School stories

The video clips in this section provide examples of different ways e-learning has been embedded into curriculum programmes.

Miranda Makin, Deputy Principal Albany Senior High School, describes how technologies have enabled students engaged in the Impact Project to take their learning beyond the school and engage with experts to find information and share their learning. She explains, "The purpose of e-learning for us was not to adopt tools per se but to look at the opportunities that these tools afforded to collaborate online and to get feedback." 

Every student spends one whole day a week working on their Impact Project. Students may work independently or as part of a group. They select a topic that will benefit their community, then present this to the Impact Project Committee who assign a supervising teacher, and link students with others who have a shared interest. The technological process underpins the Impact Project as students carry out an investigation – developing a brief, planning for practice, consulting with stakeholders, and evaluating their outcomes.

The Impact projects encourage students to think more independently, pursue their interests, and provide an opportunity for them to investigate areas not catered for by the school curriculum. They allow students to discover what sorts of areas they may be interested in as a career. Students can take the skills and knowledge gained from an Impact Project into the workplace or tertiary education.

Further information and examples of projects are on the Albany Senior High School website.

Professional learning groups to support school wide e-learning at Epsom Girls Grammar

In this video clip from the NZC Online secondary middle leaders site on TKI, Claire Amos, Director of e-learning at Epsom Girls Grammar School, discusses how learning area professional learning groups support teachers with e-learning.