The Ministry of Education has commissioned N4L to deliver the Satellite for Schools programme, which is connecting eligible schools and kura across the motu who are experiencing challenges around poor internet connection.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāringaomatariki students connect online via satellite technology.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāringaomatariki (TKKM o Ngāringaomatariki) is a kura that’s just 20 minutes’ drive from Wellsford, one of Northland’s major centres, and less than 100 kilometres from the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Yet despite its relative proximity, it was enduring consistently poor internet coverage.
A combination of its geography (the kura is located on a sloping bay on the shores of the Kaipara Harbour, at the end of an unsealed, potholed road), poor local coverage from communication towers and susceptibility to the area’s challenging weather meant it was hard for the kura to undertake even basic digital learning tasks due to their lack of internet connectivity.
Kaiako/tumuaki Reno Skipper jokes that Network for Learning (N4L), who provides internet and cybersecurity products and services to state and state‑integrated schools and kura in Aotearoa, “probably had their own special book for us, because of all the times we’d called them for help!”
Thankfully for the kura – and many other schools and kura also experiencing poor internet coverage around Aotearoa – their calls have been answered with the launch of the Satellite for Schools programme, led by N4L in partnership with 2degrees.
Kaiako/tumuaki Reno Skipper says the programme has helped facilitate a more supportive and engaging learning environment.
Connecting to satellite technology through a dish on their roofs, Satellite for Schools provides schools and kura like TKKM o Ngāringaomatariki with faster, more reliable internet and, ultimately, better access to digital learning.
“We’ve had major issues around the internet for a number of years,” explains Reno. “On occasions, we couldn’t even do our daily online roll. We wanted the tamariki to use their laptops here, but they were unable to.
“We would only have been able to have one or two computers turned on in a classroom at any one time. We were teaching and trying to bring in different ideas and different resources that are available to us, but we couldn’t access them because we didn’t have good internet service. This was limiting our ability to teach the tamariki.”
There were health and safety concerns too. Poor internet coverage usually means poor phone coverage, and the lack of connection meant the kura might have been cut off from important contact with emergency services, or being able to contact parents, in emergency situations. The wild weather earlier this year was a stark reminder of how important this connection is.
Satellite for Schools kicked off in July with the connection of Okains Bay School, on the Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region. Since then, more than 30 schools and kura across the North and South Islands have also been connected, with another handful scheduled for connection soon.
These schools also have access to fully managed, fully funded safety and cybersecurity products and services, plus support from N4L’s expert team.
Students at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāringaomatariki explore online resources with their teacher.
TKKM o Ngāringaomatariki has students across Years 1 to 8 and is the only full immersion school between Auckland and Whangārei. They currently have 51 students on the roll. Most of the learning at the kura is in te reo Māori and focuses on te ao Māori perspectives.
Reno describes the kura receiving Satellite for Schools as “life-changing”, describing how it’s helped facilitate a more supportive and engaging learning environment.
“Even just in the space of two months, it’s made a huge difference to how we’ve been able to teach. We’ve purchased subscriptions to maths programmes that we couldn’t use before. We’re able to share the stories of the work that our kids are doing live, through parents logging in remotely.
“In August, we invited other schools here for an English speech competition and we broadcast it on Facebook Live. We’re now able to use the technology to its full extent.”
Just recently, the whole kura travelled to Ōtautahi (Christchurch) to study the local iwi and their stories. In term 1, ākonga studied stories from their own whānau, in term 2 they looked at stories from the hapū in their area and in term 3, they looked at stories from different iwi.
The trip to Ōtautahi was an opportunity to build on the latter. Many ākonga had never been on a plane before or been to Te Waipounamu, the South Island.
“It makes a huge difference to be able to research online. For the Christchurch trip, they looked up things like the earthquakes that happened, and common stories, where we didn’t have that ability before. In another class, they were doing research about different landmarks and different facts about Christchurch and the surrounding areas.”
Although it’s only been a month, Reno says they have noticed a huge difference in the engagement of ākonga.
“Now they’re able to take ownership of their own learning, so that’s exciting for us. They’re now able to research cultures and that’s actively progressing their learning. They’re now using technology to advance their own skills.”
Read more about Network for Learning at n4l.co.nz(external link).
BY Education Gazette editors
Education Gazette | Tukutuku Kōrero, reporter@edgazette.govt.nz
Posted: 11:43 am, 5 October 2023
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