Deakin joins Smart Sparrow in a 21C solution for STEM education

Deakin Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education Professor Beverley Oliver said the university’s adoption of Inspark courseware — powered by adaptive edtech provider, Smart Sparrow, and a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — would help ensure that students’ digital study experiences are more engaging and rewarding than learning in traditional modes.

“At Deakin, we adopt new learning tools – including digital tools – when we see that they can make learning more effective and engaging, so that our students can have a brilliant education where they are and whatever their circumstances,” Professor Oliver said.

“This is particularly important for our growing numbers of students who choose to learn completely online.”

What Digitally-Enhanced Education Looks Like

Inspark courses provide active and adaptive learning experiences. Each student’s lessons are tailored specifically to their needs and abilities, and they engage students with interactive, game-like courses that require logic and reasoning to solve problems. Built-in course analytics allow teachers to quickly identify gaps in students’ understanding of material and address lingering misunderstandings.

Smart Sparrow CEO, Dror Ben-Naim, is passionate about improving how we approach higher education.

“For too long, science has been taught as a collection of facts, rather than a process of exploration that inspires critical thinking. With Inspark courses, instructors are able to leverage adaptive technology and dynamic course content to help students learn through exploration, and ultimately succeed,” he said.

“We are very pleased to partner with Deakin University to bring the Inspark Science Network to our home country, Australia.”

Through the Inspark Network, educators and researchers around the world are coming together to collaborate, build, and share next-generation courseware that brings science education into the digitally-powered 21st century.

Beginning at Deakin in T3

Inspark’s HabWorlds and BioBeyond courses will be rolled out to Deakin science students in Trimester 3 this year.

Professor Oliver says adoption of the innovative Inspark Science Network’s programs reflects Deakin University’s commitment to investing to improve student learning.

“We believe that Inspark is pioneering a revolutionary approach to the teaching of science, which has broad implications for teaching and learning across other disciplines,” she said.

“We are excited to leverage this work and equip our teaching staff with next-generation tools to help our students succeed.” 

Revolutionising Australian STEM Education

For many students, current approaches to teaching science — as the memorization of facts — creates barriers to success in general education and discourages them from majoring in the sciences.

Together, Deakin and Smart Sparrow are expanding the Inspark Science Network to Australia and New Zealand, bringing access to science courseware that’s proven to foster better engagement and learning outcomes for STEM students.