New digital readiness programme provides teacher support

Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko is a nationwide professional support programme that provides an understanding of the new digital technologies content, useful teaching strategies, networking opportunities, explanatory videos, and training courses. 

Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko also has an online learning base of pīkau or toolkits for English medium and Māori medium that are full of practical ideas and resources designed for teachers to do when and where it suits them, with each taking on average 30 to 40 minutes to complete.

The Ministry of Education is encouraging all schools and kura to sign up to the Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko self-review tool now and begin the programme. Schools and kura should take advantage of the full professional development suite on offer now for all their staff, with some teachers also doing digital fluency PLD and some doing tailored digital technologies and hangarau matihiko PLD.

Brave new beginners

In the interest of giving all teachers confidence, three brave teachers have agreed to share their journeys through the Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko programme. Their journeys over the next few years will be shared online at www.kiatakatu.ac.nz(external link).

Rachel Lange

Rachel Lange is keen to be part of the new focus on digital technologies, but first she has had to get over a demon from more than 30 years ago.

In her final year at high school, she took the relatively new subject of applied maths.

“Three out of six of my questions were on computing and I really didn’t get it. My teacher used to say, ‘Writing computer programmes is logic, and you’re not logical’. So I was incredibly put off. I thought, ‘This just isn’t me’.” 

Her attitude changed in the last year after she attended an information day where the new digital technologies curriculum content was being discussed.

“I realised that, at school, I had just needed to go back and try a different way to try and fix things up. I would have been all over that because I love problem solving. But it was such a foreign concept then.”

Rachel is using the Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko | Digital Readiness programme to help lead the work in her school. 

“I did the self-review tool. It comes up with where you are at certain places. I scored ‘really fiery’ on the areas of being passionate and open to trying new things. Some of the questions were more specific about what you could actually do, and I didn’t score so well there. So it was a very accurate reflection of where I was at.

“I have attended days for lead teachers and shared some of the things we did with other staff here – a couple of little teasers. I think digital technologies is going to be to inspire cross-collaboration. It opens up so many facets that were a little bit more closed off.”

Luanda Milo

Although having no background in digital technologies teaching, Luanda Milo is used to embracing new ideas and new ways of doing things.

At aged 7 she left mainstream school for a bilingual unit, which sparked her passion for te reo Māori. Now, as a teacher in a bilingual unit at Auckland’s Randwick Park School, she’s moving to introduce the same passion to digital technologies teaching.

“I have a strong belief that all of our kids should be able to walk both paths of being in te ao Māori and te ao Pākeha. Now I also want them to have the best understanding of digital technologies. I don’t want them to miss out because I don’t know what’s out there.”

Luanda teaches in both te reo Māori and English and she’s looking forward to doing pīkau, the Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko online learning resources, in both languages.

“I’ve started off in English, because I’m not familiar with some of the new terminology. But I am planning to do Māori medium as well as English medium. I have completed 95 per cent of the 'Why digital technologies?' pīkau and am just starting the computational thinking pīkau.

“The pīkau are really easy to follow and understand. I really liked that there were videos of people on there with real stories. The examples or videos weren't too long so you could stay engaged. I liked that there were links to everyday things and we got examples of how we are already using digital technologies in the class, without even using any devices in some cases.”

Ngaputiputi Akapita

Ngaputiputi (Puti) Akapita is currently on parental leave but that’s not stopping her from making some ambitious plans for kaiako, tamariki, and whānau when she returns later in the year to her role at Hawera’s Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāti Ruanui.

She will be leading the mahi, alongside kaimahi in her kura in Hangarau Matihiko and she’s going to be drawing on the Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko’s Te Pā Pouahi digital leaders programme when it begins in October.

“We are at the very beginning of hangarau matihiko; most of our kaiako at kura, including myself, are not matanga, not very good, but we do try. We get a little bit lost, so that’s where most of our nervousness comes from – not knowing what to do, or where to begin. We do acknowledge Te Rangitukutuku programmes and kaimahi who have taught us some core knowledge in hangarau matihiko.

“While I am leading this work, the aim at our kura is for all our kaiako to become leaders in technology. We will be working together as a collective to provide a programme suitable for us, our tamariki and our whānau. So our tamariki can work from home too.

“There is a big urge for it. We see that the whole world is evolving around this. Our tamariki are far smarter with technology than we are, so we need to find the right pathways to help them, to help us all.” 

Find out more information on the Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko | Digital Readiness(external link)  programme