E learning in the NZ Curriculum

E-learning and pedagogy

What is is learning like in NZ and what has been done to ensure that our children are as equipped as other children around the world. We want to have the finest children with the most skills in using technology effectively so that they can go forth into society with the tools, skills, knowledge and attitudes to succeed.
I had never seen the e learning action plan or even heard it mention. Im still in the days when ICT was taught as a stand alone and im not too proud to say it. Throughout this course I have learnt so many new things and had my eyes opened to new possiblities one of which is the way in which NZ has recognised the importance of e learning for developing our students.
I will attempt to outline some of the key points in relation to e learning in NZ.

According to the e-Learning Action Plan for schools, Enabling the 21st Century Learner, e-Learning means “learning and teaching that is facilitated by or supported through the smart use of information and communication technologies” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 2).

In 1998 the New Zealand government introduced the first ICT strategy for schools. Ministry of Education (1998). It aimed to build infrastructure and school capability. In 2002, a new strategy “Digital Horizons Learning through ICT” was released. This strategy focused on the challenge of integrating ICT fully into curriculum practice, highlighting the increasing importance placed upon ICT teaching and learning in New Zealand schools. Ministry of Education (2002). The E Learning action plan (2006) aimed to revolutionise technology education in New Zealand and to outline the outcomes and actions for e-learning in the New Zealand school sector for 2006–2010. Ministry of Education, (2005).
The strategy encourages the use of Web 2.0 applications ‘e-learning may enhance opportunities to learn by offering students virtual experiences and tools that save time, allowing them to take their learning further’ (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.36).

The focus of learning in New Zealand has slowly evovled and will contuniue to do so In the past subjects were taught based on achievement objectives and focused on students acquiring knowledge of a subject. There has been a gradual change in focus for education, in which emphasis is given to essential skills, values and key competencies. Inquiry based learning is a reflection of the changing nature of educational theory. Ministry of Education (2007). Students need new skills, including information literacy, visual literacy and technological literacy as what they are taught now will serve as a foundation for skills needed in the workplace and in society for the future.
E Learning and Web 2.0 applications have opened up possibilities in teaching and learning that have been limited in the past. Children have far greater opportunities to interact and collaborate with others within the classroom and the wider community. (Ministry of Education, 2007)

Information and communication technology (ICT) has a major impact on the world in which young people live. Similarly, e-learning (that is, learning supported by or facilitated by ICT) has considerable potential to support the teaching approaches outlined in the above section.
For instance, e-learning may: assist the making of connections by enabling students to enter and explore new learning environments, overcoming barriers of distance and time
facilitate shared learning by enabling students to join or create communities of learners that extend well beyond the classroom assist in the creation of supportive learning environments by offering resources that take account of individual, cultural, or developmental differences
enhance opportunities to learn by offering students virtual experiences and tools that save them time, allowing them to take their learning further. Schools should explore not only how ICT can supplement traditional ways of teaching but also how it can open up new and different ways of learning.

The NZ Curriculum has outlined that they want teaching and learning to become more child centered and new skills, and or key competencies to be developed rather than set topics of study being explored(Ministry of Education, 2007) Technology has been seen to encourage these deeper cognitive processes, like problem solving and critical thinking, that evolve as a result of technology use.
Another important term that I felt should be outlined was that between Information literacy which is the “life-long ability to locate, evaluate, use and create information” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 2) and digital literacy is “the ability to use digital technology, communication tools, or networks to locate, evaluate, use and create information” (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 2). These terms are important as we are wanting our students to become literate for a world in which the skills and tools that they will use in the workplace havent even been developed yet.