New education platform NEO-Learning created by Roebourne children and Big Hart launched nationwide

A new learning platform co-created by young people from Ieramagadu has been launched nation-wide. The platform called NEO-Learning was created through a collaboration between Roebourne children and Big hART. It is designed to give all Australian primary school teachers and students access to high quality First Nations digital arts content and lessons. Included in the program are smartboard-ready resources, live virtual experiences, original films and digital content including a podcast series. The lessons cover Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, digital literacies, visual arts, literacy, geography, music, language and numeracy. Children will encounter living culture on Ngarluma country with dynamic interactive exercises and powerful compelling content. The pilot project was launched last year as part of the Telstra Foundation’s Tech4good program and Big hART with more than 1000 children taking part. Yindjibarndi emerging elder Michelle Adams said the program provided an opportunity for digital media to be used as a tool for change “Students walk through a virtual door and learn from our First Nations young people. It’s a new way of learning that takes the world’s oldest living culture,” she said. NEO-Learning was designed to fulfill the requirements of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority which requires all teachers in Australia to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history in their subjects.