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 Grok Academy 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) STEAM Leaders in your school
- Teachers – those who have little experience and those who have a lot
- Heads of Learning Areas / Curriculum – who wish to discover how to plan as a team to break down the discipline silos of learning
- Principals and Deputy Principals – to witness what is possible by embedding STEAM authentically in your school
Teacher Professional Development Stream
“Many teachers and schools are challenged by HOW to create STEM learning that develops students across the years to be the independent critical thinkers and problem solvers the world needs.
We have brought together some of Australia’s leading practitioners in the fields of design, technology, curriculum planning, student engagement and STEM learning to develop a special Teacher Professional Development stream at this year’s QLD It Takes a Spark STEM Conference.
Every session is designed to provide teachers with the insight, practical guidance and resources they need to improve their planning and practice upon return to their schools. The professional learning will support teachers no matter their prior background, confidence, or capability.”
INTRODUCING THE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS.....
DR SONIA SHAH
Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow
University of Queensland & Superstar of STEM
Sonia uses her knowledge and skills in biology, statistics and computing, to analyse genetic data on hundreds of thousands of individuals to better understand how the human body works and what goes wrong in disease, so we can come up with new ways to prevent and treat heart disease. We now live in a world where it is possible to analyse someone’s DNA collected from a bit of spit early in life, and determine if they are more likely to develop heart disease later in life, giving us more time to make the right changes that will help prevent disease in the future.
Sonia’s curiosity and significant contributions to science have been acknowledged by awards such as the 2020 Women in Technology (WiT) Rising Star Science award and 2022 Queensland Young Tall Poppy Award.
ANNELIES MOENS
Managing Director Privcore Pty Ltd
Superstar of STEM
Annelies is a widely recognised global data privacy expert. She was selected as a Superstar of STEM for 2021-2022 and is also a mentor for the Australian Government’s Boosting Female Founders initiative. She also holds an MBA in general international management (distinction), a First Class Honours Law degree, and Arts (majoring in computer science) and Science degrees with emphasis on artificial intelligence from The University of Queensland.
Annelies’ vision is to make privacy core business – a discipline integral to business and government. Today, much of the value of an organisation lies in how well it manages the data it holds.
Through Privcore, Annelies and her team conducts privacy impact assessments, privacy health checks, data breach prevention, response and regulatory engagement and builds privacy programs for clients so they can increase trust and confidence in their organisation.
TEACHER MINI-MASTER CLASSES
Practice, Failure and Learning – what I wish I was taught
Cran Middlecoat
It’s Rocket Science Adventures
Teach by Design
Daniel McGowan
Inspired Education Australia
Getting started with the Micromelon Rover and Python
Tim Hadwen
Micromelon Robotics
Arduino in AgTech
Keely Berther
IntegratedSTEM
First Steps to designing a well-planned STEAM program
Dr Adrian Bertolini
Intuyu Consulting / Spark STEM Conferences
Using AI tools – the good, the bad and the ugly
Grok Academy
Going the Distance – All of STEAM in 40 minutes
Mark Lockett
The Southport School
DIGIDESIGN MINI-WORKSHOPS - students and teachers
Creating Holograms
Students from St Aidan’s Anglican Girls College
Corals are Cool and Crucial
Diana Kleine
CoralWatch
The University of Queensland
LEGO Algorithmics
Grok Academy
Perceive or deceive? Is your brain telling you the truth?
Dana Bradford and Julie Trinder
CSIRO
Detecting the Unseen: Dark Matter
Jackie Bondell
ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics
Is my organisation really Cybersecure?
Finn Foulds-Cook
Volkis
Lego Lifting Challenge
Natalie Rodrigues
e2 Young Engineers
Mission to Mars
Stephen Broderick
St Ursula’s College Toowoomba
Trash Travel
Dini Kanagaratnam, Tangalooma EcoMarines and Bree Cremen, City of Gold Coast Council
Waves of Destruction
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and IT;
The University of Queensland
Design Thinking SuperSprint
Sid Verma
BrainSTEM
Man or Machine: How does Artificial Intelligence work?
Grok Academy
Egg Drop Tower of Terror!
Gabrielle Austerberry
Global Education Innovations
An Introduction to Indigenous Astronomy
Dr Michael Cowley
Queensland University of Technology
Web3.0 – will it transform learning?
Babu Pillai
Southern Cross University
STEAM Expo hands-on activities area
Melting Metal Mementos
Mark Baker
Assumption College Warwick
Zenva Schools
Pablo Farias
Zenva
Starry Nights Preserved: A Showcase of Astronomy’s Past Through Glass Plates
Dr Michael Cowley
Queensland University of Technology
Grok Academy
@ the STEAM Expo
Blast Off to the Virtual Universe!
Jackie Bondell
OzGrav
The Weird & Wonderful World of Wounds
Assoc. Professor Jessica Stokes-Parish
Bond University
Balance & Gravity – Living in balance with the planet
Brett Pearce
Big Bang Education
Mothamaticians
Bayer Crop Science
Solar Activity: Sunspots, Prominences and Filaments
Stephen Broderick
St Ursula’s College Toowoomba
Tangalooma Ecomarines
Tangalooma EcoMarines and City of Gold Coast Council
Engineering, Design and Computing
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and IT;
The University of Queensland
Southern Cross University – Transforming Tomorrow
Fly through the Past, Present and Future!
Allyson Starky
Cross River Rail Delivery Authority
Robot Arm Control Systems
Ryan Marple
Cyborg Dynamics
Virtual Field Trips to Earth and Beyond
Faculty of Science
Queensland University of Technology
Hands on Robotics with Micromelon
Tim Hadwen
Micromelon Robotics
Study Gold Coast and Gold Coast Student Hub
Study Gold Coast
Hawker Brownlow Education
Books for Teachers
(no activities)
This IS Rocket Science!!!!
Petar Nikolic and Lee Emerson
It’s Rocket Science Adventures
Explore Electronics!
Keely Berther
IntegratedSTEM
Drone Experience
Pakronics and The Southport School students
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.
Choosing and using functional foods – a STEM project
Professor Lindsay Brown
Griffith University
Wacky Windmills
Vanessa Bermingham
Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology
Tomb Raider
Mark Lockett
The Southport School
Future Transport Solutions
Shelley DeRuyter and Veronica Farina
William Ross State High School
Design like a Boss!
Grok Academy
Crash Course in Micro:Bit
Grok Academy
Creating a sustainable powered future
Darren Fellowes
The Southport School – Preparatory Campus
Prototyping & Testing with Lego – Kangaroo Point Green Bridge
Natalie Rodrigues
e2 Young Engineers
Beating the Bee Bug
Nicolette Wheaton
The Glennie School
What Does Learning Sound Like? Optimising acoustics for educational environments
Matthew Ottley, Marshall Day Acoustics and Fiona Young, Hayball Architects
Automatic product counting for belt conveyors
Vinh Bui
Southern Cross University
Toying around with Simple Circuits
St Ursula’s College Toowoomba
Sustainable Space Exploration
Cran Middlecoat and Petar Nikolic
It’s Rocket Science Adventures
Agenda
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 – Dr Sonia Shah
Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow, University of Queensland & Superstar of STEM
Learn how Sonia’s curiosity and use of her knowledge and skills in biology, statistics and computing has led her to make a difference to our future health.
9.40 AM
TEACHER ORIENTED MINI-MASTER CLASSES (Rotation 1)
40 min Parallel sessions
- Going the Distance – All of STEAM in 40 minutes: Mark Lockett, The Southport School
- Teach by Design: Rashan Senanayake, Inspired Education Australia
- Arduino in AgTech: Keely Berther, IntegratedSTEM
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
9.40 AM
DIGIDESIGN MINI-WORKSHOPS + STEAM Expo (Rotation 1)
- 40 min sessions
- For teachers and students
- Parallel workshop stations
- Workshops demonstrate hands-on STEAM 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 EXPO
11.00 AM
PROBLEM SOLVERS DESIGN CHALLENGE
- 80 min session – parallel sessions aimed at Year 4 to 10 students and teachers
- This session involves real life design challenges where attendees are led through the design process to ideate and present possible solutions
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
11.00 AM
TEACHER ALTERNATE SESSIONS
- Grok Academy’s Using AI tools – the good, the bad and the ugly (40 min session)
- Find out about how AI tools can be used effectively in teaching and learning and discover the amazingly wide variety of free PD and resources available to all teachers throughout Australia that support the effective delivery of the Technologies curriculum
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
11.40 AM
- Teacher Networking and STEM Pathways (40 min session)
- Opportunity to discuss how the variety of STEM organisations including businesses and universities can support you in delivering and inspiring STEM in your school
- Opportunity to connect with other teachers and presenters to share ideas, possibilities and practices
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
12.25 PM
LUNCH
An opportunity to network with other teachers and students, and explore EXPO
1.00 PM
Keynote Speaker – Annelies Moens
Managing Director Privcore Pty Ltd and Superstar of STEM
Learn how Annelies applies STEM to business and data privacy … a very topical area!
1.40 PM
TEACHER ORIENTED MINI-MASTER CLASSES (Rotation 2)
40 min Parallel sessions
- First Steps to designing a well-planned STEAM program: Dr Adrian Bertolini, Intuyu Consulting / Spark STEM Conferences
- Getting started with the Micromelon Rover and Python: Tim Hadwen, Micromelon Robotics
- Practice, Failure and Learning – what I wish I was taught: Cran Middlecoat, It’s Rocket Science Adventures
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
1.40 PM
DIGIDESIGN MINI-WORKSHOPS + STEAM Expo (Rotation 2)
- 40 min sessions
- For teachers and students
- Parallel work stations
- Workshops demonstrate hands-on STEAM and / or entrepreneurial activities for Year 4 to 10 students
- Presented by attending students / teachers / universities / sponsors / organisations
Breakout Rooms
Pre-registration required
2.30 PM
FEEDBACK AND CONFERENCE COMPLETION
- Awarding of prizes to attendees
- Completion of feedback form
2.45 PM
CLOSE OF CONFERENCE
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
VENUE
The Southport School
2 Winchester St
Southport QLD 4215
DATE Friday, 16 June 2023
TIME / AGENDA 8.15am open
8.45am start – 2.45pm finish
Read School 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…
Teachers are able to attend without students
We recommend max 25 students per school with minimum teacher ratio of 1T:10S
CONFERENCE RATES
*Early bird Teacher $155
Full fee teacher $185
*Early bird Student $27
Full fee student $30
*Early bird Pre-service $55
Full fee pre-service $77
Study Gold Coast teacher $105
Study Gold Coast student $22
Inclusive of GST, Morning tea and Lunch
*book by 24/05/2023
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. Workshop selection will open 3 to 4 weeks prior to the conference, we will email the registered teachers and contact person.
Host School
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
This event is supported by funding from
Silver Sponsor
CREATE SPARKS IN LEARNING FOR TEACHERS, STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS! BECOME A SPONSOR…
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
© 2023 Intuyu Consulting Pty Ltd