Pond has been unveiled at the Festival of Education. For months N4L have been talking about an exciting new portal, a digital repository of resources – not just for the classroom but for the administration and operations of a school as well. Today, more was revealed about Pond, the Network for Learning portal, along with a live demonstration to hundreds of educators at the Festival of Education in Auckland.
Minister Parata and Associate Minister Kaye were involved in the announcement that Pond is almost ready for the education sector to jump in and discover its potential. Carolyn Stuart, Chris South and Ian Allan, all from N4L, spoke to the large group of members of the education sector present about how Pond had been developed with educators in mind and what they hoped Pond would become for the education sector. It sounds a little ‘hands off’ and it is, on some level!
N4L has cherry picked the best parts of other social media platforms and online tools, to build a beautiful creation that will grow in the hands of educators and be shaped further by N4L in response to the needs of the users. As with any community, Pond needs the input of those in the sector to bring it truly to life. Pond will become deeper and more dynamic each time a member of the community adds an item, makes a comment, shares or reviews one of the pieces of content or services offered within.
At the festival, Chris and Ian demonstrated Pond and this has created a buzz in the sector with educators wondering how they gain access to Pond. From May 5, access to Pond will be limited initially to 500 pioneering educators who will be invited to populate, fill and engage in Pond. These first educators are expected to be positive influences on the direction Pond’s development heads in.
From July onwards, access to Pond will be expanded to the rest of the education sector.