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Marble Bar Primary School principal Shane Wilson ( middle ) at APICTA . Picture : supplied .
Marble Bar year nine student teaching a year three student to fly a drone . Picture : supplied .
Two-way learning
WA ’ s remote Marble Bar Primary School wins on the global stage
By Erin Nixon
Marble Bar Primary School in the Pilbara region of Western Australia is a small school that ’ s winning major global awards for its innovative virtual world experiences and two-way pedagogical approach to STEM disciplines .
Marble Bar currently has 13 primary and 11 secondary full time equivalent ( FTE ) students , 91 per cent of whom are Indigenous , according to the Western Australia Department of Education website .
The school was recently honoured on the world stage , winning an international gold medal at the prestigious 2022 Australia Pacific ICT Awards for its Marble Bar Virtual World ( MBVW ) program .
The MBVW Program utilises Virtual Reality ( VR ) technology to enrich STEM subjects , showcasing Indigenous Australian culture , language and heritage .
Marble Bar Primary School was also successful at this year ’ s Australian Education Awards , winning the CompliSpace Best First Nations Education Program award and an Excellence Award for the Grok Academy Best STEM Program .
Marble Bar school principal Shane Wilson spoke with Education Review about the school ’ s recent achievements and the innovative work they ’ re undertaking in the community .
It was “ such a wonderful highlight for the school ,” Mr Wilson said , on winning the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance ’ s Public Sector Digital Government Solution award and showcasing their work to international judges . MBVW recently presented a First Nations virtual art gallery to the First Resources Technology Showcase using VR Chat software .
Almost 700 people attended the exhibition at the Perth Convention Centre in-person , along with 200 international guests who explored the virtual gallery .
“ One virtual attendee from New York was so impressed with one of our students ’ designs that he paid to showcase her non-fungible token on an American virtual platform ,” Mr Wilson said .
The MBVW program encourages two-way education incorporating STEM subjects including topography , geology , astronomy , fauna and flora of Australia and the area , along with opportunities to integrate Nyamal , the language of the country on which Marble Bar is located .
Two-way learning connects western science with Indigenous science – enabling everyone to be a teacher and a
Two-way learning connects western science with Indigenous science – enabling everyone to be a teacher and a learner
learner – discovering cultures , traditions and languages .
As a small school , Marble Bar ’ s older students mentor and pass on knowledge to the younger students .
“ Our year nine students mentored our year three students on using drones to capture the area ’ s topography ,” Mr Wilson said .
“ Australian industry is crying out for Indigenous students with STEM skills . Marble Bar High School is creating career pathways for high school students while also benefiting the younger students through our mentoring program .”
MBVW is predominantly utilised in STEM subjects with the possibility to extend across the curriculum from science to humanities and social sciences , in language including Nyamal – a critically endangered language – so people can see and hear Indigenous voices and culture . ■
4 | educationreview . com . au