Haere mai to all NAPP akonga! Welcome to the Enabling e-Learning: Leadership group, and to this kōrero, exploring how we might use the e-Learning Planning Framework to help our schools develop future-focused learning for a digital world. On behalf of the Blended e-Learning team and our wider community, I hope you'll enjoy rich discussion over the coming weeks.

How do you know what your school needs, in terms of using ICTs for effective learning? Where do you start to plan?

The framework is supported by examples and resources for leaders and teachers, not least of which is the Enabling e-Learning hub on TKI and the VLN. Have a look at this video below that unpacks the key ideas, and browse the links above.

What aspects of the framework look useful for your school - and why? How might you use it for planning?

Replies

Make sure you start with the use rather than the tool; it worries me that you aren't familiar with these tools and what they can do. There are lots of stories on the VLN and Twitter of schools that start with a tool not realising its limitations.

Is your IT expert a teacher? I hope so, otherwise he or she may not be cued into use.

Are your teachers getting PD in integrating elearning? Otherwise your tools might gather dust or only be used for games and word processing.

If your BYODs are only accessing the internet and not the server, they won't bring in any viruses. There are examples of schools which are successfully integrating BYOD. I suggest you talk to Stephen Lethbridge at Taupaki school, as one example.

My understanding from others is that they have had similar experiences - BYOD frees up school computers for others. It's also amazing how many kids do have access to a device.

Yet our intermediate school isn't doing BYOD yet for two reasons:

a) That worry about equity, as we draw from a decile 9 school and a decile 3 school. Like I said - it may turn out to be a positive experience, but I’m yet to convince the principal.

b) Our infrastructure. This is WAY important. We have two laptop classes with 1:1 and our wireless network which was great with a handful of devices suddenly became inadequate when 30 devices all tried to be on one access point at once. We are currently being “SNUP”ed (School Network Upgrade Project) and I’m trialling new wireless devices which we’ll need to budget for next year: $5000 for a school with 275 students. Without these there is frustration.

Make sure you get help with your SNUP design if you know nothing. I know a bit, but we’ve still found that in some areas we are getting the minimum. I’ve opted to upgrade to gigabyte switches so that our access points have enough juice….two years ago I didn’t know any of this!

Elearning is my passion so I’m making sure I know as much as possible and connect as much as possible. The VLN and twitter are MAGIC for this.

WEhat I’m finding with BYOD is that the kids are sneaking in the devices anyway…they are used to using them…so we need to catch up and develop infrastructure, policies, blended elearning ways of doing things and knowledge of digital citizenship and cybersafety.

Absolutely agree with this one. I'm and very much engaged. Had first computer in second half of the eighties as did our school. We were putting banda through the printer and thinking ourselves very smart. The days of dos and pak man! The technology is NOT new. That's one point.

I also see that the new teachers - same age as my own children - have always had computers and similar devices. I have to listen and watch them. I used to believe that teachers had to have the basic teaching skills to manage a reading, writing and maths programme before they could be let loose with a digital class. I now realise that is a nonsense - the tools are there and the pedagogy that they need to develop is different from a three or more decades ago!

Ignorance and gatekeeping by those in management (and I choose that word over leadership) are I believe, two of the biggest problems in schools.