd Nia Matoe-Naufahu, Fruitvale School 3rd Te Auhaere Shelford-Fleming, Fruitvale School Years 3 to 5 1st Ibrahim Sheikh and Pumanawa Limbrick-Euera, Fruitvale School 2nd Sophia Anwarzada, Fruitvale School = 3rd: Mishika Chawla, Papatoetoe Central School = 3rd: Maanvir Chawla, Papatoetoe Central School Years 6 to 8 1st Kiwi Amohanga, Ronak Varma, Chase Tautae and Denzel Toloa, Fruitvale School = 2nd: Daniel Drury and Liam Homan, Kirkwood Intermediate School = 2nd: Finn Butchers and Will MacIntyre, Kirkwood Intermediate School 3rd Mikayla Liang, Kenakena School Highly Commended Ethan Runganaikaloo, Kenakena School Years 9 and 10 1st Ashlee Jackson, Howick College 2nd Callum Edwards, Howick College = 3rd Seraphiel, Howick College = 3rd Susannah Chamley, Howick College Technology Education New Zealand (TENZ) is a professional, collaborative network for supporting teachers of technology education. For more go to tenz.org.nz and facebook.com/TechnologyEducationNewZealand

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Empowering girls to make IT their world While it can be a challenge engaging kids in general with science, maths and technology, research shows getting girls interested can be especially difficult, particularly through secondary school and into the workforce. How can they be encouraged to see STEM subjects as not just an exciting classroom choice but also an attractive career path? INTERFACE investigates.

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A girl should be two things: who and what she wants. COCO CHANEL

Studies show that girls are far less likely to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Why? Try this activity with your students. Ask them to draw a scientist or engineer. Boys will almost certainly draw a man; girls will probably draw a man, too. One US study found that when female high school students viewed chemistry textbooks containing pictures of female scientists, they performed better than female students who viewed textbooks containing only pictures of males. Can it be as simple as that? Perhaps persistent, subconscious images of male scientists may be one part of the explanation, but there’s more, much more to this. The irony is that girls match (if not better) boys in maths and science subjects, especially in the earlier years at school. But then something happens. A gender gap in participation starts to appear. It widens the longer girls are in school and is often compounded by issues of race and culture. The result is that, for example, globally women represent less than a quarter of the digital technology workforce.

Lose interest

So, what causes girls to lose interest in STEM subjects and careers? “For years, girls and young women have been a critical missing part of STEM studies and careers,” wrote Dr Shalini Kesar, Associate Professor Department of Computer Science & Information Systems, Southern Utah University, in the Foreword to Microsoft’s recent research on the subject, Closing the STEM Gap. “The stubborn gender disparity in STEM fields has sparked important debates on the underlying reasons. Some attribute

the gender disparity to social and infrastructural factors, lack of mentors and role models, and lack of awareness about what these fields offer in terms of educational and career opportunities.

“This has led to us fostering this creativity in a way where the girls are encouraged and challenged to step outside of the step-by-step instructions, so their innovative ideas and creativity can shine.”

“Others point to studies that indicate traditional mindsets of computing as ‘boring’ and ‘only for boys’ as a major reason why girls and young women do not consider a degree or career in this field.”

What can teachers do to help? In the following pages, you’ll read about projects and initiatives that are trying to address this issue.

As we’ve seen, girls can have a hard time picturing themselves in STEM roles. They also don’t initially see the potential for careers in STEM to be creative.

Clearly, the conditions and context can make a significant difference to girls and their interest in STEM, and there are some immediate and practical steps that teachers, schools and parents can take that will make a big difference. Among them are:

Sarah Kerkhofs runs an after-school coding club at West Rolleston School. About a third of the participants are girls.

• Provide more exposure to positive role models they can both relate to and aspire to be;

“I’ve never met a child that’s reluctant to give tech a go in the classroom,” she said, “But for the girls that come along, they don’t want to code robots or tackle engineering challenges. It’s the creative side of things that appeals, building a game or animation. They also tend to be into lots of other things, sports, dance, all sorts, whereas boys tend to be more tech focused.”

• Demonstrate a path for turning an interest in science into success in school and in a career;

Creative potential

Code Club Aotearoa runs 416 after-school coding clubs across the country every week. An ongoing challenge is different attitudes between boys and girls. “Often the boys arrive rearing to go, they don’t hesitate when it comes to adding code outside the specified set of instructions,” said Siobhan O’Connor, who volunteers at a Code Club in Otahuhu. “The girls, extremely focused, get through the projects very quickly but are initially slightly more cautious when it comes to adding their ideas to the project. As soon as they realise the instructions are more of a guideline everything clicks into place and they can get super creative! I think it’s what keeps them coming back.

• Encourage those influential in a girl’s life to support and foster these interests; • Emphasise the creative aspects of STEM subjects; and • Demonstrate the dramatic impact that science-related jobs have on the world. Of course, not every girl will thrive in science; girls can and will succeed across a range of subjects and interests. It’s important to always keep our focus on them and listen to what they say about their challenges and desires. It’s crucial to learn about how girls currently perceive these subjects and then to provide guidance. This will not only give them opportunities to be successful but also help ensure that, as a society, we realise their full potential. Compiled by the INTERFACE Team.

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Taking steps to solve the absence of females By Frances Valintine, The Mind Lab

Could New Zealand be at the cusp of an industry revolution? Is it possible that in reimagining our country’s economic future, we can plan for a buoyant tech sector spurred on by a generation of young females who will dominate STEM disciplines? While the likelihood of females dominating or even equalling the male bias that prevails throughout the world is low, there are early indicators that the younger members of Generation Z might just turn history on its head. The recent New Zealand Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) study, ‘Drawing the Future’, surveyed 7,241 students aged seven to 13 years on their future career aspirations. Impressively, 23.1 per cent of girls versus just 15.9 per cent of boys wanted to have a future career in a STEM field. Could this be the first signal of a changing world? Or will these young women lose their motivation for technology, science and engineering as they enter the realities of a sector that has a significant gender imbalance? We have all heard quotes about our children studying subjects they will never use while missing out on learning subjects for careers that are not yet invented. As a technology educator with 25 years of experience, I can confidently say that we should not be worried about future careers but focus on the technology careers that already employ hundreds of millions of people worldwide. The future will see further advances in technology. But in the here and now, we already have more jobs in roles that require knowledge of software, digital skills and development than the total sum of all vacancies currently available for journalists, lawyers, bankers, sportspeople, musicians, publicists, and communications.

Support their interests

The next generation of students knows the world they live in is not the same world their parents and teachers imagine. We will be leading our daughters and granddaughters astray if we don’t support their interests and passion for STEM, and, more importantly, if we fail to promote the importance of digital skills as part of every future career. As a proud mother, I know it’s easy to recommend subjects and career options

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EDUCATION FUTURIST: FRANCES VALINTINE

that we understand well. Promoting the areas that are familiar to us through our own experiences might feel like the right thing to do, but in the absence of a concrete understanding of what is truly possible, we limit future opportunities for a generation who will live and work in a very different environment. The tech industry has always been diverse. Walk into any development house or software company, and the mix of people from all over the world is immediately apparent. These studios and offices are filled with creative, dynamic roles, exciting projects and the chance to be part of initiatives changing the way we think and respond to technology. But wherever I go, there is an absence of females. This lack of women in the technology sector has played out over many decades, but now more than ever the tech sector is where the biggest opportunities sit. Big data, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, creative digital assets, digital currencies, digital sovereignty, data analytics, privacy, cybersecurity, ethics, robotics and even space and science-based technologies are some of the highest sought-after skill sets in the world. New Zealand is no different, we are facing the most significant shortage of technical experts we have ever had, and there is

no end in sight.

Barrier to adoption

In my role developing pathways for adults to embrace change and develop the capabilities to thrive in the digital economy, I find myself in frequent conversations with people who are intimidated by technological advances and the language that has emerged to accommodate the sector. Agile, APIs, integrations, user journeys, sprints, user experiences, productivity tools, to name a few, present a barrier to adoption. While the language and the tools are different, we need to find ways to make the first step on the learning journey if we are all to be part of tomorrow’s world. The saying ‘you cannot be, what you cannot see’ is more important than ever. We need to showcase to our daughters and our female colleagues that we are all part of the new world of technology. Through forming collectives and stepping boldly forward together, we can be the catalyst of change and progress. It is through committing to the development and adoption of new skills we will encourage others to do the same. Frances Valintine CNZM is CEO and founder of The Mind Lab and Tech Futures Lab.

Trying a different approach to engage girls By Daniel Wyatt, Birkdale Intermediate School This year we have moved away from Scratch and robotics in an attempt to engage our girls more in digital technologies. Our theory behind this was based on observations that many girls were simply not interested in these two learning tools. Instead, we decided to focus on a different approach looking at digital skills for video games, which generally have a high level of student engagement. We started the unit with two sessions of digital animation using online editor Piskel (piskelapp.com). Students create short pixel animations, which they enjoyed. The purpose behind this was to get students used to the fact that often things go wrong when working with technology and they need to use problem-solving skills to figure out the problem. Alongside this, we also had a focus on exploring software, figuring out how programs work and what buttons do what, as this is a lifelong skill of importance in this world with everchanging technology.

Excited and keen

After two sessions of digital animation, we did a single further lesson on Piskel. This time we created character sprite sheets for the software we would be using to create our games. This meant that students could customise their character and learn about how sprite sheets work to animate 2D games. At this point in the project many of the students were very excited and keen to begin programming their video game. For the following six sessions, we were working on RPG Maker XP (rpgmakerweb.com) to create 2D video games using a mix of block-based and line-by-line coding. We used a flipped classroom approach with students having access to a library of tutorial videos, so that they could work at their own pace GIRLS’ ENJOYMENT OF DIGITECH COURSE IN 2020

through their project. This also freed up the teacher to work with struggling students or those needing support. At the end of the six weeks, students showcased their games and we marked their code.

Better results

Out of the 236 students involved in this programme, we had the following results: • 80 boys and 76 girls completed code to the expected level for their age. This included coding dialogue logic trees using text and choice branches. Transferring the playing using X/Y variables, using self switches in programmable events to turn on/off coded functions of non-player characters (NPCs) and programming movement routes for them. • 40 boys and 38 girls achieved above. This included using conditional branches to check for global switches operating, using variables (such as using a random number generator) to check a student created loot table and text based on the RNG, and coding in player customisation, often using variables or switches to change the appearance or job of the player; and • 1 boy and 1 girl did not complete a project. These results were significantly higher for both the boys and girls than in previous years doing a Scratch and robotics-based programme. Also, feedback from girls (see graphs below) shows the level of engagement and enjoyment was much higher, too. We’re currently working on new projects, with a focus on hands-on learning aimed at increasing engagement with Mãori and

Pacific students. One is a makerspace unit involving solar panels, electrical wiring, CAD design and 3D printing. Overall, we have been very proud of what we have achieved so far, with almost every student looking forward to their next session of digital technologies. Daniel Wyatt teaches Digi Tech at Birkdale Intermediate School in Auckland.

GIRLS’ ENJOYMENT OF REVISED DIGITECH COURSE IN 2021

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Recognising girls as users, creators and innovators of technology Susana Tomaz, Westlake Girls’ High School We continue to have under representation of girls in digital technology, with a decrease of females in the tech pipeline across all transition levels from primary to secondary, and only around a quarter representation in the IT workforce. Changes to the Digital Technologies (DT) curriculum was a step in the right direction, although the challenges around upskilling teachers in digital literacy is holding progress back. There is urgency in closing the digital divide in our schools, which has been enhanced in a pandemic environment, by ensuring that every child has access to a device and Wi-Fi at home. However, access is not sufficient. Having support networks at home, at school and in the community – that incentivise, and monitor the use of technology – have the potential of improving literacy and digital skills, especially for girls. Consequently, solving the female under-representation in DT becomes a community-centred effort that requires the support of schools, whãnau and industry. And creating better connections between industry and education are pivotal to improve diversity and pathways into digital technology careers. Enabling girls and women, who represent half of New Zealand’s population, to “There has always been this invisible barrier that makes me feel like I’m not smart enough or capable because when many people describe they use technology jargon. There is also a lack of opportunity, it’s hard to become interested in technology when you have never been exposed to it.” WGHS student

pursue career pathways in technology fields has important economic benefits, fuelling competition and innovation, and ultimately strengthening the economy.

Exposure and empowerment

Another benefit is that women in DT becomes normalised. Girls need exposure to role models that will empower them into a career pathway still full of misconception and unconscious biased. Engagement in DT education can help females develop skills and improve their earning potential. Providing girls with the skills to master technology is a social, moral and economic necessity. From my experience of working on ways to actively engage girls in STEAM for the last 14 years, in both the UK and New Zealand, I would say the main three barriers to engage girls with digital technologies are: • Lack of self-belief and role models/ support networks; • Lack of exposure to digital technologies such as electronics through making; and • Lack of awareness by wha-nau of DT

projects set in authentic context that are meaningful to them. The way we approach STEAM at Westlake Girls’ is with a focus on creativity, hence the ‘A’ in STEAM. We always start with outcomes and cool projects. A student sees making as a tool in their creative kit, a means to an end and without realising it they learn how to work with electronics, 3D printing, robotics, Virtual Reality.

careers and unconscious biases.

Breaking down barriers

Research has found that the digital gap starts to widen as early as Year 3, suggesting that interventions to increase access to technologies should start during primary school. Breaking these barriers requires an early intervention and community effort. One way is by designing programmes that target girls. STEAM learning programmes provide amazing opportunities to promote gender equity by empowering girls to engage with technology through maker

STEAM can be used as a vehicle to strategically attract specific groups underrepresented in computer science and engineering fields, such as girls. We also align the community projects to the 123 Tech Challenge, which is aligned with the new Digital Technologies curriculum. This competition is a really good way for schools to start addressing under representation in this area, not just girls. Students from Year 1 all the way to Year 13 can participate and teachers are well supported with ready-to-go resource packs.

Female leaders

Community projects in STEAM are another way we expose girls to digital technology fostering learning through personally meaningful, collaborative and multidisciplinary projects. During these,

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MOTAT’S STEM LEARNABLE KIT

“I think there are a group of girls who still believe tech is a male dominated really hard to get into subject that only smart people get into. Not only that but they don’t try because they don’t think that they will be successful.” WGHS student students identify a community issue of their interest for which they develop a technologically innovative solution. They then pitch their prototype solution that they have created using technology to a ‘shark tank’ made of females with leadership roles in STEAM industry, therefore exposing them to role models. Community projects enable learners to pursue their own interests and work across different disciplines on projects that have a personal relevance for them, deepening their engagement. The ‘tinkering’ aspect of making a technological solution is a way to learn through hands-on experience with technology. Encouraging experimentation, exploration of new paths and new possibilities shifting the girls from passive consumers to active creators of technology. This approach not only fosters a growth mindset but also it strengthens critical 21st century skills, such as collaboration, problem solving, resilience, and adaptability.

Community approach

At Westlake Girls’ High School, we have been working hard to break down barriers leading to under-representation in technology. Our partnership with the parent community has also allowed us to reach untapped potential and collaboratively create authentic learning opportunities that address the lack of exposure and unconscious bias that our students arrived with at secondary school. However, to tackle the problem effectively and sustainably, we require a collective/community approach and earlier intervention at primary, intermediate and secondary levels. We need to expose learners to a wider career pathway, including emerging technology careers. Some of the key ways of doing this include: • Fostering girls’ entrepreneurship and engagement in innovation through projects; • Engaging with your parent community to identify female role models to help you to improve exposure and engagement with digital technologies; • Promoting digital technology to students, parents and wha-nau; • Prioritising teacher upskilling in digital technologies; and • Addressing these barriers as a Kahui Ako in order to support student transitions. By adopting a community approach, we aim to effectively address skill shortage locally and provide a good support network to our young people to transition into the workforce. Susana Tomaz is STEAM Coordinator at Westlake Girls’ High School and Across School Lead for Pupuke Kahui Ako in Auckland.

COMBINING TECH SKILLS: CAD AND LASER CUTTING PROJECT.

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Providing learning, motivation and visible female role models By Bridget Lawrence, Mt Roskill Primary School Racecar driver, doctor, teacher. These were the predictable answers I received earlier this year when I asked my Year 6 students: “What job do you think you might like to have?” Not the most original suggestions for such a tech-savvy, information-saturated generation. I felt a little saddened when I saw how their lack of experience limited the dreams my students were creating for their futures. However, now if you ask Room 13 the same question a lot more options have emerged: civil engineer, chemical engineer, game designer. Where did these new ideas come from? I can tell you that it was nothing flash that I did. It was a visit from the Robogals!

Organised and enthusiastic

Despite the name, the Robogals are not robots … and they’re not even all gals. But they are a highly organised, enthusiastic group of engineering students and young professionals who visit schools and community groups ‘inspiring tomorrow’s engineers, today’. They volunteer their time to offer free workshops that encourage girls, in particular, to foster an interest in and a greater confidence with STEM.

also with my local 7- to 9-year-old Brownies). Both lessons introduced key language and skills (like bugging, debugging and Morse Code) through games and collaborative activities. Next students worked in small groups with one volunteer to programme a robot to deliver a message to the rest of the group. I was pleased to see the Robogals allowing students to struggle and problem solve. When help was needed, a question was used to guide them to where solutions could be found. Joy erupted periodically as they tested their code on the robots. All children were engaged and and motivated to work together.

Dreams in their heads

Workshops are highly organised and so well run that you could be fooled into thinking that some of them were trained teachers. But right from your first contact, you’re liaising with university students. Wandering up to my local Brownie’s den on the night we invited them, I found a circle of enthusiastic volunteers already there. They were seated right on the grass, having a meeting, surrounded by all their materials neatly organised into ziplock bags. Workshops begin with each member introducing themselves and what area they are studying. This is important to Robogals as they want to provide visible female role models, filling a known deficit in science, engineering and digital technology areas. Blowing my students’ minds that you can actually study at university to design games!

Workshops, which last about one and a half hours, are tailored for the age group they are presented to. I have seen them in action with our Year 6 students (and

What powers Robogals is their mission statement: ‘Inspire, engage and empower young women into engineering and related fields.’ We invited the group to the school as part of a Digital Citizenship unit. Obviously with only one workshop it is just one piece of the puzzle in terms of teaching children about digital technology. However, they walked away from each of the sessions, with smiles on their faces, dreams in their heads and some new programming skills under their belts. Bridget Lawrence teaches at Mt Roskill Primary School, in Auckland. For more about Robogals and setting up workshops go to robogals.org

ROLE MODELS: MEETING THE ROBOGALS

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‘Girls only’ digiclub proves highly popular By Simon Mutch, Casebrook Intermediate School In my digitech classes, engagement from girls is generally high but this doesn’t translate to them showing up to enhancement or enrichment sessions offered in the afternoons, which are predominantly made up of boys. In an effort to give them more opportunities to foster their talents in this area, we recently decided to start a ‘girls only’ digiclub, on Wednesdays after lunch, and it’s already proving to be a popular option. There are a range of choices for activities at the club, with a big interest in Minecraft.edu. We have many of them working on building the school in their own world or in groups. We’ve met with a few issues as we navigate the Minecraft world but the engagement is high and we’re continuing to learn. Other options include 3D design, coding and animation.

Engagement and participation

It’s a self-select group with no entry criteria and the numbers sit around 30. We usually have a couple of people wanting to join each week and, invariably, not everyone is at school or available, so the numbers remain pretty stable. It’s proving valuable to have a bit of freedom

for the girls to choose what they want to work on, and the plan is for it to become more directed as time goes on to ensure we are targeting the skills they need. Choice will still play an important role and it’s about getting the balance right to ensure high engagement and participation while learning some valuable skills.

Appealing without boys

In class sessions, I expose students to the videos from Hour of Code and random things like the ‘World of Colour’ light show in Disneyland and J’Lo’s dress in the music video for ‘ Feel the Light’. This enables them to see that coding and digital technology has a range of applications and can be used in almost any field. The videos from Hour of Code also have a strong emphasis on females in tech roles.

The ‘girls only’ club has given them another time and opportunity, as well as the chance for girls of all abilities to work together and achieve something they otherwise might not take the chance to do. I talked about it in assembly and mentioned the importance of it for their future. I think it is this ‘sell’, along with the idea of working without boys being there, that appeals.

During tech class sessions, the girls generally enjoy activities such as Code. org, LEGO robotics, animations, making music in Scratch, and many other components of the programme. The issue comes when there’s such a range of choices during extension/ enhancement times that the uptake isn’t high for girls to come to digi extensions.

So far, I have witnessed some fantastic work from the girls. The group is quite large at the moment. We need to ensure it’s manageable and I’m looking to direct them in a number of ways to ensure they are getting as much opportunity and exposure as possible.

It’s important that we continue to nurture their digital technology skills and talents and encourage girls to carry on in this area in the future. Simon Mutch is Digital Technology Specialist at Casebrook Intermediate School in Christchurch.

Developing a STEM identity for girls By Jill Pears, Diamond Harbour School As STEM has gained additional prominence in education due to the growing awareness of the importance of these fields, there’s been a concern about the underrepresentation of girls. In response, initiatives have been implemented to increase girls’ knowledge, skills and interest in these subjects. Yet, while these have shown some success, the percentage of females engaging in non-traditional STEM subjects and career pathways has not increased greatly. An alternative is using an identity lens, which researchers have conceptualised as consisting of three elements.

1. Interest

Starting early fosters a strong interest. Stereotypical beliefs around certain STEM subjects being for boys are evident in children as young as five. Counteract this by fostering girls’ interest early at school. Incorporate STEM activities into playbased learning and encourage girls to be involved. Many who persist in the senior years of their schooling refer to the impact

that has been made on them by being involved in STEM activities in their early years.

understand their impact are less likely to be influenced by them.

Also, show the relevance of STEM to subjects girls are already interested in. It’s everywhere so choose contexts that are relevant to their passions. Foster a sense of belonging. For girls to persist, they need to feel that ‘people like them’ are in STEM. Ensure a sense of belonging is created by having a physical space that is inclusive of girls, avoiding things like posters and items that may be regarded as stereotypically male.

Having other people recognise girls as a STEM person helps to develop their STEM identity. Teacher recognition has an important role to play. Praising girls for their STEM skills has a positive impact on how they perceive themselves and when this praise is public, and they’re also recognised by their peers, this can further reinforce their perception of themselves as a STEM person. Provide opportunities for girls to take up leadership roles in STEM, providing both a context for them to be celebrated and recognised in STEM, as well as role models for younger girls.

2. Performance and competence

Girls may not have had the same prior experience as boys, for example with STEM based toys or computer games. Be aware of this and ensure girls are supported to help develop their confidence. Girls-only classes can help to provide a safe environment for them to develop.

3. Recognition by others

Focusing on these areas has the potential to increase the number of girls who persist with STEM subjects beyond their middle school years, a time when there’s often a sharp decrease in participation. Jill Pears is Principal at Diamond Harbour School in Canterbury.

Teach about stereotypes. Girls who

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Connecting with women in technology SHE# is a group dedicated to inspiring young girls to pursue tech careers by connecting them with female role models and challenging misconceptions about the industry. Here INTERFACE talks to founder Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh. What are the challenges facing girls interested in digital technology?

Women are currently on the wrong side of the digital skills gap. In tech, it’s a man’s world. We have a global and urgent problem on our hands. We believe that girls interested in digital tech lack the knowledge of this vast field, as well as the resources to allow them to upskill and learn. The digital divide is the gap between those who have access to computers and the internet, and those with limited or no access. And without access to these resources, girls, especially in rural areas, are usually left behind. Technology experts say girls with poor digital literacy skills will be the hardest hit and will struggle to find jobs as technology advances. This correlates to the lack of role models available and introduced to young girls, which results in little or no motivation to learn more about digital technology and step into this field. At She#, we believe that “you can’t be what you can’t see,” so being distant from women already succeeding in digital technology can be discouraging for these girls.

Tell us about SHE# and what you’re doing to help?

Our story started five years ago with a dream to change female representation in STEM-related fields, where women make up only 20 per cent of roles in the industry. Since then, we have held over 30 events, workshops, and networking opportunities offering a safe, inclusive,

and diverse environment for everyone interested in all things STEM.

MEMBERS OF THE SHE# TEAM.

We influence the next generation of leaders, doers and thinkers in STEM by showcasing strong female role models in the industry. We encourage young girls and women by showing them the importance and relevance of STEM career paths. We ensure that they know they belong in this industry as much as everyone else. We have run many events teaching and inspiring young girls. We found a few of the girls were initially shy and timid as the misconception around technology and computer science being ‘too hard’ potentially made them nervous. We overcame these by consistently encouraging the girls and showcasing new innovative technology. We’ve held workshops like Computer Science for High School (CS4HS) and Superhero Daughter Day, which highlight new technologies and software for young girls to try, in order to inspire them to choose STEM as a career field and make digital technology seem fun.

What would be your advice to people wanting to engage and excite girls about tech?

Show you are excited and enthusiastic about digital tech yourself first. Be the role model and person they can look up to. We always say, you can’t be what you can’t see! We show girls the vast range of different forms of technology and the different doors it opens. Show girls robots, Artificial Intelligence, cyber security, digital design, and more.

What are the benefits of getting girls involved?

We always want to encourage girls and women to enter a career that they themselves want to do, not to be pressured or wrongly influenced. Benefits for those involved include amazing job opportunities, job security, career flexibility, and hiring demand. In wider sense, it paves the way for a more equitable world and, overall, positively impacting society.

What would you like to see happening in the future?

The future would be developed for the better when there is a balance between female and male workers, as well as more diversity in each STEM field. At She#, we feel our mission will be accomplished when more young girls are informed about digital technology and positively encouraged to think about it as a possible career. We also hope to see more women supporting each other in overcoming challenges and breaking gender stereotypes.

Thank you. Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh is Founder and Director of SHE#, and a professor of Information Technology and Software Engineering at Auckland University of Technology. For more about SHE# go to shesharp.org.nz

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Reshaping stereotypes and increasing gender diversity By Kate Allan One of our key goals at Code Club Aotearoa is to create content and resources that supports girls in feeling a strong and positive sense of turangawaewae within our sessions. For our Ma-ori and Pasifika learners this has involved creating projects that encourage them to be able to code and connect with their own stories. For Moonhack, this year, our team wrote a bilingual code project for Matariki using Scratch. The activity supported learners in exploring and coding indigenous stories, and what we noticed was how many of our girls and diverse youth became fully involved through telling their own stories and sharing them with the world. We have made it a priority to celebrate girls, women and diverse people coding in Aotearoa through large nationwide events. Through showcasing and making role models more visible we have been able to engage with kaiako, kura and the wider community in reshaping stereotypes and increasing gender diversity in Digital Technologies.

Stage show

A key highlight was a nationwide tour sharing the story and life of Ada Lovelace through the live stage show ADA.ADA. ADA. Girls came to the show alongside their schools, peers and wha-nau and were captivated and inspired by both the history of the world’s first computer programmer and the modern-day tech that interwove to share her story.

Following the show, we ran two-hour, hands-on workshops allowing girls to create, and explore technology from a real-world lens in a safe and welcoming environment.

Digital gender divide

interweave Digital Technologies and coding into all curriculum areas. Kate Allan is Project Manager at Code Club Aotearoa. Find out more about setting up a Code Club at codeclub.nz

A key next step in supporting the digital gender divide is through providing more opportunities for our girls to get involved. Teachers, with classrooms of relatively equal gender divide are in a prime position to do so. With the expectation that the revised Digital Technologies curriculum is now being taught within every school, we are supporting teachers to set up and run a Code Club within their daily teaching programme. This opens the door for girls to easily engage and access our content, and for teachers to successfully

ENJOYING THE SHOW: STUDENTS ON STAGE AT ADA.ADA.ADA

Thanks to Sarah, Siobhan, Frances, Daniel, Susana, Bridget, Simon, Jill, Mahsa, and Kate for sharing their thoughts with INTERFACE.

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High hopes for cyber safety message to run and run Scott Hillman is a keen runner and has participated in plenty of races but none quite like the one he completed last term. The Glenfield Primary School teacher jogged for 36 kilometres around the school grounds to raise awareness for cyber safety, as he explains. It’s critical that our local community is aware of cyber safety and how important it is to keep their children safe online. However, with half our school’s students being ESOL learners, together with a general lack of awareness of the dangers of the internet to children – along with a degree of ‘it will never happen to my child’ – we were concerned that the important messages that we’d been trying to promote were not getting through. Whether intentionally or not, some of the content students were viewing and the searches they were performing were disturbing. We were also finding that many have social media accounts but without the knowledge and skills to know how to safely use these (and, officially, they’re too young to use these services anyway!).

Unsuitable content

MESSAGE BOARDS: STUDENTS’ CYBER SAFETY POSTERS

We’d even partnered this year with Family Zone to offer our community a free premium account, which gives them a suite of tools to easily monitor and restrict viewing time and unsuitable content across all their personal devices. But only seven families out of a school roll of 307 took up the offer. So, as the ICT leader of the school, I wanted to come up with a purposeful way we could capture our community and bring this matter to their attention.

Running addiction

I’m a keen ultra-marathon runner and it came to me while on the trails one day that having an event combining physical education with a cultural day in order to get our cyber safety message across could be the answer. The principal thought it was a great idea. She and the staff (as well as some of the parents) are aware of my running addiction and were not surprised to hear of my desire to unite two of my passions. The support was immense, and it was seen as a great opportunity to get our community onsite and involved in a unique event.

ON THE RUN: TERRI COCHRANE WITH SOME OF HER CLASS

Shoot ’em-ups or sit-ups? Is gaming as good as going to gym? 26

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Find out on page 38.

The ‘Cyber Awareness Day’ was held last term on 2 July. I ran around a 900-metre circuit of the school for a combined total of four hours, covering about 36 kilometres. Originally, I’d planned to run all day but I was sick leading up to the event. However, as it turned out, this enabled more of the staff to be involved, which was beneficial all round.

KEEPING GOING: DEREK DALLOW ENCOURAGING CHILDREN DURING MORNING TEA

Activities and stalls

During my run, I tagged in other school staff, who ran and walked with students for up to an hour. About 300 students took part. Each was sponsored, with an amazing $3,000 being raised for the I AM HOPE charity, which promotes awareness and care for young people’s mental health. Afterwards, the school also organised fun activities and stalls, from 3-5pm, where our community sold cultural food and some classroom performances took place ending with a Kapa Haka performance. During this time, we also encouraged people to sign up for the free account, as well as a Community Connect Cyber Safety evening, which was to be held the following week – and ended up being very well attended.

GETTING READY: PEIYU LI WITH HIS CLASS BEFORE THEIR BIG RUN

Maintaining the message

The day was a lot of fun and has proved successful in engaging more of the school community with our cyber safety message and offers of assistance. The importance and complexity of keeping our students safe online means that this is not to be just a one-off, ‘ticked that box’ event. Our work is far from done. We are now busy thinking of where we go next with teaching our wider school community about the daily risks that they face, keeping our kids safe online, and how we can all be upstanding digital citizens. Scott Hillman teaches at Glenfield Primary School in Auckland.

RUNNING MAN: SCOTT HILLMAN RUNNING PAST HIS CLASS IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL

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LEGO robotics team builds its way to national success Students need to be on their game to master the FIRST LEGO League Challenge. And piecing together creativity, coding and presenting skills, along with a block of experience, proved the winning formula for Kaiapoi North School as they were crowned national champions. Everything is awesome for students at Kaiapoi North School after winning the FIRST LEGO League Challenge 2020. “It’s a tough competition and everyone was delighted,” said teacher and coach Brayden Johnson, “After they missed their opportunity to travel to Australia due to COVID – after placing third last year – they put in a lot of work and relief was a word some of them used to describe how it made them feel. “They’re a very dedicated group of students. Many of them put in work outside of the regular weekly sessions we have at school to prepare. They see being in a FIRST LEGO League team as a privilege and strive pretty hard to ensure that FLL continues to be viewed in this way.”

Two-part challenge

Held last December at Te Matauranga School in Auckland, the national competition attracted 48 teams from around the country, among them two from Kaiapoi North School, the experienced Tech Vengers and first timers Tech Knights. “Each year FLL releases a challenge the involves both problem solving and a robotics element,” explained Brayden. “Part one is a practical project that involves students coming up with a solution to a real-world problem and using experts in their field to prove their theory could work. Students create a presentation of between 5-10 minutes to showcase to the judges on competition day. There are also presentations of around five minutes that cover both the LEGO Core Values and the robot design and creation. Part two is all around using the EV3/SPARK PRIME Robots.” The 2020 challenge was around keeping people fit. “Our Tech Vengers team created an app called INCLUSIVE that encourages competition by awarding points for exercising. QR codes were added to our

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TEAMWORK: TECH VENGERS (BACK) AND TECH KNIGHTS (FRONT)

school fitness equipment and there was a large focus on making the game accessible to people of all abilities. “The Tech Knights used Virtual Reality to create a game to get people moving and doing fitness, like running on the spot press-ups, etc.”

Improving performance

Kaiapoi North became involved in FIRST LEGO League in 2017 when students worked together with staff to find an event that allowed them to push themselves in robotics while being able to also apply STEM knowledge through the project version of the event. Each successive year has seen the school’s team improve its performance, finishing third in 2019 and winning in 2020. “When we originally started a team, I needed to shoulder tap students to take part. However, with a profile that comes with placings and wins, we had more and more interest from students wanting to take part. Now there’s a trial for people to join. We also began receiving some fantastic support from local businesses, which is vital for us to be able to afford to get to Auckland for the Nationals.”

Brayden adds that he’s incredibly lucky to have support from parents like Tracey Moore and Jo McCurrie, and especially Dean Sole, who runs weekend coding sessions for students and “always goes above and beyond”. “Last year saw us expand to two teams – one experienced and one beginner. Our experienced team came away as national champions with our junior team finishing third overall in the robotics portion of the competition. Both the 2019 placing and the 2020 win should have qualified us for international travel and representation but, unfortunately, COVID put an end to that.” Although FLL allows for between 4 and 10 students per team, there are eight students in each KNS team “We choose this number as it allows for enough space in a Van for coaches plus students when we travel.”

Talk to professionals

The teams meet every Monday from 3pm to 4.30pm to prepare and work on their projects. “Our students give up an afternoon to come together and brainstorm their ideas,

SUPPORT CREW: (L-R) PARENT COACHES JO MCCURRIE AND DEAN SOLE, AND BRAYDEN JOHNSON.

refine their solutions and talk to professionals to ensure that their ideas are accurate and can be used in real world solutions. This is usually followed up with homework (self-set) to be done before the session the following week. Sometimes there are also weekend sessions as needed as we get closer to the competition. “I know of many schools that use the FLL challenge as an inquiry and have teams that take part through classroom teaching. We don’t link to in-class work here, as we choose to have it as an extra.” Brayden believes the competition offers a range of benefits to students. “They learn a lot about personal inquiries, teamwork, competition, robotics, and coding. “Students have to explore a theme and understand what the big question means and how to answer them using small community-based questions. They learn about prototyping, having their ideas peer reviewed (by a specialist), using feedback to improve their original idea, and then how to put this all together and make a presentation that covers all of their pain points. They learn about teamwork and LEGO Core Values while working together. “There’s also PD opportunities for teachers, provided through both FIRST LEGO League and coaches’ forums, as well as team meet ups. Plus, there are a lot of YouTube clips online that can assist.”

Unexpected challenge

Looking ahead, Brayden’s students have been working hard on this year’s challenge – and he’s had some unexpected work to do, as well. Themed ‘Cargo Connect’, the FLL has this challenge for 2021: “Transportation drives us forward, bridging cultures and enhancing quality of life. But as the world changes, it’s up to you to innovate and build sustainable paths forward, ensuring a brighter future for all.” The National Championship is being held 4 and 5 December at Te Matauranga School in South Auckland. However, as well as a regional event in Hawke’s Bay,

a second is being held in Christchurch at, yes you’ve guessed it, Kaiapoi North School, on 20 November. “I jokingly said to the organisers at the Nationals last year that they should contact me if they wanted to run an event in the South Island. I was contacted in March and it has been all hands on deck since then. “I am very excited about it as we’re able to offer this opportunity to more schools that wouldn’t have been able to take part in the past.”

Student competition: Design your own game in Gamefroot. Find out more on page 6.

For more about the FIRST LEGO League Challenge 2021 go to firstnz.org

If you’d like to know more about the regional competition in Christchurch (especially if you can volunteer to help on the day), contact Brayden at brayden.j@kaiapoinorth.school.nz

INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

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ILESHAREFILESHAREFILESHAREFILESHAREFILESHAREFILESH SPACE

EBOOKS

For a great selection of images, videos and audio that are ‘out of this world’, check out NASA Image and Video Library (images.nasa.gov). Get started with the ‘Newest Uploads’ or ‘Most Popular’, before searching by keyword for specific resources. You can filter the results by format or year.

Get Free Books (getfreeebooks.com) is part library, part news and commentary about the world of ebooks. Search by keyword or by category – including science, poetry, travel, history, maths, hobbies, food, and technology – to access a range of ebooks, resources, suggestions, and ideas.

With the goal of being ‘The Library to the World’, Bookyards (bookyards.com) offers more than 24,000 ebooks, reference materials and documents. Browse by author or category, including Children, Politics & Government, Literature, History, Science & Technology, and more. Download as a PDF.

From the Smithsonian’s Learning Lab, Astronomical Observational Images (s.si.edu/3fVAlXf) shows how our view of the universe has changed as observational tools have improved. From what we can see with the naked eye to state-of-the-art telescopes, see how images have evolved over time.

International Children’s Digital Library (en.childrenslibrary.org) is building a collection of historical and contemporary books from around the world. There are currently 4,600 titles in 80 languages, listed by genre, format, character, and language, as well as the more usual ‘colour of cover’ and ‘shape of book’.

For a selection of classic literature for children try Gateway to the Classics (gatewaytotheclassics.com). There are 100s of titles, with special emphasis on history, literature, and natural history. In addition, there’s a collection of 2,500 poems, plus some audio recordings of books and songs.

Universe Today (universetoday.com) has all the latest space and astronomy news and views. Each post has a brief introduction, with an option to read more and links to further resources. There’s a guide to space, photos, videos, and a forum, as well as a weekly newsletter to sign up for.

Internet Archive (archive.org) has 20 million free downloadable books and texts, offered in a variety of formats. Sort by title, creator, date or views, or search by keyword. Also, there’s a collection of 2.3 million modern ebooks that may be borrowed if you sign up to a free archive. org account.

Free Kids Books (freekidsbooks.org) is a growing library of unique books, literary resources, and textbooks, available online and for download (mostly in PDF format). There are four age categories – toddlers, children, older children, and young adults. Sort by popular or date, or search by keyword.

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INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

FLYING

MATHS

HISTORY

Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers (bit.ly/wopapers) is a collection of materials related to aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright. It comprises more than 10,000 items, including documents, photos, notebooks, correspondence, scrapbooks, and drawings, along with the brothers’ 303 glass-plate photographic negatives.

Have a maths question? Looking for maths teaching resources? Math Central (mathcentral.uregina.ca) has a heap of maths-related information, including a Q&A database, lesson plans, glossary, and a guide to careers in mathematics, plus check out profiles of famous mathematicians.

From The American Institute for Roman Culture, discover the Eternal City’s history at Ancient Rome Live (ancientromelive.org), its origins to the present day. Learn about buildings, museum collections, people, daily life, emperors, religion, excavations, and more, through videos, photos, text, podcasts, and seminars.

Discover the stories of female aviation pioneers at Women with Altitude (netflights.com/c/women-with-altitudeinteractive/). From Hilda Hewlett, the first woman to gain a pilot’s licence, to Wang Zheng, the first Asian woman to circumnavigate the planet, learn about aviation firsts along this interactive

Figure This! (figurethis.nctm.org/) offers a range of fun maths challenges for students to solve, like ‘How can two squares make a third?’ or ‘Why aren’t manhole covers square?’. Each includes a description of the maths involved, hints to solve it, the solution, and further related problems to explore.

From the Titanic to Tutankhamun, World Wars to World Cups, British Pathé (britishpathe.com) is a fascinating and extensive archive of newsreels, video, documentaries, film, footage, and photos. Explore collections and galleries or search in excess of 136,000 items from 1910 to the end of 1984.

What makes an airplane fly? Why does a balloon float in the air? Find out at How Things Fly (howthingsfly.si.edu). Through exploring issues of lift, drag, thrust, and weight, this interactive resource helps students learn and understand about aerodynamics and how flight happens.

GeoGebra (geogebra.org) is a collection of free digital tools, including a collaborative whiteboard. Use the graphing calculator for functions, geometry, algebra, calculus, statistics, and 3-D math. Or explore 1000s of maths-related activities, simulations, exercises, lessons, and games.

Access a wealth of once-secret documents from governments and organisations worldwide at Digital Archive: International History Declassified (digitalarchive. wilsoncenter.org). Documents include diplomatic cables, correspondence, and meeting minutes, all offering unique insights into recent events.

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Wherever you see this symbol it means there’s a video to watch on our website relating to the resource interfaceonline.co.nz INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

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COOL GIZMOS

EDUCATIONAL GAMES

GitMind (gitmind.com)is a collaborative mind-mapping and brainstorming tool. Thanks to an extensive template gallery – there are more than 100 to choose from – or by starting from scratch, you can easily create and share mind maps, concept maps, organisational charts, and flowcharts.

Conduct tests and quizzes with your students using ThatQuiz (thatquiz.org). Set up the class, then build your tests. There are some common categories with questions – like fractions, geometry, geography, and vocabulary – or design your own or browse what others have done. Share the code when done.

From the Australian National Maritime Museum, Cook’s Voyages (bit.ly/ cooksvoyagesgame) explores his three trips to the Pacific (and specifically Australia). In each game, players choose a mission, and select crew and equipment, before undertaking scientific and navigational challenges.

What’s making the news? What’s trending in different places? Find out with Trendy (theactual.news). Choose a country and see the top topics and headlines. Each bubble is a daily search trend, a story that was rapidly rising in search traffic over 24 hours. Click to view and link to the source.

Free Word Cloud Generator (freewordcloudgenerator.com) lets you transform any text into powerful and effective word cloud visualisations. Type, paste or upload any text, including social media posts, then generate and customise (with colours and fonts) an awesome word cloud image.

What can be done to balance global water resources? Aquation (ssec.si.edu/ aquation) challenges students to manage the distribution of clean water and solve the world’s water crisis. Players react to global events (like floods, dry spells and disease) build new facilities, perform R&D, and much more.

Lekh (lekh.dotope.com) is a digital notebook. Styled as a physical pad, it comes with colourful highlighters, different page styles, sticky notes, photos, and more. Add your content, edit font, style, size, and add highlights. It can be a journal, a diary, a doodling book, or whatever you choose.

Looking for biology and science-related images? Bioicons (bioicons.com) has a huge collection – about 16,000 at last count – of freely available icons and images. Categories include genetics, animals, chemistry, microbiology, cell structure, oncology, and more. Click on any image to download as a vector file.

What country are you looking at? How well do you know their shapes and boundaries? Map Quiz (labs.mapbox. com/map-quiz/) will test students’ geographical knowledge and awareness. Each question shows a map outline, with multiple choice answers. Answer and see facts about the country.

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INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

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Simply paste text or upload files – up to five doc, txt or pdf files at once – and Check Plagiarism (check-plagiarism. com) will review. To get a report, including exact matches and sources, you need to create a free account, which allows up to 200 free checks. Paid accounts offer more features and unlimited checks.

QueText (quetext.com) is fast and offers colour-coded feedback that makes it easier to see and understand potential problems. The free plan allows users to check 2,500 words a month – premium plans have more options. Also, after the first free search, you’ll need to create a free account to continue.

Dramatic StoryTime Theater (youtube. com/user/bigvaughnny/) focuses on classic storybooks. Read in a fun and dramatic way, follow along watching and listening to well-known books like The Berenstain Bears, Splat the Cat, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Where the Wild Things Are.

Plagramme (plagramme.com/freeplagiarism-checker-teachers) provides its full online plagiarism checker free to educators. With a database claiming more than 14 trillion documents, it’ll quickly check text that you upload, score for plagiarism, show original sources, and provide a detailed report.

Do you think that one student copied another or made just a few tweaks to escape detection? Try the free comparison tool at Copyscape (copyscape. com/compare.php), which also includes other plagiarism-related tools. Paste text from the two documents and compare to see just how alike they are.

Looking for some new characters and unfamiliar stories? The Storytime Family (bit.ly/thestorytimefamily) offers a virtual bookshelf stuffed with quality, interesting tales about animals and children that are a little off the beaten track and likely (hopefully) won’t have been heard before.

Check documents for plagiarism, paraphrasing and similar suspect writing with Copyleaks (copyleaks.com/ plagiarism-checker). Its AI-based algorithm can scan pdf, doc, html, txt, and other formats, as well as the written word, and quickly provides a detailed report. Get 20 free scans per month.

Check for plagiarism without creating an account and download pdf reports at Plagiarism Detector (plagiarismdetector. net). Copy and paste your text (up to 1,000 words at a time for free). The site supports multiple languages and offers unlimited free checks (or get extra perks with premium accounts).

With a range of popular movie, TV and literacy characters, Kids Stories 4 You (bit.ly/kidsstories4you) offers clear and enjoyable reading, as well as a wide selection to engage kids. You can choose from Pete the Cat, Frozen, Thomas the Tank Engine, SpongeBob, Scooby Doo, and many more.

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PLAGIARISM CHECKERS

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK THE APPROPRIATENESS OF ANY ONLINE RESOURCES BEFORE USING THEM IN CLASS.

INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

21.07

LESSON IDEA 21.07: QUICK, DRAW! Objective: Teach a computer to recognise images Age range: 10-18 Website: quickdraw.withgoogle.com

Can you help teach a computer to recognise images? Quick, Draw! is a fun, online game developed by Google that challenges players to draw a picture and then uses artificial intelligence (AI) to guess what it is – and, in the process, learn from the experience.

3. Go to the site and start. There are six rounds, during which the player gets 20 seconds to draw an object, while the AI attempts to identify it. 4. Check out your results and how well the AI can tell what you’re drawing.

Uses in learning

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What makes it easy and hard to draw images and/or recognise them? How does the AI learn? This is a simple way to participate in the experiment and explore the concept of machine learning.

Method

1. Discuss the idea of AI and computers learning, how it works, the effectiveness, the implications, and so on. 2. Introduce Quick, Draw! Explain that it’s a bit like Pictionary for robots as it tries to guess what’s being drawn.

All the results of the project are available, with the Quick Draw Dataset containing 50 million drawings across 345 categories, contributed by players of the game, so you also get the chance to use and analyse the game’s data.

21.08

LESSON IDEA 21.08: NEW ZEALAND SIGN LANGUAGE (NZSL). Objective: Learn a new way to communicate Age range: 5-18 Websites: learnnzsl.nz

Learn NZSL is a free learning portal on New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), the language of New Zealand’s Deaf community. Use it to study NZSL, connect with a Deaf friend, or just for enjoying a new language.

Method

1. Introduce sign language, the role it plays, how it works, and the differences it has with spoken and written communication.

Uses in learning

NZSL is one of two official languages in New Zealand, the other being Te Reo. (English is the de facto language but currently not an official one, which may be a topic for another discussion.) Simply knowing some signs is a useful skill for any student. If you’re discussing languages or communications, this is a simple way to expose people to NZSL and bring signing in general into the conversation.

2. Go to the portal, where you can watch, learn and practise how to use NZSL in common situations. 3. There are nine settings to choose from, including ‘Meet and Greet’, ‘Everyday activities’ and ‘Holidays’. 4. Within each topic, there are videos, resources and exercises to help you learn signs and test how you’re going

THESE LESSON IDEAS ARE PUBLISHED UNDER THE CREATIVE COMMONS BY-SA LICENCE. THIS MEANS YOU’RE FREE TO SHARE AND ADAPT PROVIDED YOU CREDIT INTERFACE AS THE SOURCE. 34

INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

In association with

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IN@INTERFACEONLINE.CO.NZ WIN@INTERFACEONLINE.CO.NZ We have some fantastic prizes up for grabs this issue.

2to

MY AUDIO PET PORTABLE SPEAKER

WIN!

For sounds that are both fun and adorable look no further than a My Audio Pet Speaker. Connecting via Bluetooth, the device comes with four hours of music play on a single charge. It’s small and compact (measuring just 5cm in height), and comes with a backpack clip and strap for easy handling and USB cable for charging. Also, download the associated ‘Hide and Seek’ app to play games and record stories. We have two speakers to give away – Go Go Bananas and Lalala Llama. Let us know which you would prefer when entering. Entries close Wednesday 27 October.

3to

WIN!

MINI PHOTOBOX From dioramas and dolls to models and Claymation, if you need somewhere to stage photo shoots of small objects, a Mini Photobox could be the answer for some stunning snaps. With 20 built-in LEDs, conveniently powered by USB cable, and two foam backgrounds to choose from (black and white), you can set the scene perfectly, eliminating glare and light spots. Plus, a folding construction offers a conveniently compact, portable design – it measures just 24 x 22.8 x 22cm – allowing you to use it almost anywhere. Would this make a great addition to your classroom or makerspace creating? We have three to give away. Entries close Wednesday 27 October.

Please note, prize does not include smartphone and stand.

Is STEAM the perfect way to learn? Find out on page 14.

INTERFACE 103 NOVEMBER 20

Z WIN@INTERFACEONLINE.CO.NZ WIN@INTERFACEONLINE.CO

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

1to WIN!

ADJUSTABLE LONG ARM FLOOR STAND Need a spare and steady hand for photographs and videos? Hold your smartphone or tablet in the perfect position with an Adjustable Long Arm Floor Stand. Measuring 1.35m tall and with a heavy-duty, square base, clip your device in place with a secure spring system and soft silicone pad for cushioning. The durable metal arm offers 180-degree movement; the mount can turn 360 degrees. We have one stand to give away. Enter your details on our website and it could be yours. Entries close Wednesday 27 October.

CABLE CLIP DESK TIDY How often are you struggling to keep track of stray wires and cables? Keep your desk neat and your cables firmly in their place with a Cable Clip Desk Tidy. Suitable for fixing to wooden, plastic or metal surfaces – simply peel and stick to attach – a pack comes with five of these smart black clips. Just find the best spots for sticking and you’re all sorted. And being 2.8cm in diameter, you’ll hardly know they’re there.

2to

WIN!

We have two packs (each with five cable clips) up for grabs. Simply enter on our website. Entries close Wednesday 27 October.

Lesson Idea: Sign Language

Learning a new way to communicate. See page 34.

INTERFACE 103 NOVEMBER 20

EVE

Shoot ’em-ups are as physically demanding as sit-ups We already know that playing computer games is more than just entertainment. Research has shown a range of benefits, from improving social connections and visual-spatial recognition, to promoting problem-solving and even boosting reading skills. Can we now add physical fitness to the list? Could gaming be as good as going to the gym?

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The findings of a new study reveal that far from being a lazy and inactive pastime, gaming and esports can be quite physically demanding. Researchers tracked the heart rate and calorie burn of 50 gamers while they played FIFA and Warzone for two hours, as well as while participants did a number of sit-ups. From that data, they calculated the calorie burn for each activity and compared the two. The results showed male gamers burned an average of 210 calories per hour and female gamers around 236 calories during an intense gaming session, which was similar to the number of calories needed to perform 1000 sit-ups.

Gaming sweat

“We all know that competition increases our heart rate and most of us have experienced the ‘gaming sweat’ that happens when you’re searching for a last-minute goal in FIFA or in a tight spot in Warzone,” said Tom Fairey, CEO and founder of Stakester, an esports platform that conducted the research. “It’s no surprise that this burns calories, but we we’re surprised to see just how many are burned during a two-hour session. It certainly beats doing 1000 sit ups!” To put these numbers into context, the study adds that it would take around 57 minutes to burn off a 50g chocolate bar (230 calories), 1 hour and 4 minutes to work off a Big Mac (257 calories), and 50 minutes to burn off a medium slice of Domino’s Margherita pizza (200 calories). This isn’t the first time a link has been made between gaming and a healthy lifestyle. Last year, a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) study of 1,400 gamers from 65 countries

discovered that players are 21 per cent more likely to have healthier body weights than the average population. The survey also revealed that esport gamers smoke and drink less than the general populous and are significantly more active. “The findings challenge the stereotype of the morbidly obese gamer,” said QUT esports researcher Michael Trotter. “When you think of esports, there are often concerns raised regarding sedentary behaviour and poor health as a result, and the study revealed some interesting and mixed results.”

Making friends

In other good news for sportsters, a study carried out in Denmark by Aalborg University and Future Classroom Lab has shown that gaming can be a great tool for learning, as well as for developing social skills and relations within the classroom. Specifically, the research investigated how cooperative games can affect relationships between students.

INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

The game chosen was Torchlight 2, a fantasy, cartoonish co-op game in which players fight against computer-controlled enemies to advance through the levels. “If the enemy simply glances at you, you instantly die, unless players work together as a team. That might sound like a big challenge, but it created the need for cooperation. It forced students to communicate and play together. “Normally, quiet students can hide behind others in group tasks. But here, they all had to work together to even beat the first level, which is quite rare at school. The experience showed an improvement in communication skills, better well-being and higher motivation to learn in the respective subject fields. On top of that, new friendships are born.” Compiled by the INTERFACE Team.

“Our goal was to delve into the benefits of gaming and specifically highly co-opbased gaming,” explained professor

Looking ahead to 2022 38

Thorkild Hanghøj. “The kids know and love highly competitive games like CS: GO and Fortnite, but we introduced them to a more cooperation-based game, where they need to collaborate to have a chance of winning.”

Next time, we’ll be exploring the ideas, trends and resources you need to know for next year.

ENTSDIARYEVENTSDIARYEVENTSDIARYEVENTSDIARYEVEN Some key digital technology and education events, activities and opportunities coming up. TERMS

TERMS

The Wonder Project 2021 Programme

1-4

Digital activities for school students to support the DT & HM curriculum.

1-4

Rocket Challenge Year 5-6, Term 2; Plant Challenge Year 7-8, Term 4; STEM Careers Year 7–13.

Nationwide competition for Years 1-13.

Exciting young Kiwis about STEM. wonderproject.nz

123tech.nz/sign-up

TERMS

INTERFACE Gamefroot Competition

2-3

Challenge your students to combine exploring history with computer coding.

Your event could be seen here!

More on page 6. interfaceonline.co.nz/gamefroot2021

OCT

TENZ 2021 National Conference

OCT

uLearn21

11-13

Bringing you the latest innovations in technology education.

13-14

”Learning ways of being and doing that personally, nourish us professionally, culturally, and collectively.” Online education conference.

Online content. More on page 8.

core-ed.org/events/ulearn/

tenz.org.nz/2021-conference/

OCT

Kai’s Clan Space Race 2021

Competition for students to design and code a mission on Mars. Entries close 30 October.

Add your event to our Diary If you’re holding an event you’d like to publicise, let us know. It costs just $150 + gst to add it to our Events Diary. Contact advertising@interfacemagazine.co.nz

kaisclan.ai/kais-mission-space-race-2021/

2022 MAY

MAY

Lincoln

Taupo

Auckland

22 More on page 7 and at interfacexpo.nz

interfaceonline.co.nz/eventsdiary Our Events Diary is kindly sponsored by

Download your Keyboard Finger Placement Guide interfaceonline.co.nz/fingerguide Find out more about how Acer can help your school and students at education.aca@acer.com 139 Q3 2021

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Diary entries are published at the discretion of INTERFACE. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information, INTERFACE does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracies that may occur. 2/08/2021 3:50:32 PM

INTERFACE 108 SEPTEMBER 21

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INTERFACE Magazine, Issue 108, September 2021

Articles inside

Lesson Ideas: ‘Quick Draw!’ and ‘New Zealand Sign Language’

File Share: Four pages of online resources

High hopes for cyber safety message to run

TENZ: Design competition gets political to test creativity

Empowering girls to make IT their world

LEGO robotics team builds its way to

Noticeboard

The Mind Lab: Is professional development a ‘nice to have’? Introducing Micro- Credentials.

The perfect way to promote all-round learning

INTERFACE News and Views