Revolution in education is coming to Wanganui

ULTRA-Fast Broadband will transform the way we educate our children, and in anticipation of the installation of UFB fibre cables in October, the internal networks and cabling of Wanganui secondary schools were among the first to be upgraded.
Wanganui will be New Zealand's second city to receive UFB. This is the result of determined representation by Wanganui District Council staff members and Mayor Annette Main is equally determined to do everything possible to ensure schools in the council's rural areas are first, or among the first, to receive UFB as a part of Government's recently announced Rural Broadband Initiative.
Principal of Wanganui Girls' College Vivianne Murphy explains how she sees UFB transforming education:

"Imagine being able to see online what your child learnt in school today, or being able to interact with your child's teacher and share their understanding of your child's learning steps and progress, or even see assignment deadlines and results and attendance information whenever it suits you, from anywhere.
"UFB makes all the above possible.
UFB enables richer learning experiences for students by allowing them "real time" access to high-quality teaching resources and real live people all around the world - or in the next room. UFB makes "personalised learning" possible, because students have access (including outside school hours) to online digital (video and interactive) resources - enabling them to organise how, when and where they learn.
"With UFB access, students are able to work at their level, at their speed, have their own personal goals, and have fun.
E-learning is not about putting a teacher in front of a camera and putting the worksheets on the computer, but is a completely different way of teaching and learning. Through online collaboration students can clarify their own learning, share what they know with others, and access feedback that relates to their learning at that point in time.
"Some schools are already making use of a wide range of resources available online from various education providers, but many schools are limited by the speed of the internet from the school gate to the rest of the world.
"Real time conversations, video meetings and access to resources outside of the school network enrich student learnings but cannot be provided consistently until the Wanganui community has UFB through the city and outlying areas. Sharing of resources and teachers can occur through UFB technology with, for example, a teacher of French in Dunedin (or France) being able to teach two or three students in any other school during the school day or indeed at any other time. Access to a range of experts around the globe becomes possible - no longer do we need to physically attend seminars.
"It is with great excitement that we, at Wanganui Girls' College, look forward to being one of the first schools in New Zealand to have UFB. It is now up to Wanganui schools to work together (as they have done so successfully in Tamaki and Nelson for example) to be ready to take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity."
Appleby School in Nelson (130 pupils) was one of the first to take part in the Ministry of Education's trial of a National Education Network linked to the Karen network, which enables children to use e-Asttle, an online assessment tool for literacy and maths. A class can take different tests at the same time, which are then marked automatically, and the results are instantly available to parents, teachers and to the students themselves. The great thing about e-Asttle is the transparency of reporting, which is far more detailed and which makes clear when particular children need help.
Appelby School's principal, Graham Avery explains: "This is a far cry from parents having a catch up with the class teacher twice a year. Every time the kids do a maths test, mum and dad can see the results, and we email parents by way of follow-up to let them know the results are available in the 'cloud' for them to view.
In addition, accessing digital learning objects provided by the Ministry of Education, such as nzmaths.co.nz, enables a child to choose their level and to undertake an appropriate course.
The great thing about this is it makes maths fun. There are games-based activities which are interactive and "cartoony". It's a lot more child-friendly than the teacher-directed approach at the front of the room, and it enables children to work independently - 12 different kids can be working at 12 different levels to achieve 12 different goals."
Article contributed by the UFB Business Strategy Group. To find out more, or to contact the group, email john.patty@xtra.co.nz