Presenters
Nasrin Moradmand
Dr Nasrin Moradmand has a background in both software engineering and education. She worked and taught in the Information Technology environment for the past twenty years in both industry and in academic environments. Nasrin has diverse experience in design and development of variety of digital learning and learning/teaching resource and was a 2012 Google Anita Borg award finalist. Nasrin currently is Manager of Systems Learning Technologies at Sonic HealthPlus. In past, Nasrin was a researcher in the School of Computer Science & Software Engineering, the University of Western Australia. The aim of her research project was to investigate how teachers and students can use appropriate computer-based educational applications in the classroom to enhance mathematical achievement.
Amitava Datta
Professor Amitava Datta did his MTech and PhD in computer science from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has worked at the Max Planck Institute for Computer Science, University of Freiburg (both in Germany), University of New England and University of Western Australia (both in Australia). He has taught a broad range of subjects at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His research interests are in parallel and distributed computing, bioinformatics, computer-assisted education, mobile and wireless computing, social networks and data mining. He has supervised 27 PhD and masters by research students, published over one hundred and seventy articles in reputed international journals and conference proceedings and served in the editorial boards and programme committees of several international journals and conferences.
Rachel Cardell-Oliver
My PhD is from the University of Cambridge and BSc and Masters from the University of Western Australia. I have held academic positions at the University of Essex, UK, SRI Cambridge and the University of WA. I am currently Associate Professor (level D) and Head of Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at UWA. I am on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Ad Hoc Networks and a professional member of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery).
Grace Oakley
Grace Oakley is an Associate Professor in literacy education at the Graduate School of Education, the University of Western Australia. She is the co-author of the highly successful book, Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education (OUP) as well as editor of Mobile Technologies in Children’s Language and Literacy: Innovative Pedagogy in Preschool and Primary Education (Emerald). Grace has been involved over many years in the research of literacy education, particularly where literacy and technology intersect.
Vaille Dawson
Vaille Dawson, Ph.D., is a Professor of Science Education in the Graduate School of Education, University of Western Australia. Her research expertise spans climate change education, scientific literacy, teacher education, critical thinking, and teaching in disadvantaged schools in India, Indonesia and India. She is Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, an Honorary Senior Research Associate at University College, London and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy..
Mark Pegrum
Mark Pegrum is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at The University of Western Australia, where he is the Deputy Head of School (International). He specialises in digital technologies in education, with a particular focus on mobile learning. His current research focuses on mobile and emerging technologies, including extended reality (XR); digital literacies and especially attentional literacy; and the forms digital learning takes in diverse contexts across the Global North and South.
Mark MᶜDonald
Google Enginner - Mark is an engineer in Google’s Developer Relations team, where he works to help others build software using Google's tools & services. He has worked on products ranging from AI tools and Google Play Music's recommender, Search, Google Maps and (his favourite) Google Santa Tracker.
Rachael Lehr
Rachael Lehr is the Associate Principal at Dayton Primary School; a newly-opened school. She is passionate about empowering and supporting teachers and leaders (both within their school and beyond) to authentically integrate digital technologies and STEM learning into the classroom. Rachael believes in the power of instructional coaching (and leading by example) to bring about effective change in teaching and learning and spends time mentoring and coaching teachers in using technologies in their classroom. Rachael hosted #PrimarySTEMChat on Twitter for many years (leading many conversations with world-wide participants on all things Science, STEM and Digital Technologies). She is a Seesaw Certified Educator who loves using Seesaw just about as much as she loves using Minecraft Education - she can find a way to use both apps in any class or learning area.
Anna Ritzema
Anna Ritzema has been an educator for over 20 years, starting her career in the UK before moving to Australia in 2015. For the last 10 years, she has specialised in STEM teaching, primarily Digital Technologies and Science. Anna was lucky to call the Pilbara home for nearly 4 years and in 2018 set up the inaugural Karratha STEM centre for the Polly Farmer Foundation. This centre provided after-school STEM learning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Through her work at Tambrey Primary School, she was awarded STAWA’s Science and Engineering Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for the Director General’s Women of Achievement. Tambrey Primary School was runner-up at the Governor’s STEM Awards and for STAWA’s Science School of the Year. Since relocating to Perth, she has led the Polly Farmer Foundation’s Primary Programs, of which there are 17 all over Australia. She has also been responsible for the Foundation’s STEM strategy. Anna recently was part of the Commonwealth Bank, School’s Plus Fellowship where she thoroughly enjoyed connecting with like-minded STEM Professionals across the country and supporting the Women in STEMM program. Her passion is helping the STEM Pipeline Journey for the youngest students through to their industry pathways.
David Donnelly
David Donnelly is currently the Principal Consultant Curriculum and Assessment for Technologies at the School Curriculum and Standards (SCSA). David’s portfolio includes Computer Science, Applied Information Technology and Digital Technologies from Primary through to Year 10. David is an avid life-long learner who believes that a good curriculum is paramount to student success and he strives for fairness and validity across the state. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and helping others in areas of need. David has been involved in public education for 15 years and uses this knowledge in his role today.
Michelle Ellis
Dr Michelle Ellis is the Outreach and Engagement Coordinator at ECU for Computing and Security. She has been primarily tasked with promoting Computer Science, Cyber Security, Counter-Terrorism, and Intelligence in WA high schools. Michelle has been part of the Perth movement in breaking down barriers, dispelling myths, and exposing girls (both high school and university students) to the various fields within the tech sector. Events such as Girls Programming Network, International Women's Day, Tech Fields, and networking events are helping to increase female aspirations for computing and security. We all have a part to play in increasing the number of women in STEM-qualified occupations.
Elliot Rosignoli
Cybercrime (Security and Intelligence) Student at Edith Cowan University with passion for ethical hacking, cryptography, and learning. This year I will be assisting in coordinating PeCan the national cybersecurity security capture the flag (CTF) tournament where Students progress through a series of challenges aimed at different levels of difficulty.
Petra Trinke
Petra Trinke is a multitalented, future-focused educator and leader with considerable experience in program development, management, people leadership and continuous improvement. She is currently employed as principal consultant for Technologies in the International division at The School Curriculum and Standards Authority. Her career spans over many years teaching Digital Technologies, Applied Information Technology and Computer Science, with involvement in the STEM disciplines. Petra’s passion for providing students and teachers with relevant, authentic teaching and learning experiences whist driving innovation has led to her involvement with industry partners such as Microsoft Innovative Education Expert (MIEE) program, Adobe’s education leadership (AEL) and professional associations. Petra currently holds the position of Vice President of the Educational Computing Association of WA. Is a committee member of WiTWA -Women in Technology WA’s Techtrails program, and the Game Changer Awards.
Michelle Chomiak
Michelle is a Digital Technologies and Computer Science educator at St Mark's Anglican Community School. After spending 15 years in the IT industry as a programmer and project manager, she started teaching ICT in 2016 and has since gained experience across Primary and Secondary contexts, and Government and Independent sectors. Michelle was awarded the Women in Technology WA - STEM/STEAM/Digital Education in Schools Shining Star Award in 2022 and also the ECAWA Digital Technologies Teacher of the Year in 2018. She is a member of the SCSA Curriculum Advisory Committee for Technologies 7-10, a member of the ACS National ICT Educators Advisory Committee, and a member of the ECAWA committee. Michelle is also a Senior Mentor and Room Leader with the Girls Programming Network (Perth chapter) and is a passionate advocate of girls in computer science, creating a poster series on Women in Computer Science (Aus Edition) that has been downloaded over 1,000 times by teachers around Australia. Currently studying an MEd(DigiTech), she distils current CS Ed research down to its most practical elements that can be easily implemented in the classroom.
Ann Backhaus
Ann Backhaus works in Education and Training at the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre. Ann has experience in technical training as well as STEM/STEAM outreach. While she has led distributed, global training teams, her passion is hands-on Outreach – experimenting with different modalities and activities to increase learning engagement. Her experience spans numerous industries and sectors, including government, academia, and private enterprise. Ann has led education outreach in Australia, the U.S, and Indonesia.
Zoe George
Zoe George is the Program Coordinator - Leading Teacher STEAM at Joseph Banks Secondary College who passionately works to provide students with engaging and industry relevant Digital Technology and Cyber Security programs that prepare them with the skills necessary to be successful members of the IT and Cyber Security workforce as they progress towards industry pathways. Her career in education started her off as a Physical Education teacher before diving head first into the world of Digital Technologies and developing a passion for Cyber Security education and supporting educators with the transformative use of technology in all classrooms. Zoe’s passion for STEAM and Digital Technologies education led to her being awarded the Women in Technology WA – STEM/STEAM/Digital Education in Schools Rising Star Award in 2022 for the work she does for students in developing their opportunities and pathways in Cyber Security. Zoe is enthusiastic about outside the box teaching and learning and developing these skills within educators to support students in developing the 21st Century skills required to be successful on their personalised pathways.
Alex Coulter
Alex Coulter is a Design and Technology teacher at Christ Church Grammar School in Claremont. He teaches the Engineering Studies ATAR course and specialises in mechatronics engineering. He received the Design and Technologies teacher of the year award in 2020 from DATTA WA. He also runs the school’s Robotics Club and has had experience coaching robotics teams for state, national, and international level competitions.
Christine Koopman
Christine Koopman is currently Head of Technologies at Presbyterian Ladies’ College (Perth). She has taught in Department and Private schools in and around Perth, and in London. Christine has many years experience in Digital Technologies and Applied Information Technology and enjoys developing new and engaging lessons to deliver content. Christine is an avid life-long learner who believes that student-centred activities have a direct correlation with student success. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and helping others in areas of need.
Zina Cordery
Zina Cordery is an accomplished academic in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, where she instructs pre-service secondary educators in the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) across all curriculum domains. Specialising in the pedagogy of the Digital Technologies curriculum, her expertise extends to both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her scholarly interest centres on emerging technologies, encompassing Immersive Technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), games-based learning, and the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in educational settings. These interests are not merely theoretical; they reflect a profound commitment to leveraging these technologies to enhance student engagement, critical thinking, and problem-solving capabilities.
Chris Betcher
Chris Betcher is Program Manager for Google Workspace Adoption with the Google for Education Team based in Sydney. He works with schools and school systems across Australia and New Zealand to help them adopt the powerful tools Google provides to educators, and shows them how to get the most from Google Workspace, Google Classroom, Chromebooks and the whole Google ecosystem.Before this role at Google, Chris was a teacher for almost 30 years, where he taught curious young minds about art, computing, multimedia and technology.
Kimberley Hall
Kimberley is an award winning teacher and leader with experience working across Departments of Education, Catholic Education Dioceses, Primary and Secondary schools as well as Universities in countries around the world. For the last few years she has been fortunate to collaborate with education leaders across Australia in her role as the Australian Strategy, Learning and Impact Lead with the Google for Education team. Kimberley was the first female in Australia to be both a Google for Education Certified Innovator and Certified Trainer and is passionate about supporting girls both to enter and to thrive in the tech industry.