KEYNOTE ADDRESSES - FRIDAY

NESA Curriculum Updates 
Penny Vlies & Phil Hogg

NESA will provide an update on the Technological and Applied Studies 7-10 curriculum reform activities. As part of the reform, NESA is developing new streamlined syllabuses focused on the essential knowledge and skills that gives teacher flexibility and more time to teach. Included in this update will be ways in which teachers can participate in public consultation. This is an important part of the reform and provides all stakeholders with the opportunity to receive information about and provide feedback on draft syllabuses. Teachers will also be taken through NESA’s new digital curriculum platform and the professional learning modules for published syllabuses.


Bringing Innovations in Food Technology to the Classroom
Dr Lissa Carter

Novel technologies are revolutionising the way we produce, process, and consume food, with the potential to enhance food safety, sustainability, and nutrition. This presentation explores novel food technologies that can deliver innovative food solutions, transform traditional food production processes and address the global need for more efficient and sustainable food systems. Innovative food technologies that can be investigated through classroom activities will be showcased.


Food Technology - Engagement with Industry Case Study
Julie Armstrong

Julie works in partnership with many Australian food industry partners. With a focus on the adaptation of information for use in the classroom she will discuss key sector facts; from a paddock to plate prospective. Linking to the impact consumers have on the industry through food trends and the changing expectations. Detailing how the use of emerging technologies are used within the industry to streamline products and increase produce quality.

Needlepoint Translation of Art and Architecture
Natalie Fisher

This keynote will situate the process of creative translation of Islamic decorative tiles into original, vibrant needlepoint art, particularly within the context of cultural connection and community cohesion. I will consider the questions raised by cultural appropriation, and explore possibilities for an appreciation of the significance of needlepoint art practice in Australia’s multicultural society.


Dream Big Aboriginal Education
Kylie Captain

Kylie’s lived experience as a proud Aboriginal woman growing up in community enables her to lead participants on a thought-provoking journey of change to work towards a more united country with improved outcomes for Aboriginal students, families and communities. Kylie brings her enthusiasm, professionalism and exceptional interpersonal skills to all she does. She leaves participants feeling inspired and motivated to live and lead with passion and purpose.Joined by co-author, Dr Cathie Burgess, Kylie and Cathie have launched a joint professional learning masterclass based on the themes of their recently published bestselling book.

Speculative Design Futures in Textiles
Belinda VonMengersen

My daughter’s high school has a new entrance sign declaring: ‘Designing Futures’. During open days schools pledge to educate your child for an unknown future. The statement underpinning the aims of the Australian National Technologies Curriculum is designing for preferred futures. I’m curious about what lies behind the rhetoric of this statement and how we teach to that because it is not a simple proposition. Written in this way, it sounds profound and loaded with promise, yet their often ill-defined, aspirational, and abstract natures render these two concepts quite elusive and consequently, challenging to teach. Schools tend to use the term implicitly rather than explicitly, implying that this is what they deliver: a futures’ focussed education, but often their websites and other publicly accessible sources demonstrate no further engagement with or explanation of how and why they’re engaging with this claim. Designing for preferred futures requires critical, creative, collaborative, imaginative and speculative thinking though amplified models for designing with students in educational contexts. Some practical guidelines for educators, including: a design futures vocabulary; strategies for conceptual design thinking in futures contexts; futures design method for practical projects in Textiles and Design will be shared here. As design educators we are far from ambivalent about the implications of the design futures rhetoric but practical and inspiring ways to apply it in our teaching practice are needed.