I am Computer Applications Technology teacher. CAT is a subject I am very passionate about and I thoroughly enjoy teaching it. I have won awards and been to many prestigious events as a speaker and guest.
I received the Microsoft Innovative Educator nomination from Microsoft and am also a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert since 2016. I won the Tech Teacher of Year in 2015 at the ISPA SuperTeacher competition and was a finalist in the 2018 competition - then winning the Tech Teacher of the Year award again in 2019. I am a senior sub-examiner for IEB Grade 12 C.A.T. NSC exams and was also the Gauteng Regional and the National C.A.T. Moderator for the IEB for 2016 and 2017. I was made a MIE Fellow in 2019.
I also enjoy playing drums when I get the chance and used to teach drumming professionally. I have an interest in West African and contemporary percussion and played professionally overseas for a few years.
Professional
- Educator
- Trainer
- Author
- Microsoft Minecraft Global Mentor
- Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIEE)
- Microsoft Innovative Educator Fellow
IEB appointments
- IEB Senior-Examiner Marker - Gr12 C.A.T. NSC Paper 1 and 2 (2019)
- IEB Senior-Examiner Marker - Gr12 C.A.T. NSC Paper 1 and 2 (2018)
- Gauteng Regional & National IEB Moderator – C.A.T PAT & SBA (2016 & 2017)
- IEB Examiner Marker - Gr12 C.A.T. NSC Paper 1 and 2 since 2014
- National IEB Teacher Conference convener – C.A.T. (2017)
- IEB C.A.T. Cluster Leader (2016)
- IEB Gauteng Subject Forum Representative C.A.T. (2014 & 2016)
Press & Media
- Rynfield resident recognised for excellence in C.A.T. education - Benoni City Times (Nov 3, 2019)
- Second win for Teacher - Bedfordview and Edenvale News (Sept 18, 2019)
- MIEExpert Spotlight #25: Matthew Hains – Schoolnet, Apr 2017
- Microsoft Virtual Academy Webinar : Digital Civility, Feb 2017
- “Microsoft MIE Experts bound for Canada” – Schoolnet, Feb 2017
- “Tech Teacher heads for summit” – Benoni City Times, Feb. 2017
- “He’s now a super teacher” – Benoni City Times, Oct. 2015
Achievements
- Appointed as a MIE Fellow (Microsoft Innovative Educator) by Microsoft (2019)
- Winner :ISPA Tech Teacher of the Year 2019
- Author of "Digital Classroom Resource"
- Finalist in the ISPA Superteacher 2018 Competition
- Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (2016/20)
- Attendee as 1 of 5 (out of 135 teachers countrywide) at the Microsoft E2 Exchange in Toronto, Canada (2017)
- Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (2016/17)
- Winner : CozaCares/ISPA Tech Teacher of the Year Winner (2015)
- The Tech Teachers site
Speaker & Workshops given
- Round table host and discussion Chairman at EduTECH Africa (2019)
- Workshop speaker for Schoolnet SA Conference at Lebone II - College of the Royal Bafokeng (June 2019)
- IEB National Teacher Conference – Computer Applications Technology (2019)
- Round table host and discussion Chairman at EduTECH Africa (2018)
- IEB National Teacher Conference – Computer Applications Technology (2018)
- Speaker at EduTECH Africa (2017)
- Speaker at SchoolNet SA Conference 2017
- Presenter at TeachMeet, Brescia House on Hacking coding (2017)
- Workshop speaker at “TeachMeet” at Brescia House on Google Classroom (2017)
- IEB National Teacher Conference – Computer Applications Technology (2017)
- Teach! Conference – Kingswood College, Grahamstown (September 2016) [pdf]
- IEB National Teacher Conference – Computer Applications Technology (2016)
- InSITE Conference – Tampa, Florida USA (2015)
- Study Opportunities IT & Delphi Day : Pretoria (2015)
- IEB National Teacher Conference – Computer Applications Technology (2015)
- IEB National Teacher Conference – Computer Applications Technology (2014)
Microsoft Educator
My Educator Network Profile page
Microsoft Virtual Academy
I have been a guest presenter in the following webinars:
- Digital Civility: Making the Internet Safer
- Physical Computing in the Classroom
- Using Kodu in the Classroom
Publications
Featured in : “Towards the Realization of the ICT Education Living Lab – The TechTeachers.co.za Success Story” (2015)
The Digital Classroom Resource by Matthew Hains, published by Cambridge University Press (2019)
