ACCE Board

Digital Learning & Teaching Victoria
president@acce.edu.au and vic@acce.edu.au

Ben is an Australian educator passionate about contemporary learning and students centred learning and uses technology to develop global connections, collaborate and create.

Currently, Ben is the Principalof a small rural school in regional Victoria, Landsborough Primary School. Ben was ICTEV’s Educator of the Year in 2012 and a finalist in the VEEA Outstanding Primary School Teacher Category in 2015. A Primary School Teacher for 25 years, Ben has taught across all year levels and is passionate about the integration of Digital Technologies across the whole curriculum.

Involved in CEGs since 2012, Ben has served as the President of Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria, and is a life member of the organisation. As the current President of ACCE, Ben works with an amazing committee towards creating new opportunities for teachers which reflect contemporary learning and teaching pedagogies.

vicepresident@acce.edu.au

Tina Photakis is the current Vice President of ACCE and Immediate Past President of EdTechSA. With over 40 years of experience in education, she is a highly regarded Specialist Educator with qualifications in Early Years and Primary Education, as well as Modern Greek language teaching.

She currently teaches The Arts: Music (R–2) and Modern Greek (R–3), and serves as the school choir trainer for the Year 5–6 Primary Schools Music Festival. Tina has extensive expertise in both the Arts and Digital Technologies, with a strong focus on the purposeful integration of technology to enhance teaching and learning.

Tina has delivered professional learning for educators across Australia and internationally, with particular emphasis on digital technologies, project-based learning and online collaboration. She has presented at local, national and international conferences in the areas of Languages and Digital Technologies.

Her professional interests include supporting Language and Specialist teachers to effectively embed digital technologies within their curriculum areas. Tina remains committed to inclusive, culturally responsive education and excellence in teaching practice.

QSITE
secretary@acce.edu.au

Norena is the current QSITE President and the secretary on the ACCE Board. She is an experienced secondary school educator and leader. Her key teaching areas include Senior Information Technology, Digital Technologies and Mathematics. Norena served as Assistant Principal at St Margaret Mary’s College for 15 years and is currently employed as a Project Officer at the Townsville Catholic Education Office. She also works as a sessional lecturer and tutor in the College of Arts, Society and Education at James Cook University assisting pre-service teachers to develop their understanding of Years 7-10 Digital Technologies and Years 11/12 Information Technology curriculum and their ability to use ICTs across the curriulum to enhance teaching and learning.

Another of Norena’s interests is curriculum development and she has previously served as a member of the QCAA (Qld Curriculum and Assessment Authority) P-12 Technologies Syllabus Advisory Committee. She also worked on the subcommittees which developed the Information & Communication Technology Subject Area Specification and the Information & Processing Technology Syllabus. Norena is a member of the QCAA Townsville/Mackay District Review Panel for Information & Processing Technology Syllabus.

Throughout her career, Norena has placed priority on supporting teachers via the work of teacher professional associations and she has served on the management committees of a number of professional associations. She is a long-serving member of the both the QSITE State Board and her local QSITE Townsville Chapter Committee. Her work with professional associations has been ackowledged through the presentation of a QSITE Outstanding Leader Award and a National Award for Quality Schooling: Highly Commended National Achievement by a Teacher. Norena has also been awarded Fellowship of the Australian College of Educators.

Queensland Society for Information Technology in Education
qld@acce.edu.au

Leanne Cameron is currently Senior Lecturer in Education (Technologies) in the School of Education at James Cook University,  Townsville Campus. She has published widely in the area of effective technology integration in education and is particularly sought after for presentations about her work on the use of Digital Technologies, Social Media and integrated STEM programs in education. Her current interest lies in ensuring our teachers are skilled up to meet the challenges of the Australian Technologies curriculum implementation. She draws heavily on her own experience as a classroom teacher and as a Technology Trainer for the NSW Department of Education’s Training & Development Directorate to deliver practical advice for teachers. Leanne has previously worked at Southern Cross University, the Australian Catholic University, Sydney University and Macquarie University in NSW and has co-ordinated courses with universities in Singapore, Malaysia and the UK. The focus of her work for some years has been the investigation of how digital technologies can be used to promote student engagement.

Tasmanian Society for IT in Education
treasurer@acce.edu.au

Martin is an ICT Educator, having taught for over twenty years in Government, Catholic and Independent Schools in Tasmania. Complementing this he worked on the Australian Governments first national Internet Safety program for a five year period.  Having been a member of both the Australian Computer Society (Tas) and TASITE organising committees he is keen to promote the use of computers in education. Martin holds masters degrees in education and business and previously presented his action research at an international boys education conference (IBSC) on ways to improve curiosity in teenage boys through tinkering with small computers. Away from ICT he enjoys photography and sport of any kind.

David is a technology educator with over two decades of experience in secondary and tertiary computing. David has overseen a range of pedagogically-driven STEM projects, and promotes technology integration across all levels of teaching. In 2023 he won the WAITTA INCITE Achiever of the Year for ICT, and has served on technology and education boards at state, national and international levels. David has wide ranging international experience in Indonesia, Pakistan, and many parts of Africa. He served as the Vice President of Academic boards for the ACS for 4 years, and is actively engaged in curriculum transformation. In his spare time David’s favorite hobby is beekeeping.  As President of the Education Computing Association of WA, David works with an amazing team of educators seeking to optimise technology outcomes in WA. 

Information Technology Educators ACT (InTEACT)
act@acce.edu.au

Bruce has over 20 years experience working in education, EdTech and education not-for-profit, and is currently an Associate Principal at Gungahlin College in the ACT. He is a highly regarded educator of Computer Science and Digital Technologies, being awarded the Australian ICT Educator of the Year award in 2016 and an ISTE Making IT Happen award in 2017.

Bruce was one of the writers of the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies. In 2023 he was a contributor to the rewrite of the Digital Literacy General Capability, and played a major role in the development of the AI Curriculum Connection. He led the development of the senior secondary curriculum IT subjects in the ACT, including the introduction of the first Data Science course for Year 11 and 12 students in Australia. He has lectured and tutored pre-service teacher programs at both the University of Canberra and University of Sydney, and led the development of student and teacher professional development resources in his previous role as Chief Education Officer at Grok Academy.

Bruce has advised international organisations on the introduction and development of policy and guidelines for the use of Generative AI and its role in learning and teaching. He was the founding President of Information Technology Educators ACT in 2012, and continues to advocate for teachers in the ACT having held various roles on the InTEACT committee since.

EdTechSA
sa@acce.edu.au

Saad is an enthusiastic technology educator with extensive experience teaching Digital Technologies across various Catholic and Independent schools in South Australia. A passionate advocate for the professional community, he has volunteered with EdTechSA for the past four years and currently serves as the ACCE Representative on their Executive Committee.

Saad’s current pedagogical focus is the integration of artificial intelligence in the classroom. He is actively developing and incorporating resources designed to teach middle school students the ethical and effective use of AI, with a particular emphasis on enhancing learning outcomes within Science and Mathematics.

Karen has been teaching for over 30 years and has had a broad ranging impact on technology use within education circles. At the local level, she has provided insightful leadership at St George Christian School and has overseen the implementation of hands-on quality technology experiences for the students throughout her school. Additionally, she began a world class robotics program. Her expertise was recognised in her local area when she was joined by two other schools to form a Design Thinking Challenge, ‘Think, Create, Connect’ that was a full day of activity by the students in each school. This initiative is an example of where her efforts of cooperatively planning quality student events has produced a scalable model that can be implemented in other school environments. The quality of this program was also recognised by the Powerhouse Museum in 2017 at the Young Creators Conference where it was showcased in one of their school workshop days.

Tasmanian Society for IT in Education (TASITE)
tas@acce.edu.au

Chris Bracken is a highly accomplished educator and leader in the fields of digital technologies and STEM, with a career spanning over three decades. His most recent job was as Education Officer for STEM and Learning Technologies (7-12 Statewide) at the Tasmanian Catholic Education OfficeHere he had a pivotal role in shaping digital learning initiatives and integrating cutting-edge technologies into classrooms across Tasmania. As the founder of Proactive PD, Chris delivered professional development workshops on robotics, data-logging, and interactive technologies, empowering teachers to confidently embrace digital tools. His expertise is further recognized through his presidency of the Tasmanian Society for Information and Technology in Education (TASITE), and his active involvement with national bodies such as the Australian Council for Computers in Education and recently the ACARA Digital Technologies Reference group and ICT Platforms Reference Group.

A passionate advocate for STEM education, Chris’s achievements include authoring the comprehensive robotics book “Educate NXT” (published by LEGO Education USA) which became an international resource for teachers and students alike. He has been instrumental in organizing and leading robotics competitions, such as RoboCup Junior and the FIRST LEGO League, inspiring countless students to engage with engineering and programming. Chris’s dedication has been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2011 Mathematics and Science Teachers Award from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and the 2009 LEGO Teachers Award. Through his leadership, mentorship, and innovative approach, Chris continues to drive excellence in digital technologies and STEM education, fostering the next generation of problem-solvers and innovators.

https://www.acs.org.au/governance/ict-educators-committee.html

Sue is an experienced Head of Department of over 20 years at Kelvin Grove State College, an innovative and futures-focussed Prep to Year 12 Independent Public School near the Brisbane CBD. Sue’s diverse and constantly evolving role includes a cross-curriculum focus on digital pedagogy, professional learning and digital tools. She leads and teaches Digital Technologies (ICT) curriculum implementation (including VET qualifications), line manages the Middle Senior Library (incorporating a MakerSpace and DigiSpace) and previously managed the ICT infrastructure and services program for many years. With the implementation of new Digital Technologies national curriculum and Queensland Senior curriculum including VET, Sue embraced her College Executive Principal’s “raise your gaze” challenge, seeking opportunities for greater industry engagement (including within the start-up community), active participation in industry partnerships and programs (including Queensland Gateways to Industry Schools Programs), and building talent pipelines into the ICT and related industries rather than through traditional pathways. Sue is passionate about enabling and supporting others to build their digital confidence and capabilities to become influencers and change-makers, rather than just being impacted by digital disruptive technologies (as identified in the 2017 Australian Computer Society Deloitte Digital Pulse report). Sue was awarded a Gold Disruptor – ICT Educator of the Year at the 2018 ACS Digital Disruptor Awards. She joined the QSITE Board and the Australian Computer Society ICT Educators Board and was accepted as a Queensland Community Digital Champion in 2019. Sue was recently a Highly Commended finalist in the 2020 Commonwealth Bank Teaching Awards after being nominated by a parent in her school community.