How to Use Digital Tools for Effective STEM Learning

Nick Pattison is a world-leading STEM educator with a focus on the primary years of education. He is currently pursuing his doctorate of education at the University of South Australia exploring the application of virtual reality environments to enhance learning in Maths, design thinking and Indigenous knowledge systems. He has extensive experience developing world-leading STEM education programs where community, industry and schools work together, which has resulted in several peer-review published papers, industry used products and the development of commercially viable intellectual property.

Lauren Sutherland is currently working in a STEM specialist teaching role, in Melbourne, Victoria. She is leading collaborations and co-presenting with international educators from as far away as Brazil, San Diego, Hawai’i, New York and New Zealand. Lauren values connecting with the local community, especially Indigenous groups. She has recently collaborated alongside local Indigenous groups to use Virtual Reality (VR) to represent an Indigenous Acknowledgement of Country and has used Augmented Reality (AR) to support students in forming a response to visualise their understanding of Indigenous knowledge and systems. Lauren also co-presented at the 2021 Deeper Learning Conference for High Tech High. In this session, she explored how students can use 3D modeling to create Indigenous place-based metaphors to represent growth mindset. Lauren aspires to help educators and other professionals embed STEM across the curriculum, alongside other specialist subjects and areas, especially in primary school settings.