When Kimberley Rivett decided she needed to keep track of her own learning journey as a teacher, she chose to blog – and it’s been a huge success, writes Catherine Murray. Kimberley Rivett’s come a long way in a short time with her blog, ‘eLearning for Life’. She’s gained international recognition for her work, resulting in a nomination for the Edublog Awards Best Teacher Blog for 2011, and an invitation to be a guest blogger on the Teacher’s Pet website. Yet the Year 3 and 4 composite class teacher from Auckland’s Point View School only decided to take up blogging shortly after attending the Learning@School conference in early 2010. “I must admit I was slightly overwhelmed,” said Rivett. “There was just...   more

  Cash prizes for your amazing ideas There’s been a lot of talk about Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) but what will it really mean? What do you think? Telecom wants to know – and is inviting schools and students to describe what the future will be. Mt Aspiring College in Wanaka has enjoyed a high-speed internet connection for three years. It’s made an enormous difference to the way the school operates and “got it out of a huge pickle”, says Tim Harper. “The impact has been amazing,” he said. “We do all the things we did before, of course, but better. The first thing we did was get rid of the email server and sign up to Google Apps for our email. We’ve also been able to install a Wi-Fi network and implement a ‘Bring...   more

    If not, you should be! As cloud computing solutions continue to evolve the benefits for schools are becoming more compelling, writes Catherine Murray .   It wasn’t that long ago when the phrase ‘living with your head in the clouds’ came with negative connotations. Today, conducting our personal and professional lives in the cloud is something most of us are now doing to some extent. In the education sector, the cloud is providing a viable option for schools, enhanced by the steady introduction of ultra-fast broadband across New Zealand. So why is cloud computing seen by many as such an attractive option for schools? What solutions are available and what are some of the aspects that ICT decision maker need to be aware of? Is the cloud for...   more