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Watching video from the Apollo space programme one can't help but notice how things have changed since those days in the early 1970s. Banks of small round rectangular screens, dot matrix printers, a myriad of switches and dials each with a specific task to perform and a design aesthetic that says functionality in mild mannered green. What is missing beside the sort of computing power we carry in our pockets today are women. In the 70s science and engineering was what men did and from a quick look at the statistics there continues to be much room for change.

After two days of talking about curriculum, integration, STEM, STEAM and HASS I am left with more questions than I started with. In some respects, the concept of curriculum integration is simple. It is after all something that Primary teachers almost take for granted. But for Senior and Tertiary educators the question of curriculum integration is inherently complex. At all levels questions emerge of what curriculum integration might achieve, what purposes it serves, what it could and should look like and how it should be supported by curriculum planners. In the current climate, with its debate around the role of education within an innovation economy, shaped by technology and confronting demands for a STEAM enabled workforce the shape of our curriculum is under pressure. 

The message from PwC is clear, Australia needs to take action now if we are not to slip behind the rest of the world. 'Australia is waking up to the fact that the good times can't go on forever. In the face of economic challenges and a digital revolution that's reshaping business and the workforce, we need to act.'

There is growing interest from schools in the Maker Movement and Maker Education but with this have come some subtle misunderstandings about what it is all about. For one the modern maker movement is all about the mindset of the maker rather than developing a set of specific skills for making. The second confusion stems from a belief that the maker movement is all about the tools and the makerspace and that as such it involves large budgets.

'Design Thinking' might just be the next 'new' old thing in education. In her recent address to the National Press Club, Catherine Livingstone of The Business Council of Australia included 'Design Thinking' amongst the critical STEM skills required for Australia's future. But what do we mean by 'Design Thinking' and why should educators be interested?

In these times of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA), in this Post Truth era, what do our children most need from their education? How do we best prepare them for their future?