05 Mar 2021
With so much edtech news being released each week, the Technology 4 Learning team wanted to give you their top picks each week to help you get up to speed!
Mission to Mars
If you have been listening to the news you might have heard that NASA’s latest mission to the moon touched down in the last week. While space missions might be a dime a dozen, this one was a little different with the Rover ‘Perseverance’ coming along for the ride! This little explorer buggy, complete with a ‘Mars helicopter’ in its belly will be able to investigate the planet like never before.
With connections to the Science, Design and Technology curricula and more across both primary and secondary the time to explore space, mars and engineering has never been more relevant.
To bring this event to your classroom:
Inspire budding engineers and get them engineering their own rover with LEGO robotics (if you don’t have robotics of your own order a stem.T4L kit to bring these amazing resources to your classroom).
Chegging
Have you heard of Chegg? Chegg is a company that makes its money out of crowdsourcing and supplying answers to students’ quizzes, textbook and exam questions! Taking advantage of the online environment, this tool has led to an increasing use of what is now termed ‘chegging,’ a process by which students effectively outsource the completion of their homework and assignments to Chegg or other services.
While it hasn’t raised its head in the K-12 sector yet, it is food for thought on how we structure assessment tasks to make them not just ‘ungoogleable’ but ‘uncheggable’ or how we embrace the use of these tools as just one of the many in the mix that allows students, workers and society to solve the problems of tomorrow. Read more at Forbes here.
Minecraft – Extinction Safari
Have you embraced Minecraft in your classroom? Keen to see how it can not only be a creation tool but also a learning pathway? Take a peek on the Minecraft Education Edition website for some great new worlds that not only inspire creation but also develop students’ skills and knowledge.
The Extinction world caught our eye this week - a collaboration between the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and Minecraft Education Edition, it encourages students to consider ways to reverse the trends of loss of animal habitats and animals themselves.
With connections to Science and Technology curricula, it might be the perfect way to dip your toe in the Minecraft pond! Check out:
New features in Teams
Are you and your students Teams users? This week sees some great new features you might like to explore:
- Keen to get your students or colleagues feeling more together? Explore the new backgrounds available for together mode! Simply select ‘change scene’ in the bottom left hand corner of your Teams meeting
Get more expressive in Teams, not only can you raise your hand but now there are a few more live reactions to make it more like being there!
Please note: The resources above are not necessarily endorsed or supported by the T4L team or NSW Department of Education, they have been provided for informational purposes only.