Low-decile e-learning project a world leader by Simon Collins

A world-first "e-learning" project which is transforming children's lives in some of Auckland's poorest suburbs is looking for partners to expand throughout the country next year.

Photo: New Zealand Herald

Children as young as 5 in nine schools in the Tamaki-Glen Innes area are publishing their work on the internet and attracting feedback from around the world - with extraordinary effects on their motivation.

"It's so affirming," says project manager Dorothy Burt.

Two-thirds of the students are from Pasifika families where often the main language at home is not English. Another quarter are Maori.

They start school two years behind the national average but at Pt England School, the first to use the new technology, they now catch up with the average in reading and maths by Year 5.
Pat Snedden, the chairman of the Manaiakalani trust that manages the project, says it is attracting worldwide attention.

"People from Google say no one in the world is using our tools like you are," he says.

"People from all over the country are interested in replicating this. As the school results come through, we are constantly getting feedback saying we'd be really keen to put this in our area."
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SELF-MOTIVATION

Learn
A teacher assigned Year 8 students to watch Mt Roskill Grammar student Joshua Iosefo's inspirational speech "Brown Brother" on YouTube.
Create
Students wrote reviews of the speech, which were checked by their teacher.
Share
They published their reviews on their online blogs. Joshua's mother, Fetaui Iosefo, came across them and posted a comment saying "how very proud I am of you all for showing great understanding of Joshua Iosefo's 'spoken word'."

ON THE WEB
manaiakalani.org

Source: New Zealand Herald