This week’s top story: New figures from the first year schools have been required to report the “misuse of technology” show an alarming trend in cyberbullying and sexting. In 2015 alone, there were 152 reports involving inappropriate online behaviour, while reports of drug incidents in schools grew from 68 in 2012 to 299 last year. In one shocking incident revealed through the reports, students indecently assaulted a classmate in the toilets so they could film the attack and share the footage.
In other news: Coinciding with the launch of Samsung’s educational campaign – Creators Wanted – a series of videos were developed to grab the attention of students and show them how STEM skills are becoming increasingly relevant across all industries and future career paths. Tess Ariotti, Samsung corporate social responsibility manager, told The Educator about the ways in which the tech giant’s campaign hopes to turn this slump around and provide support to schools looking to boost STEM engagement. “Creators Wanted aims to get more young Australians choosing STEM subjects in senior high school and tertiary study by making an intangible future feel relevant now and get students excited about what is just around the corner.”
Finally, a new report by the Regional Australia Institute and NBN has found that one-in-two Australians will need skills in programming, software development and building digital technology to remain competitive in 2030. The ‘Future of Work: Setting Kids Up for Success’ report points to soft people skills like critical thinking, communication, collaboration, connectivity, creativity, and culture. “Having a mix of these skills is a good foundation, but our kids will also need to be able to work more flexibly, moving from task to task, job to job and place to place in ways previous generations have not had to deal with,” the report said. “It will be commonplace to have a portfolio of part-time work for clients and customers anywhere in the world.”