Last week, teachers from all over Australia came together at the first-ever Digital Curriculum Technologies Summit to discuss the best ways to bring computer science and computational thinking into Australian classrooms. Attendees at the summit were lucky enough to learn from some of the Aussie teachers who are leading the way in making computer science fun, approachable, and relevant to their daily lives.

Today we want to recognise five STEM and computer science educators who are making an outstanding contribution to teaching in Australia. Each of them will receive LEGO Education EV3 Robotic kits and a special school visit early next year from a team of Google engineers who will talk to their classrooms about cool careers in technology.

Linda McIver, John Monash Science School

Linda’s class has partnered with Polperro Dolphin Swims to digitise eight years' worth of data about the dolphins in Port Phillip Bay that has just been sitting on a shelf. It's real computational science that will make a difference to the world.

Jenny Gallagher, Milton State School

Jenny uses her engineering background to integrate ‘bee bots’ and other unique educational tools into her lesson plans to help introduce her students to computational thinking before they even realise it.

Graeme Breen, Mountain Creek Secondary School

Graeme has spent his career making sure that the stereotype of technology being a 'boys subject' does not take hold. He encourages students to investigate a range of technologies and devices in an environment that is challenging but fun, and equally available to both genders and all ages.

Karin Pfister, Northern Territories Department of Education

Karin works to help teachers keep up with changes in technology and to integrate them into their curriculum before they become obsolete again.

Rob Torok, Claremont College

Rob has been using LEGO robotics to teach his students since 2001. He has also mentored teams in RoboCup Junior and the FIRST Robotics Competition, and teaches an online robotics class called SmartBots.

Congratulations to these five teachers - we can’t wait to meet the brilliant young minds graduating from your classrooms - maybe when they apply for a job at Google one day?

You can learn more about how you can build computer science and computational thinking into your curriculum, and inspire the next generation of innovators here.

Today, Google eBooks has landed in Australia, and whether you’re a bookworm or casual reader, you’re invited to stop by and stock up on some great reads for summer.

We've got hundreds of thousands of titles to choose from, including plenty of bestsellers, and millions of free eBooks on top of that. It's easy to find great Australian authors like Kate Grenville, Thomas Keneally, Geraldine Brooks and Christos Tsiolkas.

Google eBooks is all about choice: we’re offering more titles and more ways to buy, access and read them, so that your library is literally at your fingertips. You can choose from great titles from hundreds of local publisher partners at launch, including award-winning publishers like Allen & Unwin, Scribe and Text Publishing, not to mention the many thousands of international publishers Google works with around the world. In addition, we are working with some of the best local booksellers in Australia, including Booktopia and Dymocks who are selling eBooks today, with QBD The Bookshop and The Co-op Bookshop coming soon.



Plus, choose your favorite device for any occasion. You can discover, purchase and read our eBooks on almost any device, including your PC or netbook; Android and Apple smartphone or tablet; or pretty much any eReader, picking up at the same spot that you left off as you move from one device to another.

We're also pleased to report that with our Australian launch, we are opening up our Google eBooks affiliate program in Australia, Canada and the UK. The affiliate program allows retailers, bloggers, book publishers and other website owners to earn commissions when they refer their users to Google eBooks. To learn more, please visit our Google eBooks Affiliate Integration Help Centre page.

We’re happy to make it even easier for all Australians to discover, buy and read their next great book. Head on over to our new eBookstore, visit one of our great retail partners, or check out the new books tab on the updated Android Market and get stuck into your next amazing story today.

Posted by Mark Tanner, eBooks Partnerships Manager, Google Australia