Bringing digital technology education to every school in Australia
As the CEO of Grok Academy, Dr James Curran’s mission is simple: to bring quality, accessible digital technology education to every student and teacher in Australia.
Originally an academic in computer science, Curran has spent 25 years of his career as a professor, lecturer and researcher in computational linguistics. However, during his time in academia he also did an increasing amount of school outreach work. It was here that he clearly saw the gaps in schools’ technology education, and the need for a comprehensive, curriculum-aligned learning course in digital technology. Curran set about creating just that – and in 2013, Grok Learning was born.
“It all started in 2005 when we launched an online programming competition called the NCSS Challenge, where you learn to program via the competition,” Curran tells The Educator.
“Almost nobody out there was actually developing student skills this way. There were competitions to test whether you were a member of the club already, but not many easy ways to join the club. We wanted to combine the best of those two things.
“Teachers wanted to do the NCSS Challenge more times per year and to have a wider range of content and activities, and we wanted to support that,” he explains. “Several of our business partners encouraged us to start Grok Learning [now part of Grok Academy], and everything else just grew from there.”
Learning the right skills
When it comes to digital technology, Curran notes that the current opportunities for learning are sporadic at best.
The Digital Technologies curriculum came into effect in 2015 and requires students in Years 3 to 8 to learn coding and general-purpose programming languages such as Python or JavaScript. However, while various learning resources are available on the internet, they are often not aligned with the curriculum and don’t equip students with the right skills.
Curran says addressing this was a key first step for Grok, and the curriculum became the foundation for all its content.
Curran says his “strongest message” to teachers is that “if you’re not very confident about delivering digital technologies education, Grok has been specifically set up for you”.
“You can do these activities in the classroom yourself for professional development and learn alongside the students.”
Grok Academy offers digital technology learning courses focused mainly on coding, but also touches on other aspects of the Digital Technologies curriculum, such as cybersecurity, design thinking and project management.
Curran notes that a key strength of the platform is the way it enables students to learn at their own pace. Each course offers automated marking and high-quality automatic feedback, which helps students identify problems and debug their code.
“That’s really important, because if you’re teaching computing, then you’ll find the kids have a very wide range of experience,” Curran says.
“Some will be doing it for the first time, while others will have already done quite a bit in their free time. As a teacher, it can be challenging to juggle that range of students, and so having a mechanism by which students can progress at their own pace is really valuable.”
Equipping students for a digital future
For Curran, making sure every student has access to quality education on digital technology is not just a box-ticking exercise. He says it's also not a skill needed only by aspiring software engineers. As technology quickly makes its way into every part of society, knowing how it works, and having the skills to shape the technology of the future, will be vital.
Whether you’re aspiring to be an engineer, an economist, a scientist or a business owner, having a solid background in digital technology is quickly becoming a must, particularly for those who want to have a positive influence on wider society.
“In 2022, there’s hardly an industry that hasn’t been remade by technology in some way,” Curran says. “If you think about it, we’re living in an era of science fiction come alive! And yet somehow we haven’t been teaching kids as much as we should about how this technology works, or how they can be part of shaping the future of technology.”
He adds that “humans are very quick to adapt to the circumstances they’re
“Right now, there are a huge number of opportunities to work in the tech space. If kids want to make the world a better place in ways that are important to them, having them be involved in developing the technology of the future will be essential.”
After two years in operation, Grok Academy is taking a significant step in 2023. With sponsorship from WiseTech Global, Grok will offer free access to all content on its platform to everyone in Australia.
Curran says that while response to the courses has been overwhelmingly positive, users have needed a subscription to access parts of the content. With WiseTech’s sponsorship, every single school and teacher – no matter their budget – will be able to interact with the content, bringing high-quality digital education to anyone who needs it.
“The sponsorship is an amazingly generous thing, and it removes the one area of friction that exists right now, which is really fantastic,” Curran says.
“Personally, computing is something I’ve always loved. But my concern has always been the randomness of educational opportunity in this space, and few teachers have the right expertise. I want to make sure that for the next generation of kids, those opportunities are less random.
“I want every child who may have an unknown-to-them talent for technology has an opportunity to have a real experience of it in schools so that they can make an informed decision about whether it’s something they want to do with their future.”
Spotlight
“The Grok team has employed all of the authors of the Australian Curriculum Version 8,” Curran says. “We have that expertise in-house, and so we know that the activities we produce genuinely cover curriculum content.”
He explains that in many cases teachers will be new to digital technologies themselves. “They didn’t learn it at school or university as part of their initial teacher education,” he says.
“Because they often have limited time for professional development, the challenge for teachers is accessing a resource that actually covers the curriculum effectively. As a result, they can spend a lot of time doing activities that don’t teach the required set of skills, or that aren’t actually aligned with the Digital Technologies curriculum.”
Grok Academy is an Australian educational not-for-profit. Its mission is to educate all learners in transformative computing skills, knowledge and dispositions, empowering them to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the future.
It works with teachers, schools and students, providing online and unplugged teaching and learning resources.
Grok Academy offers online coding, cybersecurity and digital literacy activities for students, unplugged activities, and professional development for teachers. It also provides curriculum guidance and advocacy to teachers and government, with deep curriculum authoring expertise in the team.
Company Profile
2020
YEAR FOUNDED
>500,000
No. of students who have used Grok platform
997,813
No. of problems run by students in last NCSS Challenge
>2,000
No. of NCSS Summer School students since 1996
Bio
Spotlight
Milestones
Media
Accolades
Company Profile
Years in the industry
23
Career highlight
Writing the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies and the Digital Literacy Capability
Fast Fact
In March 2021, Grok Academy successfully completed its four-year $10m Digital Technologies Challenges project, achieving a reach of over 250,000 students, including an estimated 10,000 Indigenous students
Dr James Curran
CEO at Grok Academy
Dr James Curran of Grok Academy discusses the gaps in digital technology learning and offers students the chance to learn vital digital skills in the classroom
Read on
“I want every child that has an unknown-to-them talent for technology to have a real experience of it in schools so that they can make an informed decision about whether it’s something they want to do with their future”
Dr James Curran,
Grok Academy
Share
Spotlight
Fundserv is the indispensable connectivity hub for the Canadian investment industry. Headquartered in Toronto, we electronically connect Manufacturers, Distributors, and Intermediaries, enabling them to buy, sell, and transfer investment funds. With more than 100 employees, Fundserv serves hundreds of members—executing up to 63 million yearly network transactions—and provides online access to more than 70,000 investment fund products.
Established in 1993, Fundserv is a private corporation that is owned by the industry we serve. Our 10 shareholders are a cross-section of Manufacturers, Distributors, and Service Providers who represent our members.
We operate using a cost-recovery model, meaning any unused profit may be rebated back to our members. In addition to our network and applications, we lead and facilitate industry committees and working groups that promote automation initiatives and establish the industry’s electronic standards.
By ensuring every trade is processed timely, accurately, and securely, Fundserv has rightfully earned a reputation for service excellence—a hallmark of more than 25 years in the investment industry.
Company Profile
Years in the industry
23
Career highlight
Writing the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies and the Digital Literacy Capability
Fast Facts
In March 2021, Grok Academy successfully completed its four-year $10m Digital Technologies Challenges project, achieving a reach of over 250,000 students, including an estimated 10,000 indigenous students
Karen Adams
President and CEO at Fundserv
Before becoming CEO of Fundserv, Karen Adams held a variety of leadership roles around the world – and she learned that listening and understanding are key to both providing service and developing talent
Read on
Share
Share
Spotlight
Fundserv is the indispensable connectivity hub for the Canadian investment industry. Headquartered in Toronto, we electronically connect Manufacturers, Distributors, and Intermediaries, enabling them to buy, sell, and transfer investment funds. With more than 100 employees, Fundserv serves hundreds of members—executing up to 63 million yearly network transactions—and provides online access to more than 70,000 investment fund products.
Established in 1993, Fundserv is a private corporation that is owned by the industry we serve. Our 10 shareholders are a cross-section of Manufacturers, Distributors, and Service Providers who represent our members.
We operate using a cost-recovery model, meaning any unused profit may be rebated back to our members. In addition to our network and applications, we lead and facilitate industry committees and working groups that promote automation initiatives and establish the industry’s electronic standards.
By ensuring every trade is processed timely, accurately, and securely, Fundserv has rightfully earned a reputation for service excellence—a hallmark of more than 25 years in the investment industry.
Company Profile
Karen Adams
President and CEO at Fundserv
Career highlight
Before becoming CEO of Fundserv, Karen Adams held a variety of leadership roles around the world – and she learned that listening and understanding are key to both providing service and developing talent
Read on
IN Partnership with
In Partnership with
In Partnership with
Subscribe
best in education
Events
Resources
technology
business
tv
News
K/12
Higher Education
Copyright © 2022 Key Media
Companies
People
About us
Privacy
Terms of use
Terms & Conditions
Contact us
RSS
K/12
Higher Education
Australian Council for Computers in Education: ICT Leader of the Year 2013
Professional Teachers’ Council NSW Outstanding Professional Service Award 2011
Sydney Morning Herald’s
the(sydney)magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in Sydney
2010
Engineering Australia (Sydney Division) Excellence award (Education and Training) for NCSS 2010
Accolades
CORE Chris Wallace Research Excellence Award
2014
ICT Educators
of NSW: ICT Leader of the Year
2013
K/12
Higher Education
Subscribe
Best in Education
Events
Resources
technology
business
TV
News
K/12
Higher Education
Subscribe
Best in Education
Events
Resources
technology
business
TV
News
Copyright © 2022 Key Media
Companies
People
About us
Privacy
Terms of use
Terms & Conditions
Contact us
RSS
K/12
Higher Education
“If you think about it, we’re living in an era of science fiction come alive! And yet somehow we haven’t been teaching kids as much as we should about how this technology works, or how they can be part of shaping the future of technology”
Dr James Curran,
Grok Academy
in, and so we’ve gotten quite blasé about new technology and all the amazing things that it can do. But the real problem is that this technology, what it does and how it works is driven by a very small number of people – people with financial objectives, which aren’t necessarily aligned to the needs of society.
32
No. of staff across 6 states
2013
2019
2020
2016
2019
2021
Grok Learning is founded
2013
Grok’s Continuing Cyber Challenges (Australia and New Zealand) project provides resources to support the teaching of cybersecurity concepts in schools, and to inform students of career opportunities in the field
2019
Grok Academy is founded as a union of Grok Learning and the Australian Computing Academy, and is funded by the government, industry partnerships and subscriptions. Its Continuing Automation Challenges support the teaching of digital technologies concepts
2020
Grok completes its four-year $10m Digital Technologies Challenges project. Its Continuing Digital Technologies Applied project also supports the teaching of digital technologies skills and dispositions in demand in the workplace
2021
Milestones
2013
2019
2020
2016
2019
2021
Grok Learning is founded
2013
Grok’s Continuing Cyber Challenges (Australia and New Zealand) project provides resources to support the teaching of cybersecurity concepts in schools, and to inform students of career opportunities in the field
2019
Grok Academy is founded as a union of Grok Learning and the Australian Computing Academy, and is funded by the government, industry partnerships and subscriptions. Its Continuing Automation Challenges support the teaching of digital technologies concepts
2014
Grok completes its four-year $10m Digital Technologies Challenges project. Its Continuing Digital Technologies Applied project also supports the teaching of digital technologies skills and dispositions in demand in the workplace
2021
Milestones
Copyright © 2022 Key Media
Companies
People
About us
Privacy
Terms of use
Terms & Conditions
Contact us
RSS
K/12
Higher Education
“I want every child that has an unknown-to-them talent for technology to have a real experience of it in schools so that they can make an informed decision about whether it’s something they want to do with their future”
Dr James Curran,
Grok Academy
2013
2019
2020
2021
Grok Learning is founded
2013
Grok’s Continuing Cyber Challenges (Australia and New Zealand) project provides resources to support the teaching of cybersecurity concepts in schools, and to inform students of career opportunities in the field
2019
Grok Academy is founded as a union of Grok Learning and the Australian Computing Academy, and is funded by the government, industry partnerships and subscriptions. Its Continuing Automation Challenges support the teaching of digital technologies concepts
2020
Grok completes its four-year $10m Digital Technologies Challenges project. Its Continuing Digital Technologies Applied project also supports the teaching of digital technologies skills and dispositions in demand in the workplace
2021
Milestones