The Australian Education Reporter
EDUTECH 2018
EDUTECH 2018 is the largest education conference in the Southern Hemisphere, covering research, leadership, technology and learning environments, pedagogy and curriculum integration.
EDUTECH has shaped the future of Australian education for the past decade with targeted professional learning and development from pre-school to post-school.
EDUTECH and Futureschools conference director Samantha Young said the range of experienced speakers was a major drawcard for attendees.
“Every year we bring avid educationalists the brightest and most innovative minds to share their unique ideas – ranging from Sir Ken Robinson to Prof. Carol Dweck, Prof. Sugata Mitra to Jan Owen AM,” she said.
This year’s speakers include Mark Scott AO, Secretary, NSW Department of Education; Dr. Yong Zhao, World renowned educationalist; Jennie Vine, assistant principal of one of Australia’s most innovative primary schools, Wooranna Park; and Prof. Toby Walsh, one of the world’s top authorities and Australia’s leading scientist on Artificial Intelligence, to name a few.
National Institute of Education (Singapore) Associate Dean of Leadership Learning and Head of the Policy and Leadership Studies Academic Group Dr Pak Tee Ng is looking forward to delivering a keynote address at the conference and exploring the difference in education practices between our two countries.
“I am involved in the preparation and continuous professional development of school leaders and teachers for my country,” Dr Pak Tee Ng said.
“While the context are very different, other education systems may wish to study and understand Singapore’s commitment to investing consistently in education, investing in the professional development of educators, making every school a good school, and diversifying the educational pathways for different children to find success in their own way,” he said.
Dr Ng believes that, while we should be open minded about changing technology as a tool that increases human connectedness across time and space, and can empower individuals in the learning process and enable learning at any place and time, schools should not use technology blindly just for the sake of using it.
“Schools should focus on the pedagogy that technology can enable, not on how fanciful or powerful a tool is,” he said.
For teachers and school leaders to keep up with rapidly changing technology, Dr Ng recommends courses and conferences like EDUTECH to gain new knowledge, network with peers and gain exposure to new and exciting educational possibilities.
“Teachers and school leaders must be role-models of learning, keenly seeking to hone their craft to bring quality education to the next generation,” Dr Ng said.
Educators attending the conference can receive points towards professional learning activities which can be lodged with their state teacher registration board, and they also have the opportunity to learn from the successes and failures of others and implement best practice in their own schools.
“Depending on the number of sessions attended, delegates can get up to 13 hours for the two conference days, whilst attendees who choose to attend one of our pre-event masterclasses can get an additional 6.5 hours for attending the masterclass,” Ms Young said.
The masterclasses are a chance for educators to learn from leading education thinkers in a practical, interactive and intimate group.
“It’s the perfect complement to the EDUTECH Congress professional learning experience!” Ms Young said.
EDUTECH 2018 aims to educate the educators; equipping them with the newest tools, ideas and strategies to teach the next generation of students to learn deeper, faster, wider and smarter.
“Looking at the bigger picture – learning is thinking with other people’s ideas. When you bring together over 4000 schools from over 20 countries and provide a flexible learning space – naturally we all swap ideas and learn from each other,” Ms Young said.
“We must learn from others success, and more importantly their failures. This is why case study driven content delivered interactively and live at EDUTECH and National Futureschools will never go out of fashion.”
Ms Young said that there is something for every educator at this year’s conference.
“It’s for the principals who feel they aren’t ready, not confident and need support. It’s for the teachers who can say that they aren’t able to provide the exact combination of resources and knowledge for every student and is willing to look at collaboration beyond the classroom so that their students can realise their full potential,” she said.
“At EDUTECH, you can guarantee leaders, educators, and students alike will get unlimited access across two days to an incredible and expansive network of peers, potential commerce and business partners, universities, design and construction thought-leaders.”
“Teachers and school leaders must be role-models of learning, keenly seeking to hone their craft to bring quality education to the next generation.”