Wednesday 7 December 2016

Tait Communications Kids Tech Fest

St Margaret's College has partnered with Tait Communications to provide a technology workshop for children.   The aim of this event has been to provide children with an opportunity to be exposed to a range of technology projects that allowed for the development of personal as well as technical skills.  

We welcomed Sophie Aubrey back to St Margaret's College as the Tait Communications representative.  
Sophie is an Old Girl of the College and both Sophie and past parent Garry Diack have been keen supporters of this project.  Four schools were invited to attend the two-day workshop.  Children from Te Whanau Tahi, Casebrook Intermediate, Rowley Ave School and Te Waka Unua came together to experience robotics, 3D design and printing, Coding and a Makerspace.  






Through their experience, children have been given the opportunity to develop skills in problem-solving,communication, teamwork, creativity, spatial awareness, perseverance, and fine motor control.  Technical skills of design, electronics, coding and continual testing of their projects have also been practiced. We recognise all of these as fundamental skills for our future thinkers.


St Margaret's College students from year 6 - 10 supported and facilitated workshops.  Their input to this event has been greatly appreciated.  The power of students leading other students was phenomenal.  Hattie Compton-Moen, Holly Macdonald, Emma Taylor, Mia Wright, Caitlyn Wickham, Anna Marra and Izzy Watson were impressive in their delivery and interaction with other children. Thanks also to the adult facilitators - Bridget McKendry from the FabLab, Carolyn Howie from Code Club Aotearoa and SMC staff Sarah Coursey and Linda Chong who also ran exciting workshops.

The Tait Communications Kids in Tech Workshop has been a pilot workshop. The goal for St Margaret’s College is to provide ongoing workshops and programmes for students and teachers from other Christchurch and Canterbury schools.

Wednesday 16 November 2016

SUNZ Summit - Day 3

When I think about genetically modified food I'm still not sure how this fits with me. When we look at what NZ uses to produce some of our export foods then I begin to be convinced that the future of solving the world's food shortage may very well be in GM food which would also reduce carbon emissions and use some of our precious resources like water.

Genome editing may be able to restore some of our extinct species - is this a good thing?

Will this technology decrease our sympathy to protect nature if we have the power to bring back the past?

It's not hard to see the link between medicine and how technology can enhance a range of areas in this field.  The latest trend is in 'carriables' - devices that plug into your phone to diagnose and collect personal medical information.  Technology is becoming more reliable and faster than human doctors at diagnosing medical conditions.  Everything has a genetic code and maybe the answer to many issues is in fixing the code before a medical issue can arise?  One of the most recent technological advances is in replicating a canine nose.  Dogs have proven to be able to detect cancers, epilepsy and low blood sugars etc.,  Imagine the possibilities of having an electronic canine nose app or carriable on your phone.

For every good and positive outcome technology can bring, there is alway a dark side that the same technology can be used for.  The underworld of innovation is using technology for evil means whilst the majority of the world's population use it to benefit others.  eg: Pokemon Go - players were drawn to a spot to tag a creature and were robbed.  Technology is helping the bad people rob us en masse. Hackers can steal information and money from the many without having to even meet their victims.

I was very surprised and elated to hear Sue Suckling from NZQA denounce the assessment system for NCEA.  She recognises that students are being assessed in conditions that are foreign to them.  We remove devices and information from our students when they sit and exam yet this isn't how the real world functions so why?
We all recognise the need for some foundation learning:

What was more exciting was the idea of 'verification vs qualification' 

Sue recognised the limits of disruption of assessment in education to involve:- Fear, Control and a new currency of qualification which is "YOU"
Will the future of quality assurance look more like the rating system we use online?

Up until now, I have had little understanding of exactly how artificial intelligence might impact directly with education. Today, Mark Sagar brought another dimension to how AI could be used.  Human's instinctively are seeking and collecting feedback with everything we engage with.  As we have a conversation with someone, we will be automatically scanning their body language, and monitoring their responses to what we say.  Mark has created a physical manifestation of our human body to help humans relate better to AI.  The Baby X4 has all the physical systems of a human and all our chemical responses can be manipulated by sliders.  The camera in our devices are the eyes of the AI.  Meet BabyX:


Variables that can be manipulated in this AI are: race, gender, spoken language, chemicals in the brain that influence emotion and behaviour.




Do we have the courage to make change?
If you don't believe it then you will not be able to do it!

If you are not seeing the failures, then you are not taking the (calculated) risks.





Monday 14 November 2016

SingularityU Summit - Day 2

Another full on day with speakers who are passionate about their fields of interest.

Biotech and Artificial Intelligence (AI) were some of the main themes from today.
Will computer science or AI disrupt your job?


As computer speeds and technology develop, more data is being collected.  AI is the only practicable way in which humans can make sense of the volumes of data being gathered.

Artificial Intelligence is changing the playing field
AI relies on a high trust model.  Humans need to trust the AI; AI needs to be able to trust humans.
AI can change the balance of power and can help to bring equality for small companies to be able to compete with larger companies.   

Shek Almed Zaki Yamani
Larger machines require more energy to be reliable. With the increase in speed of technological development, there is the challenge of creating devices with greater battery capacity and efficiency.  So what is the answer for supplying more affordable energy? Fossil fuels have been the primary source of our energy needs.  
What about wind power, hydro and solar? 

The cost of solar power is becoming more affordable and surprisingly enough, the areas in the world that could harness the most solar power, are the areas that have the least power available to them 
eg: Africa; India and many 3rd world countries.  

"An idea can never break, chip, or crack.  It can grow over time and with the right idea can improve the amount of any resource." Ramez Naam

Disruptive technology is impacting on Genetic Engineering. 
This science impacts upon:
Synthetic biology - reprogramming cells to behave differently
Agriculture - genetically modified organisms eg: creating apples that do not brown when cut
Ethics, Laws and Policy - around genetically modified humans?
Biohacking - being bio-curious and making biotech accessible, affordable and open to everyone  Check out: biotech hack for kids
Consumers Genomics - Purchase gifts for yourself or others eg: 25andMe - discover your DNA and family; Vinome- personalise wine experience; ORIG3N - medical analysis

Automated self-driven vehicles
Currently, when we purchase a car, we consider our needs.  The future of cars may be better described as 'buying a ride'.  We may not need to purchase a car but instead, pay for a car depending on our needs for any given day.  eg: going to work vs going skiing with friends?

Cars of the future could be shells that are not necessarily owned.  This technology can change where to live.  The distance from work to home may be negligible as the time spent in a vehicle could be spent being productive - working, watching a movie or sleeping.

In 2017, Christchurch Airport is going to trial some driverless service shuttles.

Can driverless vehicles reduce the number of vehicle accidents?

Can these vehicles minimise foreign driver incidents?








The day finished with a captivating presentation by astronaut Dan Barry.  His stories of space travel and ideas about autonomous flying raised the question of whether AI would make the right decision.  Dan walked us through the actions of Captain Sullenberger who landed his passenger plane on the Hudson River in 2009 after experiencing a bird strike.  If AI was in charge of the plane, who's lives would AI consider more valuable?- people on the plane? or people on the ground?  Can AI rely on the information from the planes instruments? Would AI have chosen to turn back? or do as "Sully" did?

Mia, Kaila Colbin, Caitlyn
Chatting to Astronaut - Dan Barry
 



SingularityU Summit - Day ONE

Today has finally arrived.  We have been excitedly awaiting this summit and today we were not disappointed.  Although a bit jaded, by little sleep last night from another large 'shake-up' north of Christchurch, we managed to absorb the tone of the summit this afternoon.  I feel very privileged to be able to attend this inaugrual event along with 7 students ranging from year 8 to 12, as well as some illustrious staff from our Leadership Team and School Trust Board.

The theme of this summit is "Understand, Adapt & Thrive"
'Disruption' is different to 'Innovation' and can be define in the image below.


Gordon Moore's Law is not new, and Moore was not the first to explain how change behaves.  The exponential curve has been long associated with the rate at which technology is changing and impacting on simple daily tasks.



For example: Folding a piece of paper in half.  Initially, the task seems easy. As you continue to fold the same piece of paper in half, the task becomes increasingly more difficult. There comes a critical point, where progress may appear slow before taking off at an exponential rate.  Solving this point of difficulty often requires a change in the way we have executed the task to achieve forward progress.

So, how should we prepare children for the future?
The future is no longer represented as a linear progression with certainty. Instead, the future holds energy and excitement, as well as the fear of the unknown.   Teaching students using the 20th century model, is less likely to prepare them for what they may face in the future. Our education system needs to expose students to develop co-operative skills, and allow them to own their mistakes.  Teachers and parents are doing our girls no favours by removing the hurdles that enable us to grow through experience.  Being challenged to solve problems is the better way to prepare our young minds. The feeling of success is so much more rewarding when a student shows perseverance, even though the final outcome may not be perfect.  Our future will be built on many cycles of learning experiences.  Creativity and project-based learning can provide the type of thinking that will prepare our girls to make an impact on their communities.



How does looking back to help us develop our focus forward?  Well, how does the spice and ice trade help us work out our future direction? If we dig a bit deeper, then we discover that spice does not preserve food - yet ice does.  So these trades are not about spice or ice, but more about food preservation.  Similarly, we need to look at what industry we are really fighting for?

Will jobs be lost?  Yes, but disruptive technology can also provide more economic gain than economic loss.  No doubt computers, robots and artificial intelligence can learn to respond like a human.

  • Does this mean that humans will likely be replaced by robots? Yes!  
  • Will robots be smarter and better than humans in the same job? Yes! 
  • Does this mean that all jobs should be done by robots or artificial intelligence? No!  

We are human.
Just because artificial intelligence and robots can do the job better, 
does not mean that they should necessarily replace a human.  

There are simply some jobs, where we expect to have a relationship with a human, 
even though a machine is more efficient and smarter.

Technology should allow us to be more human!

Monday 17 October 2016

'Giving Back'

Two year 9 students had an opportunity to lead a group of year 3 and 4 students at the Bays Cluster Tech Fest early in term 4.  Hattie and Mia mentored the students in a workshop involving Beebot robots.  They moved through a number of activities developing directional and spatial awareness.  These girls showed maturity and displayed a manner that embrace learning and they were splendid ambassadors for St Margaret's College.
  

Last term, a number of students from year 7 - 9 also supported the launch of the Buzz Off competition for students in year 1 - 3.  St Margaret's girls worked with students from around Christchurch in ten stations at Halswell Library.  Again, I was blown away and very proud of the way in which St Margaret's students conducted themselves and guided youngsters to learn and discover through problem-solving activities.

Monday 10 October 2016

Virtual Reality

VR is here! 
One of the ways we can access this technology is through Google Expeditions

We can now get a more realistic experience of places further than our immediate surroundings. An inexpensive exploration of our world, the universe and beyond is now available to teachers and students. The challenge for teachers is how do can we integrate this tool into our learning programmes.

Recently VR Room has opened in Riccarton and can now offer you a virtual experience.





Tuesday 27 September 2016

Finding your Billion


Christ's College hosted the "Find Your Billion" Workshop in association with SingularityU. Teenagers from around the wider Canterbury region and beyond gathered for a day, to debate and dream of ways in which global issues could be solved.

St Margaret's was well represented and I was extremely proud to support these dedicated individuals who spent a day during their holidays to mix with other teens to conceptualise ways in which we can make the world a better place.  Our girls were confident, worked well as part of a team and could articulate their ideas clearly with conviction.



12 Categories



Two hundred and fifty students worked collaboratively in their chosen field of interest.  Students initially chose from twelve categories and then formed smaller teams to problem solve a specific issue which they perceived as being a future problem in around our globe.


SMC students working alongside others. 
 A team from Singularity U and Auckland University led us through a series of discussion opportunities.  The final activity was to pitch their idea to the rest of the participants.


This is the first of many SingularityU opportunities that are coming to Christchurch this year. See the SingularityU NZ webpage for more information.

Next week, on Monday October 3, there is a documentary about using exponential technology to solve global problems. To book in Canterbury, go to this link.

In November we will be treated to a 3-day summit at the Horncastle Arena.


Saturday 24 September 2016

Using Images in your class work

When my students are using the internet to gather information as part of their research then I am constantly reminding them to cite their sources of text, video, audio and pictures.  Here is a useful site that you might like to use when you are searching for images that already have creative commons licensing.  Check out: Photos For Class


Tuesday 20 September 2016

Integrated Learning

I am constantly impressed with the way in which our Middle School year 7 and 8 students approach learning.  We have provided opportunities for these girls to take their learning the next step and to use their creative skills to present a project which encompasses the what they have learnt over the past term.

At year 8 the girls have been studying the Olympic Games.  Thanks to some awesome learning activities from their ENSS teachers, the girls have delved into the values and what goes on behind the scenes for an athlete pre, during and post the games.  Their challenge was to use technology to create something that would represent the next summer Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020.  The choices were wide and varied from 3D printed badges to original lyrics and promotion songs and videos.


In year 7, the girls have been investigating the gap filler spaces around Christchurch Central City.  Following a visit into town to some of these spaces as well as listening to the underlying philosophy and values of the gap filler idea, the girls then created their own model.  Using Tinkercad as a design tool, they collaboratively worked on the one build platform to take their idea and create a visual representation of their gap filler.  Using Quicktime screencasting we were able to take a fly over with narration of the physical space that was created.
Click on this image for the fly over


Robocup Success


St Margaret's College entered the Robocup competition for the first time this year. I was proud to take a dedicated team to compete against other robotic enthusiasts. The girls performed so strongly at our regional competition that we went on to Auckland to make our presence known in the North Island. There are a number of different sections that girls choose to enter.

In the Theatre section of the competition, competitors select and mash together their own sound.  They can also narrate a story or present a scene based on their chosen theme. Their performance needs to demonstrate a range of technologies and part of their mark is based on an interview where the girls have to demonstrate and explain to the judges all the processes that they used to create their performance.

Another popular section was the Search and Rescue competition. Robots are put through their paces by having to complete four different courses throughout the day.  The tiles of the course are changed each round so that competitors are challenged in their ability to think flexibly in their coding and programming of their robots. The silver can at the end of the course must be pushed out of the area to finish and the time to complete the course is also taken into consideration.

Robocup offers our students an opportunity to be personally challenged.  Not only are girls competing against other like-minded students, they are also developing reliance, perseverance and teamwork in the process of preparing their performances.  Robots have a mind of their own! They should never be trusted and no matter how much your minimise and problem-solve the errors, we are always on tender hooks with fingers crossed that the robots will behave.  Nevertheless, the thrill of competing and the emotional rollercoaster that these girls experience allows for the growth of each individual and team.   

I was particularly impressed with the way in which our girls supported one another through the highlights and the disappointments. I am confident that St Margaret’s College is leading the way with girls’ in technology.  This group have been strong ambassadors and have embraced the opportunity to personally grow through their involvement in technology.  A huge 'thank you' to the wonderful team of parents who have supported  us along the way to have made our time together such a memorable first experience for St Margaret’s College to compete at the National Robocup Competition.

Regional Results:
Senior Theatre Section:
2nd Snowgies - Hattie, Holly, Mia
3rd Han Duo - Charlotte, Sophie

Search and Rescue Section:
2nd Caitlyn Wickham

National Results:
Senior Theatre Section:
2nd Snowgies
3rd Han Duo



Innovation and Exponential Technological Change

The University Movie
is coming to Christchurch on Monday 3 October 2016 at Hoyts Riccarton
Book by going to the link above or https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/the-university-preview-screening-with-qa-christchurch-tickets-27745031135?aff=ehomecard

This a documentary film exploring how technology and exponential change can be used in solving some of the problems we face in the world today.  SingularityU is based in Silicon Valley at the NASA research Park in California, America.  This university is said to focus on scientific progress and "exponential" technologies. This film is a precursor to the SingularityU Summit which will run in November at the Horncastle Arena.  The movie is expected to help people to start understanding what it means to be exponential to begin to grapple with the potential impact that some fast changing technologies can have in our community and on a global scale. 

Wednesday 17 August 2016

Robocup 2016

We are excited to be entering four teams this year in our first appearance at the Canterbury regional Robocup Competition.

Good luck to the following teams:
Year 6 : RMJ - Rory, Mikaela, Jasmine competing in the Theatre Competition
Year 8: Caitlyn in the Rescue Competition
Year 9 & 10: Hattie, Mia and Holly in the Theatre Competition
Year 11 & 13: Charlotte and Sophie in the Theatre Competition

Come and join us at Burnside High School from 9am - 3pm on Saturday 20 August

Some of these girls have their eyes on the National Competition in Auckland 
on Saturday 10 September.


Hands on making, doing and creating.

A very interesting read from Core Education about how technology and the Technology Curriculum is providing our young minds opportunities to develop skills that we see as valuable skills for the future. "Technology, so much more that just making"

Thursday 14 July 2016

Integrated Learning - Year 8 ENSS - Shakespeare

Happy Birthday Shakespeare!
How can we provide our students with the opportunity to bring more technology into our programmes?


It was a pleasure to work with Aimie Sibson and her year 8ENSS class on an inquiry question: "Why is Shakespeare still relevant 400 years on…?"

The students had studied "Twelfth Night" this term and as part of their celebration of learning, they were asked to bring Shakespeare alive and make it relevant for the modern audience.

Below are some of the wonderful ways in which the girls presented aspects of the Twelfth Night.

3D designed and printed Shakespeare merchandise - Bobblehead of Shakespeare
3D printed QuoteHanger - "If music be the food of love play on"



Trailer for a recreated film of the Twelfth Night using the coding programme of Scratch


Papertronic gift cards using Shakespeare language and themes that flash and light up supported by Sarah Coursey



Music Video using iMovie and Garage Band




Recreating a setting from the Twelfth Nigh using Minecraft

Gamifying the plot using an app called "Sploder"

Using the classroom window to show the "Love Triangle"
Many students were challenged to learn a new skill and to learn alongside their peers.  The students sought support and guidance when they needed it.  They produced some absolutely amazing pieces of work and this class now understands the process of learning better.  When students were asked for some feedback on how we presented this unit, they understood why there were some 'dull' lessons in getting to grips with the Twelfth Night  - the language, structure, characters and story.  Looking back, the students have a deeper understanding of Shakespeare, his writing and the Twelfth Night.  We emphasized the fun, in doing, creating and making something related to this unit which elevated the hunger to learn and know more.




Integrated Learning - Year 7 ENSS Survivor Island

Collaboration with the ENSS (English and Social Science) teachers has enable us to redefine the learning tasks for the Survivor Island Unit.  In the past students have completed activities such as making the island from paper mache, cardboard huts and created board games to apply their survivor knowledge.

This year we have tried to integrate technology by using the 3D design programme called tinkercad to recreate the island.  Based on a descriptive paragraph, students worked in teams to recreate the island with all it's landmark features.  Students then captured an image of their island and used thinglink to add their stories of survival.  Students wrote their diary entries for each day they survived and then recorded audio or video to upload as part of their links on thinglink.
This task has given students an opportunities to :

  • work collaboratively 
  • show leadership and delegate roles
  • be creative
  • be self managing
  • work to time pressures

I was impressed with the quality and accuracy of the work that the students produced in a 2 week period for the above activity which was one of several learning tasks that the students completed for this unit during this term.

Teaching Children to Code

Stephen Lethbridge presents at TEDx - Tauranga
Student asks, "What do I do next?" Teacher responds "How might you find out?"

Stephen presents how coding in context enable children to be bold and courageous in their learning.  They resilience, they are resourceful and divergent in their thinking.  He stresses that allowing children to copy, tinker and make mistakes along the way empowers their learning!
A "Maker Club" held after school where children must bring a parent means that this co-curricular group is not a drop-off centre.  Adults are encouraged to learn alongside children and teachers.

Stephen hopes that others can see the value in encouraging design thinking, collaboration, teamwork, and iteration spirals to solve real world problems.

"Do not limit our children to the world that came before them"

Monday 23 May 2016

123D Sculpt +

I have been looking for different ways in which students can be creative.  Something that might be an alternative to paper mache, cardboard and tape may be 123D Sculpt+ app.

After watching a very brief introduction of how to use this app, I can see some cool possibilities across our curriculum.  Re-creating a character from a book study using this app seems to allow students to use their own original creativity to bring this character to life. There are many figures to choose from as your starting point from spiders, planes, horses, human, elephants, and frogs etc., Using this app means that there is no waiting for paint to dry or having to access water and clean up.  On the down side you can't get your hands messy, however, there is no chance of getting paint or glue on your uniform.  This app enables students to create an avatar that is 3D and can build from any 2D version we have had in the past.

Tuesday 17 May 2016

Plastimake

Today the year 9's had an opportunity to experiment with this component called "plastimake".  Once the plastic is heated in boiling water, it changes its colour from white to clear.  In this state, the plastic can be moulded into whatever shape you want.  The beauty of plastimake is that it can be reheated in hot water over and over again and can continue to be remoulded.  We experimented with cutting it with scissors and rolling it out on the table. We discovered that making a specific shape required patience and lots of reshaping along the way to arrive at the end product.

Softening the plastimake beads so that we can mould it


Saturday 7 May 2016

Year 13 Design Class

Recently, I had the wonderful chance to work with the year 13 design students.  Last term, Sarah Coursey started this class off with an introductory course on papertronics.  The girls revisited their understanding of basic electrical circuits and created some simple switches and lighted circuits using paper as their base. 

Last week I followed up with some e-textiles.  The stick on LED lights from papertronics were replaced with light emitting diodes, the copper tape which conducts the electrical current was replaced with electronic thread and we used metal domes as our switch.  Both of these sessions have opened up the possibilities of adding some electronics into student design work.  Keen students may also want to extend on this, by adding light, touch, and sound sensors.  Further to this, are programmable sewable circuits such as the Gemma, and LilyPad.





RESOURCES:


Bridget McKendry Christchurch FabLab http://www.fablabchch.org.nz

Nice Gear https://nicegear.co.nz

Aliexpress http://www.aliexpress.com

Jaycar electronics http://www.jaycar.co.nz






Thursday 14 April 2016

Social Networks

I am still astounded at the number of children under the age of 13 years old who have social network accounts.  When I was a child, my parents guarded me against people who they thought might be harmful to me.  I was told off in public spaces when I misbehaved and had a tanty when I did not get my way.  Now that we have an online as well as face to face community, are you as parents looking out for your children in their online space?


Don't get me wrong, I see huge value in having access to social media but how are we teaching our young children and teens how to behave in this space?  In the past adults have been in the same physical space as children and we have reprimanded inappropriate behaviour.  In today's world, are you in the same cyberspace as your teens and children?  

How can we teach the concept of social media and the value it holds yet not expose our younger children to third party online lurkers?  

Aimie is teaching year 7 & 8 students in our Middle School and she has introduced one of her classes to how Twitter works.  This class has taken the concept of twitter and they have re-created a Twitter page on their classroom wall.  Aimie has cleverly modelled this on a book that the class is studying. Students use the limit of 140 characters to summarise a chapter from the book.  The tweets are there for all to see as the wall borders our break-out space so invokes lots of discussion too.



Thursday 3 March 2016

Future Job Environment

We are in a time when exponential change which means that what we plan for tomorrow will be outdated and obsolete extremely quickly.  When I left school the art of gaining knowledge through education, and being successful in attaining a tertiary qualification meant that job opportunities were more abundant. Today there is a shift where knowledge  Jobs of the future are likely to be short contracts that require a human interface working with others using awesome communication skills.   Have you thought about where these business have gone?
            Record and Music Shops?                 Supermarket Checkout Attendants?       Developers of Photographs?

In the not too distant future we will find that warehouses, transportation such as shipping, and jobs like banking, will start to disappear.  Taxi services will dwindle as driverless cars become more popular and individuals will no longer require garages to house their vehicles.


https://youtu.be/l4IQEbbiSGk



Can the job you are interested in be automated?


https://youtu.be/jP8XC6hmZX4


The video above presents 10 future jobs.  This job list may seem a far-fetched, however, I believe that jobs numbered 10 through to 5 are here now, but are not commonly wide spread yet.  
Are we ready and are we preparing students for future jobs?

Wednesday 24 February 2016

How 3D printing is being used to support space exploration

Making 3D prototypes to test the mechanics of rovers on Mars. Watch the video on the link below.


Read more by visiting the following url  - Mars Rover