Technology breaks down the walls of the classroom
In a school stocked with information technology the teacher still plays an important guiding role, says Wellesley College principal Warren Owen. ?This is the changing face of education; if there was massive crises say, we could just about keep on teaching as normal through distance learning,? says Mr Owen. Although the ?walls of the classroom are being broken down? by blogs, Internets, and interactive whiteboards, teachers will always have an important role. ?You can?t set the students loose; teaching is a guiding hand, creating a sense of purposeful questioning. ?With social knowledge teachers have to guide the learning,? he says. Wellesley College has over one computer for every two students, meaning ease of access and high technological association for students. Two programmes that promote the government?s revised curriculum focus are; Mathletics and Spellodrome. ?The Mathletics programme is good because it allows feedback and is different for individual levels. ?Back in the good old day the math teacher would say; turn to page 23 and do questions 1 to 15. ?Now you don?t wait, it?s instant, current and relevant,? says Mr Owen. The school?s Intranet holds a research centre stocked with learning resources and links to helpful web-based programmes. Wellesley College will launch a ?Knowledge Net? next year, better linking student?s learning to their homes and parents. ?Parents will be able to see what their child is studying online; it will provide more information and keep them better in the loop,? he says. Meanwhile in Porirua the four main colleges are awaiting a reply from the Ministry of Education about an Information Communication Technology (ICT) professional development package for the area. ?We are searching for a superior system by which we can bring up to the minute information and facts to our schools ? it would be a great advent for ICT learning in the area,? says Mana College principal Mike Webster. Mana, Bishop Viard, Porirua, and Aotea Colleges have made the joint application to the minister, with hopes the whole area will be brought up-to-date technologically. The development package is asking for more than hardware and software, and is seeking teacher training in the ICT field. ?This is something to address future needs, and we are asking for support in that. ?We want to maximise the opportunities for the area,? Mr Webster says.
