Senior lecturer in educational technology Dr Michael Cowling warns that technology must support learning to be effective. Otherwise, it is a waste of time. 
The Central Queensland University lecturer says pedagogy must come before technology. 
"The technology we introduce must serve a purpose and that purpose must be to enhance learning through improving pedagogy."
Cowling is not an enemy of technology, in fact he has a background in technology and a love of computers. He says there just needs to be a focus on technology improving learning, not simply learning new technologies. 
"My students love technology, but even in my classes I've realised that technology for technology's sake is a waste of time.
"Asking students to use a laptop without scaffolding doesn't work, but if you gather them around an iPad and ask them to collaborate on a diagram, then you are serving both pedagogy and their love of technology."

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Today we had our first sessions of Robotics! It was run by Scott Groombridge fromRobots in Schools. We used instructions from the iPad app to build our first robot with LEGO. It was a lot of fun. The students stretched their collaboration learning muscles working together. They had to really use their noticing muscles to follow the instructions. We were all absorbed in our learning. Here is a video with photos from the 9:00 group.

This is incredible - please take some time to watch

Almost 150 youngsters had their inner Einstein nudged last week, as they dissected fish, fermented yeast and built and programmed robots, among other things.
It was part of the Hawke’s Bay Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand’s commitment to showing children that science, technology and mathematics “are sexy subjects”.
The Year 7 and 8 students from 15 schools across Hastings, Napier and Central Hawke’s Bay took part in half-day hands-on workshops last Tuesday and Wednesday.

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Hi
For the eighth year in a row New Zealand earned the right to call themselves World Champions at  the VEX Robotics World Championships held in Louisville this weekend. Lynfield College achieved the ultimate accolade being crowned the winners of the High School Excellence Award. They join an elite group of teams who number only nine who can call themselves the best of the best. Lynfield College retained the Excellence Award won for New Zealand last year by the Glenfield College making it two years in a row for New Zealand.
David Aston from Glenfield College was inducted to the VEX Robotics STEM Hall of Fame as Teacher of the Year . Entry to this club is restricted to those who are selected by their peers not only for the dedication and hard work that they put into the program but also the all other aspects of the student’s lives. There are only nine teachers in the world who have received this award. If there is a teacher in the world who knows how creating a passion for STEM can change the lives of student lives then David Aston is that teacher. David Aston joins Johan Potgieter who was one of the first inductees in recognition of starting VEX in New Zealand.
Lynfield College also won the Robot Skills World Champions Award for the highest score in the world in a competition where the robot competes alone on the field under driver control for one minute. Scoring 454 points equates to getting two balls into a net with an opening roughly half the size of a netball hoop 15 feet away every second! All of this was done using a robot built and programmed by high school student in his spare time! There next closest rival was 23 points behind them.
It is not by chance that the VEX robotics competition has grown to be the world’s biggest robotics competition! The passion and dedication that the competition generates in the students and anyone involved in the program is evident by the excitement shown in the 1072 teams that competed in Louisville this weekend for the right to call themselves World Champions. The Guinness Book of World Records has formally recognized the VEX World Championships is the biggest in the World, ever.
For any of you out there who are still not convinced that VEX Robotics is a sport then you need to be aware that America’s premier sports channel ESPN will be airing #VEXWorlds on ESPN2 on July 20th hosted by @kristenkenny!
If you or someone you know wants to become involved send me an email (c.hamling@kiwibots.co.nz) and I would love to help you join in. Things only going to get better!
Lynfield College return to Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday, 27 April at 13:50 on Qantas QF 141 from Sydney.
Photographs of the event are available here.
A  full list of the awards the New Zealand and Australia won are listed below.

• STEM Hall of Fame - Teacher of the Year

David Aston – Teacher of the Year, Glenfield College, New Zealand

• High School Excellence Award – High School

Lynfield College, New Zealand

• Robot Skills World Champion – High School

Lynfield College, New Zealand

• Programming Skills 3rd Place – High School

Wingus & Dingus, New Zealand

• Teamwork Challenge VEX IQ 3rd Place VEX IQ Middle School

Innovate Technology & Robotics Academy, Australia

• Division Amaze Award

Wingus & Dingus, New Zealand

• VEX Game Design Animation Challenge

Wingus & Dingus, New Zealand

• FUTURE Foundation Robot Construction Challenge

Feilding High School, New Zealand

• Energy Award VEX IQ – Junior School

Nakibots, New Plymouth, New Zealand
I would like to thank all of our sponsors and in particular the Royal Society and the MBIE for the gracious financial support that they have given to our top teams. So please join me in acknowledging

• Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
• Glidepath
• Smales Farm Technology Office Park
• Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development
• The Lion Foundation
• The Vodafone Events Centre
• Massey University
• The American Chamber of Commerce
• The Royal Society
• The MBIE
• Northrop Grumman
• The Raye Freedman Trust
• The Four Winds Foundation
• SMC Pneumatics
• Autodesk
• CPIT
• WelTec
• Unitec

for their support over the years along with the army of volunteers that make it all possible.
 
Chris Hamling
National Manager
Kiwibots
Mob: 021 664 176
Web: http://kiwibots.co.nz
Skype: chris.ham
 
“To inspire a passion for science and technology”
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If you want to learn to program, you don't need lessons. You need to write a lot of code and have a great time doing it.
That's what programming is about. It's gotta be fun. Not fun like yay a badge but fun like NO MOM I HAVE TO FINISH THE LEVEL! That's why CodeCombathttps://codecombat.com/ is a multiplayer game, not a gamified lesson course. We won't stop until you can't stop--but this time, that's a good thing.
If you're going to get addicted to some game, get addicted to this one and become one of the wizards of the tech age.