“The Robots Are Coming!” – Chatting with Dr Jordan Nguyen

A few weeks ago I had the fortune of speaking at an event alongside Dr Jordan Nguyen. And I was even more fortunate that we were able to catch up for a chat once his talk was done. Jordan is a biomedical engineer, inventor, TV host and general all-round good bloke. Having already invented a […]

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[SNEAK PREVIEW] Chatting with Sir Ken Robinson

Last week I presented at the Future Schools event in Melbourne. As well as speaking across the program, I also facilitated a panel discussion with former Templestowe College principal, Peter Hutton; the CEO of AITSL, Lisa Rodgers and creativity expert and New York Times best selling author, Sir Ken Robinson. After the event I sat […]

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Disharmony Day & 18C

Today my kids went off to primary school wearing orange t-shirts. Why? Because in Australia, it’s Harmony Day, a day the government says, celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity. “It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.” So it took incredible comedy timing to decide that today would be the day the government should move to amend Section […]

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When Dan met Stan

A month or so ago, I ended up sitting next to award-winning journalist Stan Grant on a flight to and from Wagga Wagga. We got chatting about his work, the 12 months since his speech regarding racism in Australia had gone viral, and we discussed the broader issues in Indigenous communities around Australia. I’m very grateful to […]

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**THIS** might just be the biggest challenge facing your school…

Of all the challenges facing Australian schools in the 21st Century, including funding, falling behind Asia, and preparing kids for jobs that don’t yet exist, there is one challenge that is not being afforded the attention it deserves, and in light of the shifting political landscape it might just be the biggest challenge facing schools […]

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Do Schools Kill Learning?

Ten years ago, a talk by Sir Ken Robinson was published on TED. Having being viewed over 41 million times on TED alone, it has become one of the most – if not the most – viewed TED talk ever. It was provocatively titled: Do Schools Kill Creativity?  The popularity of Ken’s talk catapulted him into the Public Speaking […]

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DI$CLO$URE

A couple of months ago I was – along with other bloggers and “industry influencers” – invited by a large tech company to attend a free workshop showcasing their new tablet and software. They were happy to “donate” to me (and by extension I assume others) a tablet worth over $1000 in return for my blogging about […]

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Why the Federal Government’s Education Policy Misses The Mark…

With a fair amount of fanfare this week, Australia’s federal government announced that it would invest an additional $1.2 billion from 2018 to 2020 that would be tied to a needs-based distribution of funding and reforms in our schools to “help every parent have confidence that their child is receiving the teaching they require.” Most of the commentary […]

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Wrapping Kids in Cotton Wool

Yesterday I was interviewed by the panel on Channel 10’s The Project with regard to ‘Cotton Wool’ kids… It stemmed from a story in Melbourne where a father was suing a school because his son ran into a wall whilst playing tips. The father’s argument was – the school should ban running in the playground. Hmm… […]

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#tellsomeonetheyrock

Last week I saw a tweet in my timeline from a teacher who was moving schools. Been overwhelmed by many lovely comments and feedback over past cpl of days. I wonder why it is only at the end that we tend to give this. — Steve Box (@wholeboxndice) December 5, 2014 A little earlier in […]

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