News

Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced an $87.7 million emergency funding boost to allow schools students to work from home.

It includes:

• two new television channels for education-related content, one for English medium and one for Māori medium, including Pacific-targeted content
• some specialised content for parents, to help them support their child's education, and early learners
• hard-copy material provided and delivered for different year levels
• working with telecommunications companies and internet service providers to connect households without internet connection as quickly as possible
• working with schools to identify students who lack a suitable device for online learning, and delivering as many devices as possible to the students who will benefit the most.

Priority will be for high school students working towards NCEA and those with "greatest need to disadvantage".

Full story TV1 News »

Have you considered how you might apply flipped learning during school closures? 
Read our latest e-mail newsletter to find out more.

Schools will shortly be moving into distance learning delivery. This will open up many new opportunities, challenges and possibilities for the way schools and kura operate, and how staff (both teaching and non-teaching staff) work. 

Online support for distance learning

The Ministry has launched two websites which provide advice and resources to support parents, whānau and teachers. The websites will help early learning centres, schools and kura to develop online learning plans that they can share with their parents and whānau.  

• Learning from Home and Ki te Ao Mārama

Helpdesk assistance 

The Connected Learning Advisory helpdesk assist leaders, teachers, kaiako and whānau to make full use of the online environments and resources, as they provide for a continuity of learning for their students and tamariki.

CORE Education, run the helpdesk. They will provide this and other online support from 8am to 5pm on business days.

• To contact the Helpdesk, call 0800 700 401, or email learningfromhome@connectedlearning.org.nz . 
• To speak with the Helpdesk in te reo Māori, call 0508 294 462. 

Support includes:

• Technical advice for teachers and whānau in response to their Helpdesk enquiries
• Online support to assist:
  • whānau to understand how to use the IT tools they have and how to engage safely in collaborative spaces
  • principals, leadership teams, and teachers to select and use appropriate tools and strategies to communicate, maintain learning programmes effectively across their community, and manage online safety
• Community liaison: connecting early learning services/school/kura leaders and whānau with networks and resources.

For more information read:

• Ministry of Eduction School Special Bulletin – COVID-19 , 2 April 2020

Netsafe encourage people to use and engage with all different types of technology to stay connected; they provide tips and advice about how to do it safely.

The resources on netsafe.org.nz including the 10 best online safety tips for lockdown  will help you provide a safe environment at home and when working remotely with your students.

Netsafe are asking people to use the #stayconnectedstaysafe on social media to share how they have made a difference to someone else.

Zoom has lifted the 40-minute meeting limit on free Basic accounts for schools in New Zealand.

• Request to have the limit lifted for your school »

Security resource for educators teaching over Zoom

• Blog: Best practices for securing your virtual classroom .

All schools and kura can access additional support for distance learning:

• You can ask your current PLD facilitator for help and support to plan distance learning
• If you want to use a PLD provider to help support thinking and planning for distance learning but you don’t have PLD hours or your current facilitator is unable to help please contact the PLD mailbox. pld.enquiries@education.govt.nz and the Ministry of Education will be in contact to help broker some support.
• A number of schools can continue to offer learning online, if the Ministry of Education can help please contact them through the PLD mailbox pld.enquiries@education.govt.nz

Most of the major telcos have removed data caps and the possibility of any extra charges based on usage.
 
See the links to those major companies listed below if your staff or students working from home need further support with this.
 
SPARK – https://www.spark.co.nz/help/covid-19/
“Removing overage charges for customers who are on data-capped broadband plans, so they won’t have to worry about paying extra to stay connected. This applies to both small and medium business and consumer customers;”
 
VODAFONE – https://news.vodafone.co.nz/covid-19-care
“The removal of data caps from data-capped Broadband plans for consumers and small to medium sized businesses until at least the end of June 2020”
 
VOCUS/SLINGSHOT – https://help.slingshot.co.nz/hc/en-us/articles/900000386943-Our-action-against-COVID-19?_ga=2.224375707.1878754814.1585097493-87562686.1585097493
“We removed all the data caps from our plans to better enable you to work from home during this time of social distancing and self-isolation.”
 
2DEGREES – https://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/help-and-support/mobile/your-account/covid-19/
“Any customer who was on a limited data plan on or before Friday, March 20 will now receive unlimited data through until June 2020.”

Microsoft and Google are holding online meetings to support schools establishing or offering distance learning for their students.

Microsoft meetings

Google meetings

Schools can participate in Google Hangouts meeting drop in sessions at Distance Learning Hangouts . These drop in sessions are for questions and help. 

This new website contains advice and resources for parents and whānau, teachers and leaders spanning early learning through to senior secondary to support learning at home.

The resources:

• activities that parents can use with their children and young people alongside what teachers provide
• support teachers to plan activities for children and young people to work on from home
• are sorted in age groups and year levels to help you find things that you can use or adapt for your children’s learning.

The Communication technologies page links to this site and several more useful resources to support teachers and school leaders with setting up and teaching remotely. 

This year we have a number of new professional learning initiatives planned for you; to make the most out of the Enabling e-Learning resources and community links.

Digital packages

We are creating a series of digital packages that enable you to quickly access content and resources across Enabling e-Learning. 

Online discussions

Join these new discussions now

• Welcome to 2020 from the Enabling e-Learning team
• Enabling e-Learning snapshot: Year 9 and 10 Integrated programme at Orewa College
• Safer Internet every DAY of the year

»Term 1 Enabling e-Learning Calendar of Events lists more upcoming discussions.

INTERFACE, MOTAT, and Microsoft have teamed up for the Minecraft 2020 competitions. Entries are open now.

Entry forms

• Teachers: Create a Minecraft lesson plan

• Students: Build a better future in Minecraft . Build a Minecraft creation that helps to save and protect our environment. Record a video showing how it works. Choose from three age categories:

• • Primary (Years 1-6)
  • Intermediate (Years 7-8)
  • Secondary (Years 9+)

Entries close: Monday 29 June 2020 (the last week of Term 2).

Join teachers and students around the globe celebrating the use of digital technology in education for Digital Learning Day on February 27th.

Each year classrooms across the United States and around the world hold events to celebrate Digital Learning Day. 

• Sign up to participate in Digital Learning day
• Check out what other schools are doing

Google for education  offer some great collections of free lessons as part of the day.

Find out about what's new on the website and what's happening in the online community.

• February newsletter »

Two recent technology publications:

• Digital technologies implementation support tool 2020
• ERO case study - On your marks...Get set...Go! A tale of six schools and the digital technologies curriculum content

The Government has begun a massive IT upgrade to provide more seamless internet access to 200 schools around the country.