HP Inc's new Kids Fund is a local programme in line with the company's global commitment, announced in July this year, "of US$20 million in technology, training and R&D funding to enable better learning outcomes for more than 100 million people by 2025".
Through the HP Kids Fund, HP said "50 schools will receive grants of AU$10,000 to be directed towards the purchase of HP technology."
All principals and teachers at Australian primary and secondary schools are "encouraged to submit a short creative video (max. 60 seconds) showing how receiving this grant will help their students become more innovative and achieve better STEM learning outcomes," with "entries for the first intake open now and close on 5 February 2018."
The programme was announced globally in July.
While the Australian Government has committed to a six-year funding timetable for under-funded schools through Gonski 2.0, starting from 2018, HP notes "reports from two international assessments of student learning, PISA and TIMSS, found Australia has one of the most significant gaps in resourcing between advantaged and disadvantaged schools. This is especially true when it comes to access to technology."
There's more information here: "Save Our Schools (2017). Resource Gaps Between Advantaged & Disadvantaged Schools Among the Largest in the World."
HP then notes technology moving at breakneck speed, and points to "developments like Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) taking flight," meaning that "today’s kids will live and work in a world vastly different from the one we know today. Digital literacy plays a key role in preparing Australian school kids for the changing workforce."
Rachael Williams, Manager, Education and Government, HP South Pacific said: “HP firmly believes that every kid deserves equal opportunity when it comes to their education, regardless of their background, economic circumstances or where they live.
“The future will be shaped by technology, and so it is critical that every Aussie student receives a solid foundation in digital literacy. These are skills they will use throughout their life.”
Recognising the important role that equal access to technology plays, HP hopes its Kids Fund "inspires Australian schools to go beyond standard devices, such as laptops, and instead make innovative and exciting technology a part of the learning process. Technologies including VR, 3D printing, gamification and robotics are increasingly being used as educational resources to enhance children’s learning in the classroom."
Here, HP points to a blog post entitled "10 Reasons Today’s Students NEED Technology in the Classroom."
Natasha Eaton, Principal of Peakhurst South Public School said: "Being given the opportunity to access these technologies empowers students to be not only more connected and learn important digital skills, but facilitates creativity, classroom engagement and collaboration between peers.
“We have only just begun to understand the potential for new technologies that may become standard fixtures in classrooms of the future.”
Here's a video, followed by a description of how the HP Kids Fund works – please read on below!
HP Kids Fund: How it works
- Entries for the first intake of HP Kids Fund are open now and close on 5 February 2018.
- To apply, principals and teachers at Australian primary and secondary schools need to submit a short creative video (max. 60 seconds) showing how receiving a AU$10,000 grant for HP technology will help their students become more innovative and achieve better STEM learning outcomes.
- The judging panel will be made up of representatives from HP and Code Camp.
- The grants will be awarded to 2-5 schools per intake, and HP will work with these schools to determine the HP technology that is best suited to their needs.
- For the first intake, open now, judging will take place from 12 February 2018 to 26 February 2018, with the winner and runners-up to be announced on 5 March 2018.
- At each intake, five runners-up will receive a complimentary Code Camp session, teaching Aussie school kids how to code in the classroom.
- If a school is unsuccessful, they can reapply in the next intake (slated for March 2018).
- In addition, every applicant will receive a 6-month subscription to Code Camp World, an online teaching forum where kids can unleash their creativity, their ideas and their story-telling to the world, having fun and being challenged while creating downloadable apps.
Schools should Google Search ‘HP Kids Fund’ or visit HP Kids Fund for further information or to apply for a grant.
