Most conferences currently being offered on STEM, STEAM and Entrepreneurship tend to be targeted towards teachers and involve a series of speakers and the occasional mini-workshops. This conference is designed to be different. This conference is designed by students and teachers for students and teachers.
The intent of the It Takes a Spark STEM Conference is to bring together Students (Year 4 to 10) and Teachers to connect with inspiring industry role models, share their current school based activities and projects using an authentic sharing and experiential model, create networks of teachers and student teams, and solve social justice design challenges.
The participation of the students is as important as teachers as our intent is to ignite, empower and nurture both to be leaders of STEM and Entrepreneurship within their schools. This is a conference designed and led by students and teachers for students and teachers.
Teachers will have both formal and informal opportunities to speak to other teachers who have enacted programs and activities in their schools and get their questions answered.
The workshops and social justice design challenges are all hands-on so students and teachers will experience first-hand what it is like to be part of great STEM and entrepreneurial learning. This will spark new ideas about curriculum and pedagogy.
Who Should Attend
- Students – those who are already (or aspire to be) Technology Leaders in your school
- Teachers – those who have little experience and those who have a lot
- Heads of Learning Areas / Curriculum – who wish to discuss how to create trans-disciplinary units that are powerfully engaging
- Principals and Deputy Principals – to witness what is possible by embedding the Technologies Curriculum in your school
INTRODUCING THE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
ARIEL PASCOE
Environmental Consultant, Artist, Comedienne
Ariel is a modern day scientist having passions in art, music, stand-up and science! She has a Bachelor of Science with a double major in geology and chemistry and honours in economic geology. While she has worked as an exploration geologist and spent time in Central Australia she is currently working as an environmental consultant supporting the environmental remediation of industrial sites.
Ariel went to the ‘farm school’ of Nantone Primary and then on to Parklands High and Hellyer College in Burnie. She has been painting since she was 13 and you can see some of her murals around Burnie. She is also a musician and plays with the Wynyard Big Band. While she loved art and music she spent her teens reading science textbooks at her mum’s work when she missed the bus home. This led her to her current multi-faceted career.
DR MEGAN VERDON
Senior Research Fellow, Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture
University of Tasmania
Megan took the long path to find her career. She received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Melbourne in 2007. Megan returned to university after a short career as an industrial chemist and commenced a PhD at the Animal Welfare Science Centre in 2010. Megan received the Australian Government Science and Innovation Award while completing her PhD.
Megan works on animal welfare (social license to farm). This involves use of SMART collars to detect various animal activities and wellbeing and makes connections to things like virtual fencing, automated milking systems (robotics) etc.
We will have the brightest educators, organisations and students who are passionate about STEM lead either Teacher Oriented Mini-Master Classes and/or Student Oriented DigiDesign Mini Workshops. These sessions are short, sharp action packed with activities / communications. No waffle!
Teacher Mini-Master Classes – 40 minutes
Who will present: teachers / university / industry / sponsors
Audience: Teachers
Embedding STEM into curriculum
Showcase projects, eg app design, creativity, circular design
Beginning to advanced teachers
Brilliant PD and conference presenter
Share knowledge and create networks
DigiDesign Mini Workshops – 40 minutes
Who will present: students / teachers / university / sponsors / organisations
Audience: Students Years 4 to 10 and Teachers
Students inspiring students
Interactive, hands on STEM or entrepreneurial activities
Grow in confidence by sharing ideas / innovation
Unique public speaking opportunity
Participate in Problem Solvers Design Challenges…
In the past we had challenges varying from Shaky Solutions – Earthquake simulator, Bee-pocalypse, TurtleGate, Self-Drive Cars, and Coding for Disaster Relief.
Each session will have a different real life design challenge to solve aimed at students (Year 4 to 10) and teachers.
This session is an opportunity for schools, universities, industry, or community organisations to pose real life design challenges and lead student through the design process to ideate and present possible solutions.
TEACHER MINI-MASTER CLASSES
Assessing and Leading STEM Learning
Dr Adrian Bertolini
Intuyu Consulting/Spark EDU Conferences
Using your PASCO (and other data logging) gear to extend STEM in the science classroom
Doug Bail
Cider House ICT
Integrated STEM: where do I start?
Rosemary Anderson
Tasmania Dept of Education
Encouraging Inquiry with the Internet of Things
James Riggall and Troy Merritt
Bitlink
Sparking engagement with non-school STEM opportunities
Chris Bracken
Catholic Education Tasmania
Setting up effective STEM learning in your school
Marist Regional College
Burnie
DIGIDESIGN MINI WORKSHOPS - STUDENT and TEACHER
Robot Coding Challenge
TasNetworks STEAM Program
Exploring the Internet of Things with micro:bit and Bitlink
James Riggall and Troy Merritt
Bitlink
Innovation in medication delivery
Dr Daniel Hoyle & Natalie Cooper
University of Tasmania
School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology
Learning to Code, Coding to Learn
Doug Bail
Cider House ICT
Tinkering with TinkerCAD
Lilli Hyatt – The Hutchins School
Kate Bridge – St Aloysius Catholic College
Robotic Indigenous Language Tour
Katherine Crouch
Sacred Heart Catholic School Ulverstone
Hands-on with Dark Matter
Jackie Bondell, OzGrav
(ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics)
Cycling rocks: actively learning about the rock cycle
Sebastien Meffre
Earth Sciences, College of Sciences and Engineering, UTas
Biomimicry: using nature to solve problems
Kylie Waters
Ulverstone Secondary College
Sponge sailing boat
Australian Maritime College
University of Tasmania
The Secret Science of Cryptography
Prof. Anna Shillabeer and Lawrence Sambrooks
Information & Communication Technology
College of Sciences and Engineering, UTas
The role of accounting in both destroying and maybe saving the planet … who knew?
Prof. Craig Deegan
College of Business and Economics, UTas
Wave hello to physics that amplifies
St Patrick’s College Launceston
Design Thinking SuperSprint
Sid Verma
BrainSTEM
Step it out with Micro:bit!
Gretchen Lane and Anna McIver
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School Devonport
STEM Expo hands-on activities area
VR and AR: Bringing realistic training to the classroom
Ivan Markota
Tasmanian Minerals
Manufacturing and Energy Council
Forest in a Box – design and make
Kate Battishall
Forest Education Foundation
Problem-Based STEM Learning Projects
Year 5/6 students
Montello Primary School
Blast Off to the Virtual Universe!
Jackie Bondell, OzGrav
(ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery)
The Hidden Language of Emoji
Julia Murrie, Maddy Raimondo and students
Rosebery District School
Science, Seahorses and Sharks
Craig Hawkins
Seahorse World
Wild Life at Wings!
Gena Cantwell
Wing’s Wildlife Park
Species Identification Using Skulls
Sue Street
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Wind Energy Challenge
Hydro Tasmania
Generation Hydro Outreach Education Program
Culture, Compost and Kelp!
Jo Dean
24 Carrot Gardens – Materials Institute, MONA
Arduino innovation in action
Scotch Oakburn College
Observing the stars and planets
Dr Martin George
Hive Planetarium, Ulverstone
Magnetic Marvels
Colin Lawrence
HIVE/UMAG Ulverstone
SUBS in Schools
Students @ Launceston College
Augmented Disruption!
Sacred Heart Catholic PS Launceston
Old mines: how do they affect the environment?
Christopher Allen
School of Natural Sciences
College of Sciences and Engineering, UTas
PROBLEM SOLVERS DESIGN CHALLENGE
Each session has a different real life design or STEAM challenge to solve aimed at Year 4 to 10 students. You will be posed with a real life design challenge and lead through the design process to ideate and present possible solutions.
Earthquake Engineering Challenge
Angela Malis, Hotze Wiebe Veenstra and students
Stella Maris Catholic Primary School
Connecting with Community – An Age-old Problem for Kids!
Catherine Midson and students
Holy Rosary Catholic School
Beware the Turbinator!
Hydro Tasmania
Wind-powered cardboard boat race
Australian Maritime College
University of Tasmania
Doing it Scared
Doug Grubert, Paul Pritchard & John Middendorf
Doug Gruber Education
First Lego League Robot Design
Kurt Atkins and students
St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School
Designing a real-world drone solution
Neville Mould
Taz Drones Solutions
Design Thinking Sprint
Sid Verma
BrainSTEM
Solving Sore Shoulders: a real-world challenge
BioMar
Catchment sustainability challenge
Deepa Kumar and Megan Verdon
Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture
College of Sciences and Engineering, UTas
Energy Ethics in a Climate Change World
Professor Anna Shillabeer and Lawrence Sambrooks
Information & Communication Technology
College of Sciences and Engineering, UTas
TIME
EVENT / ACTIVITY
LOCATION
8.15 AM
REGISTRATION, COFFEE/TEA & NETWORKING
8.45 AM
MASTER OF CEREMONIES
Welcome to Country, Welcome to Participants, Set up for the Day
9.00 AM
Keynote Speaker – Ariel Pascoe
9.40 AM
TEACHER ORIENTED MINI-MASTER CLASSES (Rotation 1)
- 40 min sessions
- Parallel sessions
- Presented by attending teachers / universities / industry
- Mini-master classes for teachers to explore specific aspect of embedding STEM in their curriculum
- Various sessions will address beginning teachers, next step and extending
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
9.40 AM
DIGIDESIGN MINI-WORKSHOPS + STEM Expo (Rotation 1)
- 40 min sessions
- For teachers and students
- Parallel workshop stations
- Workshops demonstrate hands-on STEM and / or entrepreneurial activities for Year 4 to 10 students
- Presented by attending students / teachers / universities / sponsors / organisations
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
10.25 AM
MORNING TEA
An opportunity to network with other teachers and students, and explore trade displays.
11.00 AM
PROBLEM SOLVERS DESIGN CHALLENGE
- 80 min session – parallel sessions aimed at Year 4 to 10 students
- This session is an opportunity for universities, industry, schools, or community organisations to pose real life design challenges and lead students through the design process to ideate and present possible solutions.
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
12.20 PM
LUNCH
An opportunity to network with other teachers and students, and explore trade displays.
1.00 PM
Keynote Speaker – Dr Megan Verdon
1.40 PM
TEACHER ORIENTED MINI-MASTER CLASSES (Rotation 2)
- 40 min sessions
- Parallel sessions
- Presented by attending teachers / universities / industry
- Mini-master classes for teachers to explore specific aspect of embedding STEM in their curriculum
- Various sessions will address beginning teachers, next step and extending
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
1.40 PM
DIGIDESIGN MINI-WORKSHOPS + STEM Expo (Rotation 2)
- 40 min sessions
- For teachers and students
- Parallel work stations
- Workshops demonstrate hands-on STEM and / or entrepreneurial activities for Year 4 to 10 students
- Presented by attending students / teachers / universities / sponsors / organisations
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
1.40 PM
SPARKING ENGAGEMENT WITH NON-SCHOOL STEM OPPORTUNITIES
- This session will be an opportunity for teachers to connect and network with representatives from universities, industry, and STEM organisations. The intention is to explore and discuss the latest STEM programs and pathway possibilities that schools can connect to.
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
2.30 PM
Feedback and Conference Completion
- Awarding of prizes to attendees
- Complete feedback form
2.45 PM
CLOSE OF CONFERENCE
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
VENUE
St Brendan-Shaw College
127 James Street
Devonport, TAS 7310
DATE Friday, 2 September 2022
TIME / AGENDA 8.15am open
8.45am start – 2.45pm finish
Read FAQ’s – suggestions on who should attend, answers about what stage you are at and if the conference will suit, registration T&C’s, and more…
CONFERENCE RATES
Early bird Teacher $165*
Subsidised Cath Ed TAS Teacher $140
Full fee Teacher $200
Early bird Student $30*
Subsidised Cath Ed TAS Student $25
Full fee Student $35
Early bird Pre-service/Aides $77
Pre-service/Aides $99
inclusive of GST, morning tea and lunch
*book by 5/08/2022
Teachers are able to attend without students
We recommend max 20 students per school with minimum teacher ratio of 1T:10S
Upon registration you will receive a confirmation email and invoice, payment is via direct deposit or credit card. For full details click on the register button alternatively call Rachel on +61 (0) 411 270 277 to coordinate your registration or ask any questions.
It was fantastic. Our girls could not stop talking about it. It appealed to all of our girls in different ways and at different levels. Some of our girls thoroughly enjoyed the collaborative activities and hands-on activities and some of our girls thoroughly enjoyed talking with the guest speakers and presenters. It had something for everyone. The teachers we took also thoroughly enjoyed the conference and were inspired with the activities presented.
Toowoomba Teacher,
Toowoomba Region State School"I used to think STEAM was going to be boring because it was hard but now I think it is fun even if it is a bit challenging"
Student Testimonial,
Student participant"I understand that Science is so much more than just about scientists and I can enter a path or career that involves Science and I can solve world problems"
Student Testimonial,
Student participant“I attended the It takes a Spark Conference on Friday - it was wonderful! I really enjoyed the sessions and can see ways to incorporate them into incursions and excursions for blind and vision impaired students. It was also a great chance to network and see students participating in the activities. Thank you again.”
Katie Niedda,
Sensory Vision Education, School of Special Educational Needs: Sensory"Many thanks for such a well organised and well run conference. From our perspective and the feedback from others, it was a resounding success."
Jacqui Butler,
Strategic Technology, John Curtin College of the Arts“Thank you, I greatly benefited from attending the conference and hope to attend future conferences and recommend it to my peers.”
Samina Hasan,
Student Teacher 2nd Yr Masters, University of MelbourneSupported by
Hosted by
Organiser + Sponsor
Spark Scholarship
GET IN TOUCH WITH US
Rachel Manneke-Jones
Registration & Bookings
Ph: 0411 270 277
E: rachel@spark-educonferences.com.au
Dr Adrian Bertolini
Conference Co-Ordinator
Ph: 0413 036 382
E: adrian@spark-educonferences.com.au
STAY CONNECTED
Facebook: @SparkEDUConferences
Instagram: Spark.in.STEAM
© 2022 Intuyu Consulting Pty Ltd