Friday, December 31, 2010

2010 - Young Ambassadors

During 2010 a group of Year 6 students from Pt England School have acted as ambassadors not only for the school but on behalf of the Manaiakalani project.  They auditioned for the role in February and developed their own presentations which they have since shared with visitors from around the country and overseas. Some of the groups have been large, some have included folk like Cabinet Ministers, and some have been interested classroom teachers.  Regardless of who the audience was (and what these kids were missing out on -  from Maths to Art to Swimming!) these ten year olds gave more than 100% to the task of sharing how they learn with others.

Housing Minister Phil Heatley chatting with the children after they have presented to him.
Many people have asked if they could have a video of the student presentations, so as the year ends I am publishing links to them.  I am not embedding them in this post. You will need to follow the links to each of their blogs - and leave them some feedback :)
Angela: What is eLearning?

Selena: Television and other screens

Toreka: Blogging
Ala: Graphic Art
Seini-Mino: Podcasting with KPE
Mubasshira: Google Apps
Erene: Video Conferencing
Aidan -Multimedia Technician 

Friday, December 3, 2010

Wireless Solution

Sometimes you see something that makes you smile and you just have to pull up, hold up the traffic on the round-about and take a photo.

This was one of those times - driving past Tamaki College and I saw the big aerial going up on the roof for the wireless connection to Pt England School.  For someone like me, who needs to see something to believe it, this was a big moment.  Yes, this wireless connection between our schools is really happening. Thanks to the team from Fusion Networks.  This is a big project they are giving their time and energy to.

So I went round the round-about again and got myself into position to take my pics - and because this is Glen Innes, the traffic just waited :)  The next visible sign of progress is seeing the network pop up on my mobile devices as I drive around the district - and No, I am not about to reveal the password! But TLN is the Tamaki Learning Network...