EdTechSA Lumination Leading Light
2022/23: Jo Rea
Jo Rea is based at Scotch College where she teachers Reception through to year 6 classes.
Jo is an early adoptor of emerging technologies and a natural leader in this space. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and she creates a safe space for students and staff, alike, where they confidently experiment and innovate. In her work, Jo creates environments that students seek during breaks, for connection, care, understanding, community and fun.
Jo initiated the student-led Digi-Do conference in Adelaide which has brought together 7 schools to share their expertise with each other and provides professional development workshops for teachers to support their learning with digital technologies.
2021: Joanne Villis
Joanne Villis is a Secondary Digital Technologies teacher and SEQTA facilitator at St Aloysius College, Adelaide.
With a Masters in Education/Technology, Joanne has delivered Professional Learning at an international level.
Joanne has 18 years teaching experience, from Reception to Year 12, with the addition of tutoring Computer Science and Education and guest lecturer at the University of SA.
With a Masters in Education/Technology and her passion for teaching, she has developed and delivered Professional Learning at a local, national, and international level.
Most recently, Joanne has been recognised by Microsoft Australia, two years in a row as a key teacher in the Imagine Cup, a global initiative supporting the ideas of students in the field of Artificial Intelligence. In 2021, Joanne was the teacher judge representative for the University of Adelaide’s Young Scientist of the Year video competition.
As an active Digital Technologies teacher and coordinator, she is proactive in the development of initiatives within the curriculum and works to integrate technology across multiple year levels and subject areas. Initiative includes but are not limited to; Helo Ruby Program, Lego Junior League, Imagine Junior Cup, Podcasting Program and STEM Mad (Make a difference).
2020: Thomas Oliphant
Thomas Oliphant is a passionate, innovative, and experienced educator who has a specialisation in robotics, programming, and advanced technologies.
He is interested in the role of design and problem-based learning in promoting student interest and achievement. Graduating with a Bachelor of Industrial Design and a Master of Education, Thomas takes pride in exposing his students to new and emerging technologies and future pathways in the field of STEM and digital learning.
Thomas has used his background to develop engaging learning programs that stretch learners into developing the skills and independence required to thrive in a technological future.
2019: Mhairi Alcorn
Mhairi Alcorn is the R-7 Teacher Librarian at Vale Park Primary School who represents the school, community and our profession highly.
She plans with individual and communities of teachers in the school to provide individual programs in every lesson she teaches, with a massive focus on Digital Technologies. She has turned our library space into a creative and critical thinking location, rather than just a resource space. Her work with Beebots, Makey Makeys, Spheros and iPads has been instrumental in the development of digital technologies across the whole school and increasing the skill level of not just our students but our teachers as well.
2019: David Chu
David Chu is the ICT Curriculum Coordinator at Emmaus Christian College and is and is passionate about encouraging and inspiring students to take on a mindset where they are co-creators of technology, not mere consumers of it.
David has implemented measures in the 7-12 Digital Technologies curriculum to be contemporary, rigorous and enriching, while balancing consistency and diversity. A study of emerging pedagogical and hands-on practices lead him to develop innovative and exemplary ways of teaching Programming and Data Analysis.
David is active in the implementation of the new SACE Digital Technologies subject, and encourages his students to collaboratively use their skills to solve problems in their individual contexts.
2018: Danni Yang
Danni has been teaching Digital Technologies for 8 years and is presently at Golden Grove High School.
She has designed Year 9 and Year 10 course outlines, assessment plans, assessment tasks and grading rubrics based on the Digital Technologies Curriculum and also designed and wrote the school Digital Technologies curriculum handbook for all year levels.
Danni shares her professional skills and resources with colleagues both at Golden Grove and other schools and works collaboratively with colleagues across school faculties. She is also a member of the new SACE stage 1 Digital Technologies online discussion group.
As an active Digital Technologies teacher, Danni wants her students to challenge themselves and broaden their learning experience. She has organised their participation in ICAS Digital Technologies and Unleashed Digital Technologies competitions which has provided them with opportunities to use their knowledge to solve real-word problems.
2018: Emma Fowler
Emma is Learning Coordinator at Nazareth Catholic College.
She has been responsible for the development of an ICT implementation plan for the whole community so that it focuses on the use of IT in the early learning centre, primary and secondary campuses as well as community services. She has developed a Digital Technologies curriculum implementation plan along with the school’s STEM strategy.
Emma is always looking for new ways to increase the capability and confidence of teachers to not only implement the Digital Technologies curriculum but to create engaging lessons that are future focused and incorporate the use of IT. She regularly shares lists of free Digital Technology resources with other schools, and recently created NazTech, a Digital Technologies Conference at her school, attended by twelve Catholic schools from across South Australia and over 150 educators from Early Learning Centres, Primary and Secondary Schools. Staff at Nazareth led the various masterclasses and keynote presentations that were offered on the day.
Emma has generated partnerships that enhance the use of technology at her school and other local schools. These include supporting of the use of iPad technology and apps in the classroom, participating in research with the University of South Australia focused on the importance of Digital Literacy and developing a partnership with industry in the implementation of 3D printing.
Emma is always researching and staying up-to-date with emerging trends in technology and shares this information through her Facebook page – Future Focused Education or by uploading content to her YouTube channel.
2018: Karen Butler
Karen has led the design and development of the Technologies Stream of the Department for Education’s STEM 500 strategy.
This involved working successfully with numerous Industry, university and education professionals and lead educators to design and develop a program that provides multiple entry points for primary teachers to embed the Digital Technologies subject into their current practice. Karen led the delivery of the 3D Printing in Primary Schools Project and the STEM500 Primary Years Project. Through this work, Karen has positively influenced the development of technologies learning in 78 school sites across South Australia.
Karen has worked with the Computer Science Team Education Research Group team (CSER) at the University of Adelaide to deliver successful professional learning to over 100 school sites in conjunction with enrolment and participation in the Digital Technologies MOOC.
Karen has presented for EdTechSA on numerous occasions in her capacity as Project Officer in Digital Technologies learning for the CSER team. Karen is passionate about making technologies learning accessible to all members of the community but particularly those most marginalised by traditional technology practices. She is an exceptional advocate for the need to increase the participation of females and diverse groups in the work of digital technologies as evidenced through her work with sites across South Australia and in particular the APY lands and the Tech Girls Movement.
2017: Gary Pascoe
We are delighted to announce Monique Green, Matt Jessett, Gary Pascoe and Kelly Rivett as the 2017 Leading Light Award recipients. These inspirational people go above and beyond in their teaching practice, to ensure that their work has a significant positive impact on the use of technology in education.
Gary Pascoe
Gary makes a significant impact on technology in education in SA, nationally and worldwide.
Throughout his 30+ year teaching career, working in the public and Catholic sector, Gary has been a key driver in the use of ICT in schools. As the Digital Technologies Educator at Emmaus Catholic School Woodcroft, he was responsible for integrating the new Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies from Reception to Year 7 in 2014, and developed after school Coding Club for Years 3-7 in conjunction with Antonio Catholic School.
Gary integrates deliberate planning in his commitment to improving education through the use of technology. He provides ongoing support to all classroom teachers with the integration of R-7 Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies, ensuring differentiation for every lesson and regular student assessment to inform future planning and teaching.
As an active member of EdTechSA committee member for the last 5 years, Gary has led numerous professional development workshops for teachers and support staff, and presented workshops at CEGSA, EdTechSA and CEASA conferences.
Congratulations Gary!
2017: Kelly Rivett
We are delighted to announce Monique Green, Matt Jessett, Gary Pascoe and Kelly Rivett as the 2017 Leading Light Award recipients. These inspirational people go above and beyond in their teaching practice, to ensure that their work has a significant positive impact on the use of technology in education.
Kelly Rivett
As a Year 4/5 Teacher at Vale Park Primary School, Kelly integrates purposeful ICTs into her classroom learning program to improve student outcomes.
Kelly applies the ‘blended learning’ approach where students use Chromebooks to collaborate with peers in Google Classroom, learning in online and offline environments. Her students have developed the confidence in using devices to access learning online, directing their investigations to ensure shared learning. Kelly also supports her colleagues by sharing her knowledge and skills which improves outcomes for the whole school.
An enthusiastic and dedicated member of the EdTechSA Management Committee, Kelly assists with promoting EdTechSA events on social media and planning for the 2017 and 2018 state conferences. Kelly recently became the first Kagan Cooperative Learning trainer in South Australia, having completed a rigorous certification process in the United States. In 2016-17, Kelly was selected to become an official GoNoodle Ambassador.
Congratulations Kelly!
2017: Monique Green
We are delighted to announce Monique Green, Matt Jessett, Gary Pascoe and Kelly Rivett as the 2017 Leading Light Award recipients. These inspirational people go above and beyond in their teaching practice, to ensure that their work has a significant positive impact on the use of technology in education.
Monique Green
Monique is passionate about encouraging girls to study Technology and break down stereotypes of women in IT, developing units of work to provide students with real world experience in developing effective technological solutions for community groups. Her students benefit from examining and working with technologies such as automated systems and drones.
Monique is also an active member of Her Tech Path, a community of women working in IT who aim to educate girls about the potential for IT careers. With Her Tech Path, Monique is developing a trial unit of work on business analytics, aligning to the year 10 Technologies Curriculum which will be shared with other schools in 2019.
Congratulations Monique!
2017: Matt Jessett
We are delighted to announce Monique Green, Matt Jessett, Gary Pascoe and Kelly Rivett as the 2017 Leading Light Award recipients. These inspirational people go above and beyond in their teaching practice, to ensure that their work has a significant positive impact on the use of technology in education.
Matt Jessett, Teacher, East Adelaide High School
Matt’s passion for technology extends beyond his classroom teaching. He actively leads by example and motivates others to incorporate technology effectively into their teaching, taking risks and trialling new innovations and passing his experiences onto others.
In 2017 Matt played a lead role in the Morialta Partnership Collaborative STEM Project, developed to create rich learning opportunities for Year 7/8 students. The students used 3D printers, virtual reality and 360 degree cameras, redesigned learning spaces and furniture using programs such as TinkerCAD and Floorplanner.
Matt invites experts to visit his classrooms to ensure that his students are inspired by real world examples of technological solutions that benefit the community. Recently his class took a lead role in teaching the rest of the school in how to use Makey-Makey, a highly successful program which increased student voice and added value to the professional development of teaching staff.
Currently Matt is part of an Action Research project developing a new resource using the BitL (Bringing it to Life) questioning tool specifically for the Technologies Curriculum.
Congratulations Matt!
Leading Lights 2010
Congratulations to this years Leading Lights!
The following educators were awarded their leading light status this year:
- Christine Haynes
- Kathleen Melis
- Sotithya Gardner
- Jenny Rossiter
- Graham Wegner
- Kevin Richardson
- Leon Marsden
- Steph Burton