Educational Computing Assn of WA - ECAWA

You may have caught our President, Courtney Weaver on ABC Perth this morning with Nadia Mitsopoulos discussing the latest, and shocking, NAP-ICTL results. If you missed it, you can listen back from 56mins on ABC Listen.

Mornings - ABC listen Hear from the big names and decision-makers of Perth, and have your say.

Registrations are now open for the next ACCE webinar on Tuesday May 26th 5-6pm (WA time).
$20 non-members, Free for ECAWA Members.
REGISTRATIONS CLOSE: 9am on Tue 26 May
ECAWA Members should login to the ECAWA website to access the FREE registration link.
https://ecawa.wa.edu.au/professional-learning-events/

Following the AGM held last weekend, we are pleased to congratulate and warmly welcome the newly elected committee:

Exec Committee:
President: Courtney Weaver
Vice President: Jonathan Ihlein
Secretary: Michelle Chomiak
Treasurer: Tanya Godwich

Coordinators/Representatives:
Primary Coordinator: Ian Wilson
Secondary Coordinator: Rachel Farnay
Tertiary Coordinator – CS: Tim French
Tertiary Coordinator – ITE: Krysia Jeffries

General Committee:
Karina Price
Tracy Grant
Antony Norris
Destiny Liedel

David Cook now becomes the Immediate Past President, and we thank him for his leadership and continued support.

We look forward to working together to support and grow computing education across Western Australia.

The ECAWA Conference 2026 is just hours away and we want to take a moment to thank our Sponsors and Exhibitors.

Big thanks to the organisations backing this year’s ECAWA Conference.

Our venue sponsor, Christ Church Grammar School, for hosting and supporting the event.

And our exhibitors:
- The Mathematical Association of Western Australia
- Kodeklix and Code with Oscar
- Shard Learning
- Modern Teaching Aids (MTA)

These groups are putting real tools, ideas, and support in front of teachers and students.

Make time to visit their stands, ask questions, and see what’s worth taking back into your classroom.

🚀 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 💻

No tech degree? No problem. 🙌

Digital Technologies can feel intimidating when you were never formally trained to teach it. Join ECAWA's ICT Educator of the Year 2025, Brittni Balogh for this practical session as she shows how educators can build confidence and deliver engaging, curriculum-aligned learning without needing to be a specialist.

✨ Explore:
📚 Real classroom examples
🛠️ Simple teaching strategies
📄 Ready-to-use resources
🔗 Easy ways to embed Digital Technologies across year levels and learning areas

👩‍🏫 Perfect for teachers, curriculum leaders, and support staff looking for realistic ways to grow digital capability in their school community.

✅ Walk away ready to start
✅ Teach with confidence
✅ Keep building your skills over time

https://ecawa.wa.edu.au/conferences/2026-state-conference-2/

🔌🚫 𝙏𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙥𝙡𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙙 🔌🚫

On Saturday 2nd May at the ECAWA Conference 2026, Catherine Newington, ICT Educator Specialist with the ACS will be presenting a highly practical session, where teachers will be introduced to the core coding and computational thinking concepts outlined in the WA Digital Technologies Curriculum without using a device!

Participants will explore short, practical, and classroom-ready unplugged activities. This session is perfect for teachers seeking simple, no-tech ways to build student understanding before moving into visual or text-based programming.

https://ecawa.wa.edu.au/conferences/2026-state-conference

🤖 🌿 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱: 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗧𝘄𝗼-𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 🤖 🌿

Stop teaching Digital Technologies in isolation! Ian Wilson and Dr Elaine Lewis will show you how to embed meaningful Digital Technologies and Digital Literacy across Science, HASS and English using real, place-based learning 🌍

See how Coolbinia Primary students have tackled biodiversity surveys 🐛, waste and movement data 📊, QR bush trails 🌿, and digital publications 📱 to connect learning to Country and community 🤝

You’ll explore practical ways to bring in coding 👾, robotics 🤖, data collection 📈 and digital media 🎬 using tools like iPads, Excel, Canva, Micro:bits and Scratch

Walk away with usable ideas 🧠, curriculum-aligned planning approaches 📚, and classroom strategies that actually engage students who learn best through real-world context 🎯

🤖✨ Out of AI Limbo: Leading with Curiosity 🤖✨

Paul Reid from Next Learning will help you to move past the hype and fear and get AI working properly in your school. Drawing on real work in WA and with GEMS Education, this session shows what actually works: leadership moves, governance, staff capability, and practical classroom use. Walk away with clear examples and a way to implement AI that keeps learning, teacher judgement, and trust front and centre.

https://ecawa.wa.edu.au/conferences/2026-state-conference/

🎉 🎉 KEYNOTE SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🎉 🎉

ECAWA is very excited to announce Rebecca Ostergaard, Chief Digital Officer of the CSIRO as our Keynote Speaker for our 2026 Conference on Saturday, 2nd May at Christ Church Grammar.

Rebecca Ostergaard is a digital and technology executive with more than 25 years’ experience across government, research, education and industry. Trained as a software engineer and now serving as Chief Digital Officer at CSIRO, she combines deep technical expertise with strategic insight, commercial acumen and collaborative leadership. Her work focuses on harnessing data and digital technologies to drive innovation and deliver impact at scale.

She serves on the Board of the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, one of Western Australia’s leading medical research centres. Rebecca is also a Board Member of the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, a Tier-1 national facility supporting scientific discovery and national research infrastructure.

Recognised for leading enterprise-wide digital transformation, Rebecca has recently led the development of CSIRO's first data and digital strategy. Her leadership is inclusive and pragmatic, grounded in building trust, fostering high-performing cultures and aligning complex organisations to deliver long-term value.

She holds an MBA from Curtin University, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and has completed executive education at Wharton and Oxford’s Saïd Business School.

https://ecawa.wa.edu.au/conferences/2026-state-conference/

There’s only 2 more days to get your early bird tickets for the ECAWA Conference 2026!

🎉 Early Bird Tickets Are LIVE for the 2026 ECAWA State Conference! 🎉

Now’s the perfect time to secure your spot and save!

Early Bird Pricing:
👩‍🏫 Members: $89 (regular $99)
🌐 Non-Members: $125 (regular $135)
🎓 Students: $29 (regular $39)

Join us for an inspiring day of learning, connection, and innovation in computing education!

🔗 Register now: https://ecawa.wa.edu.au/conferences/2026-state-conference/

Don’t miss out - early bird pricing closes Sunday 12 April! ⏳