Pupils at Hamilton's Maeroa Intermediate are among the first users of the Indigitech programme.
Pupils at Hamilton's Maeroa Intermediate are among the first users of the Indigitech programme.
New Zealand’s tech talent squeeze has been caused by a lack of diversity as much as border restrictions.
A 2021 report by MBIE and NZTech found New Zealand needs 4000-5000 new digital technology professionals each year, and that only 4 per cent of Māori and 2.8 per centof Pasifika communities are employed in digital technology - highlighting that more must be done to grow and diversify the local talent pool.
An initiative launched this week by a clutch of tech firms aims to help more students at low-decile schools succeed in stem (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects, and general awareness about the tech industry - a high-paying sector that’s been short-handed for years, even before the pandemic.
“Indigitech” is particularly aimed at Māori and Pasifika kids in Year 7 and Year 8 (the old Form 1 and 2). That’s a pivotal age, says Annabelle Bullock, deputy principal, at one of the participating schools, Māngere’s Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate.
It is initially covering some 5700 students and 270 teachers at 33 low-decile schools across Auckland, Hamilton, Hastings, Mangakino, Northland and Rotorua.
The firms behind the initiative are: Māori-owned Code Avengers, which offers online courses to get kids into programming; Education Perfect, the Dunedin-founded firm that offers an internet platform to help students with core subjects, and helps teachers track their progress; Intel, IT support firm Lancom and Amazon Web Services (AWS), which provides cloud smarts to tie everything together.
“We’ve decided that everybody needs digital skills, but not everybody’s comfortable teaching them. We have teachers who probably learned Microsoft Word and Paint,” Code Avengers COO Ray Allen told the Herald. “Now they’ve got to teach data representation and AI. So there’s a gap there that we’ve got to bridge.”
Bullock said her school’s students had taken to Education Perfect and Code Avengers tools - in part because they had a local voice, and in part because of gamification and continuous feedback elements that appeal to the social media generation.
“Students are able to monitor themselves. They’re able to get instant feedback, which is what kids in this world need. They can’t wait for someone to mark a test and then get feedback two weeks later. They find out straight away if they’re on the right or wrong track. That to me is a real strength,” the deputy principal said.
“When I talk to the kids about what they really enjoy with Education Perfect, every single kid said: ‘I love the competition.’ In this PC world, we often say ‘Get the competition out of it’, but the kids love it.” Those who weren’t so much into comparing scores loved that they could set the pace themselves. “So there’s something in it for every kid. Either they’re competing, working together or moving at their own pace.”
Her school was using Code Avengers to draw kids into programming, while Education Perfect’s tools were being used across the board for subjects including English, Maths and te reo Māori.
From left, AWS operations head Pip Gilbert, AWS country director Tiffany Bloomquist, Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate principal Annabelle Bullock, Education Perfect CEO Alex Burke and Code Avengers COO Ray Allen. Photo / File
“This is just year one,” Education Perfect chief executive Alex Burke said. His hope was that Indigitech would be extended from Year 7 and Year 8 through to the end of high school. He and Allen both hoped more corporate supporters would come on board to expand the programme. Burke was also angling for more people who’ve succeeded in the IT industry to make appearances to help inspire students.
Indigitech will also help schools grapple with one of the hottest topics of 2023: AI. While some teachers have been freaking out about the potential for cheating (notwithstanding Chat GPT’s inability to cite references), Bullock said she and her colleagues were embracing it as a vehicle to expand critical thinking.
Pupils at Hamilton's Maeroa Intermediate are among the first to be onboarded to the Indigitech programme. Photo / File
Education Perfect and Code Avengers are both well-established, but usually only accessible for schools or students who pay for their services.
Indigitech gives participating schools free access to the digital Education Perfect curriculum, including English, Math, Science, Te Reo Māori, and Te Ao Māori topics, as well as free access to the Code Avengers learning platform
Participating teachers gain free access to a micro-credentials professional learning program that provides guidance on how to engage students using digital technology and how to build Education Perfect into their classroom lessons,
And participating students gain access to Education Perfect and Code Avengers within their normal school curriculum plus access to additional activities to inspire students around future careers in technology like AWS Deep Racer, which combines machine learning AI with remote-controlled car racing.
The Indigitech programme will run for the rest of the year within the 33 schools. The next intake of schools begins in October 2023. The goal is to expand the programme to further schools in 2024.
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is technology editor and a senior business writer.
