Year 5 & 6 students from Rata Street School are using N4L’s Managed Network at home thanks to a pilot lead by TAKA Trust, in partnership with Hutt City Council, the Ministry of Education, Rata Street School, N4L and Chorus.
(Photo courtesy of Rata St School).
We’re super excited to see these smiling faces from Rata Street School! This month these students have started using the Managed Network from home – so they can continue learning online at home (if they want to).
They didn’t have this option before and according to the schools’ principals, around half of their students can’t afford home internet.
Their community started working out ways to level the playing field. They approached us, Chorus, the Ministry of Education and other partners to work out a way to get internet and devices into student homes.
This eventually led to a pilot which is now up and running at Rata Street School. Their story aired on TVNZ on Saturday 15 September – very exciting!
Another pilot will go live later this month for students at Haeata Community Campus.
These pilots are led by community trusts based in Christchurch and Lower Hutt, and involve different technology and partnership models. N4L’s role is to get students up and running with the same safe (filtered) internet experience that they get at school via the Managed Network.
Before the pilots went live we asked the schools to share some of their story. This video captures their experience and excitement. Have a watch!
Moving from connected schools to connected learners is part of N4L’s long-term strategy, and these pilots will help inform opportunities for a way forward. The pilots are also part of the Ministry of Education’s ‘equitable digital access for students’ programme (EDA4S), which you can read more about here.
What schools have to say about using the Managed Network from home!
| “Students are living in a digital world. They want to be able to just pack their work up, put their Chromebooks into their bag, and take them home. There is a wider benefit to the family, because it will draw the family into the child’s learning.” Dave Appleyard, Principal, Rata Street School | “It will be very exciting for us to take our Chromebooks home, and it will be really amazing that we can do homework.” Fiamalo, Year 6, Rata St School“My brother just always wants to go to my Nan’s house because she has the wifi and I’m just here at home drawing on paper.” Mary-Jane, Year 6, Rata St School |
| “We know that learning for students and adults occurs at times not just restricted to school hours, so having that access is really important for everyone in our community, not just those who can afford it.”Andy Kai Fong, Principal, Haeata Community Campus | “For many of us in education, we take for granted the fact that our whanau and students have access to the internet at home. For our community, that’s just not the case. Wifi and devices are a luxury for many of our whanau, and one they just can’t afford.”
Irihapeti Mahuika, Community Engagement, Haeata Community Campus |
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