Visit to Otaki College

On Friday, the BeLT team was fortunate enough to visit Otaki College to see the amazing work they are doing in their digital classrooms.

Three very awesome Yr 8 students spoke to us and showed us the work they were doing on their Chromebooks, what they showed us was truly inspiring, their entire days learning happened on their Chromebook.

Students each have their own Chromebook, the families were offered an option in regards to purchasing their child a Chromebook on a hire purchase or outright scheme. The take up rate was hard to keep up with despite it not being compulsory at Otaki College.  It is becoming compulsory for Yr 7-10 from next year.  The school will be purchasing a few spares for when students forget theirs/breakages.  Hire/purchase options available at 1,2 or 3 years, no matter what option each person pays the same.  

Students who had a Chromebook agreed to the below 'Kawa of Care':

Kawa of Care

No food and drinks around it

Two hands on it if carrying it

You can’t hold two at once.

Can’t take home until parents have come to a meeting. Parents get asked at the meeting whether they want them to take them home in weekends for extended work.

Each classroom teacher ran a Google Site for their class, this outlined exactly what the students were covering each week/day with links to the Google Docs they would need to use to complete their work. This was a great way for the teacher to share their planning and even of the student was away sick, they could log in and see what learning was taking place in their classroom and participate if well enough.

What was clearly evident from visiting Otaki College is the importance of collaboration between the schools in the area. Otaki would also like to be able to offer wireless internet to their entire community eventually so that the entire community can be engaged. What was also evident is the importance of providing relevant professional development for the staff so everyone feels comfortable and able to work devices.

Overall, a hugely productive day at Otaki. The BeLT team is now firmly focused on the Teacher Only Day professional development day for staff on Friday. Until then........