E-Learning

As primary teachers our job is to equip children with the skills they need to survive in the world that they live in – an increasingly digital world. We as adults might be digital users, but our children are digital residents. They are growing up in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technology.

Here at Whangarei Primary School we have made a commitment to exposing students to a wide range of digital technologies in their learning. Each classroom has enough devices to ensure one computer between two children. The use of robotics kits and video technologies complement learning.  The school utilises cloud based technologies such as Seesaw and Hapara to provide a platform for parents to view their child’s learning from one week to the next.

How is e-learning used in the classroom?

We do not see value in organising actual computer lessons in the classroom. Our students already display an innate ability to learn how to use digital technologies without these. The use of our digital devices is more often than not a very collaborative activity, allowing out students to share, explore and learn from one another how to utilise these tools for learning.

Teachers will only plan to use e-learning tools as and when it fits into the learning outcomes that they are wanting to achieve in a lesson. There are times in the day when most of the devices are in use around the classroom, other times when just one or two children are using these e-learning tools, and yet other times when no one is using them. It all depends on the learning outcomes that the teacher is aiming for in a lesson.