Eddie Woo
Eddie Woo | |
|---|---|
.jpg?lang=en) Woo at Perth Festival Writers Week in 2019 | |
| Born | 1985 (age 38–39) |
| Citizenship | Australian |
| Education | James Ruse Agricultural High School |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney |
| Occupation | High school teacher |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Employer | NSW Department of Education |
| Known for | Online mathematics lessons |
| Notable work | Woo's Wonderful World of Maths |
| Television | Teenage Boss, Australian Story |
| Awards |
|
| Website | misterwootube |
Eddie Woo (born 1985) is an Australian mathematician. Woo is best known for his YouTube channel, focused on explanations of perennial mathematical problems. In 2018, Woo was awarded the Australia's Local Hero Award.
Early life
Woo's parents migrated to Australia from Malaysia around 1970 for better education opportunities for their children.[2] He has an older brother, who works in IT, and an older sister, who is a dentist.[1] Woo studied at the James Ruse Agricultural High School in New South Wales and completed his Higher School Certificate in 2003.[2] He earned his Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Secondary Mathematics and Information Technology from the University of Sydney in 2008.[3]
Career
Woo is a mathematics teacher at Cherrybrook Technology High School, Sydney. His substantive position is as Head Teacher Mathematics at this school.[4] As of 2018, he has been teaching mathematics for more than 10 years.[2] His YouTube channel has over 500,000 subscribers and more than 30 million views worldwide as of December 2018[update].[5] In 2018, Woo hosted a show called Teenage Boss on the ABC, which gave teens control of their family's financial decisions for a month.[6]
Woo's book entitled Woo's Wonderful World of Maths was published on 25 September 2018. It addresses questions like "Why are rainbows curved?" and "Why aren't left-handers extinct?", with the answer being: maths, and that maths is all about patterns and the universe is extraordinarily patterned.[7]
Awards
In October 2015, Woo was a joint recipient of the NSW Premier's Prize for Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education.[8]
He was one of ten teachers to win the inaugural Choose Maths Awards on 26 August 2016.[9]
In April 2017, Woo won the 2017 University of Sydney Young Alumni Award for Outstanding Achievement.[2]
In March 2017, he was one of 12 Australian teachers to win a Commonwealth Bank Teaching Award, a prestigious national awards event co-presented each year by the Commonwealth Bank and education charity Schools Plus.[2]
In November 2017, he was named 2018 NSW Local Hero.[10]
Woo gave the Australia Day address in NSW in 2018, the first time a teacher has done so.[11]
On 25 January 2018, Woo won the Australia's Local Hero Award at the Australian of the Year Awards.[12]
In March 2018, Woo was named a Top 10 Finalist in the Global Teacher Prize.[13]
Personal life
Woo identifies as a Christian, stating, "We talk about the fact that the universe is designed in this way and you can find all of these patterns; do you think that that's a coincidence? One of the things I love to point out is we call the universe the cosmos which means ordered and structured and designed, as opposed to chaos, and the reason why we can find these mathematical principles is because there was a designer. We didn't just spring into being. It has immense beauty."[14]
Woo is married and a father of three children.[2][15]
Woo also plays the guitar.[16]
References
- ^ a b "2018 speaker: Eddie Woo". Australia Day Address. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Baillie, Rebecca (1 May 2017). "Meet the maths teacher you wish you had in high school". ABC New s. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ "Top teacher Eddie Woo appointed Education Ambassador". The University of Sydney. 13 December 2018. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ The Australian October 7, 2016
- ^ "misterwootube YouTube Stats, Channel Statistics". socialblade.com. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|website=(help) - ^ "Here's what happens when teens take control of the family budget for a month". ABC News. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
- ^ "Woo's Wonderful World of Maths - Pan Macmillan AU". Pan Macmillan Australia. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ "Honour Roll – NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer". chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ Mahony, Mikaela (30 August 2016). "Excellence award for Wootube master". Hills News. Fairfax Regional Media. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ Harmer, Wendy; Buck, Robbie (14 November 2017). "Changing minds on maths". Breakfast. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ Smith, Alexandra (18 January 2018). "Maths teacher Eddie Woo to deliver the Australia Day address in NSW". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ "Quantum physicist is Australian of the Year". BBC News. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ "Eddie Woo, Top 10 Finalist Summary" (PDF). Global Teacher Prize. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Lim, Anne (25 January 2018). "Maths is beautiful... wait, what?". Eternity News. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Maths is beautiful... wait, what?". Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Hills local Eddie Woo to deliver Australia Day Address". Retrieved 25 January 2018.
External links
- Official website
- Eddie Woo's channel on YouTube
Media related to Eddie Woo at Wikimedia Commons
