In New Zealand as we enter the 5th week of Distance learning some awesome examples of strong leadership leading to a well manged and easier distance learning experiences are showing out.
The Manaiakalani Educational trust embarked on a philosophy to ensure the success of their distance learning strategies Kia iti ngā kuputoro – “Limit the Links”, encouraging their 95 School Principals to “Hold their nerve and stick with the digital tools and processes they and their young people were familiar with.
In other words, to keep it simple and carry on This includes making the school websites, on Google Sites, the entry point to learning, one link to access Meet, and Blogger, especially amidst the “onslaught of companies and organisations tempting them with free access to other products, nearly all have clung to the line; Kia iti ngā kuputoro – Limit the Links”
- Read these four principal blog posts about their journeys: Jo (St Francis Catholic) , Harry (Mairehau High), Robin (Hornby High) and Gary (Hornby Primary)
- Russell Burt has been providing evidence and expertise as they grappled with providing (mostly) Chromebooks to NZ learners. And he’s having such fun with his own school. Check out the live stream of assembly each week, coming from his house!
- In this photo, note the kids in the Far North, in a farm trailer Dad parked at the top of the hill, complete with Chromebooks and generator. That’s the spot where they can get satellite wifi!
- Wellington College had a trial learning from home day pre-lockdown and then instigated a help sheet for parents and students to support their program. The Google GSuite tools supported their program and made for a smooth transition to learning from home their support page can be seen here a continuation of the in class use of Google Classroom whilst at home kept things simple for the learners
- Rangitoto College set up a weekly program that would be sent to students and parents to help them plan their week. The weeks learning was chunked into knowledge dumps and paired with Google Meets to check in with the students and see how they were going. Google calendar was used to help the students map out their learning for the week. Regular updates to Whanau were a strength of this program. Rangi Online was launched on Instagram to further support students
- Hornby Primary School set up separate learning at home sites to outline the plans and provide guidance on how to use the tools for parents and students and how the tools will be used by the teachers. The Principal sent out video messages to connect with the learners and community too.
Takapuna Grammar School leveraged their high student centered use of GSuite in class to transition the learning from the classroom to home. The students already had good digital learning skills embedded and these could be applied at home with the addition of Google Meet for face to face and class check ins helped the process along. A support site of info for learners and whanau supported by self made videos made the information feel more authentic and personal.
The overall pattern that I have seen is that those schools who already have a student centered program that is not strictly teacher led make the transition to distance learning more successfully. Many schools have made a big change to their teaching program because of the move to distance learning. Lets apply this to the future of learning in NZ and make our education system even better !