Many schools are likely to be closed for some time following the Christchurch earthquake on 22 February 2011. At the present time 18 schools have been identified as having serious problems, representing more than 10,000 students. Dozens of other schools are also affected, but to a lesser extent.
Finding a solution is complicated because of a range of issues, including:
- There are a number of schools that will not be able to open in the foreseeable future, meaning those students will require alternative accommodation.
- A large number of students have already fled Christchurch with their families, some are enrolling in schools in other parts of New Zealand, and others are simply not attending school at this stage.
- Some parents are experiencing anxiety about their children attending school in the short term for fear of being separated in the event of another quake. Others are desperately keen for their children to be able to attend school because of the childcare role it plays, so they can return to work.
- Teachers also are impacted, with many having left Christchurch in the wake of the quake, and are therefore not likely to be able or want to return to work in the immediate future.
- Access to electricity and internet is a problem in some areas, so online programmes may be a part of the answer, but not entirely.
Thus, the solution will need to be creative, flexible and offer a sustainable way forward. This will take some serious thinking and coordination. A blended approach must be considered.
We have some excellent pockets of innovation in New Zealand in terms of what is being done within the school sector with distance education and online learning. CORE Education is working with others in the Greater Christchurch Schools Network (GCSN) to explore a blended solution that may bring together the strengths of…
- Te Kura, with its track record of providing correspondence materials
- The Virtual Learning Network (VLN), with their extensive experience in providing online education via combinations of synchronous and asynchronous tools
- National and international online projects
- International online education programmes from Australia and Canada
- Online resources and curriculum in WikiEducator
- Ministry of Education funded online support programmes such as wickEd and StudyIT
- Local teachers with specialist knowledge and expertise
- The national network of teachers who have skills and knowledge in this area, who may be able to contribute in a range of ways.
The Ministry of Education is, understandably, taking a considered approach, as they ascertain the exact nature of the problem, numbers involved etc. Whatever they decide to do, we want to be prepared so that there are a range of options available to those affected, and that these options may be presented in such a way that they might provide opportunities for a continued ‘blended service approach’ beyond when the immediate concerns of solving the issue of access to learning for the displaced students (and staff) have been addressed.
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And a pool of teachers and friends around New Zealand who know kids and want to help but don’t know exactly how.
Can we Skype children into our classes? Share our learning with kids in their own homes, make connections that way.
Hi Allanah
a great idea – thanks for sharing it. At the moment in CHCH there are several of us working with the MoE to find how we can integrate these sorts of suggestions into the plan they have for accommodating classes and students as they return to school. Some good thinking is emerging, but we’re unable to commit to anything fully until schools actually go back (beginning tomorrow) and we have an idea of exactly what the situation is. I’ll certainly add your offer to our list of considerations and get back to you with how you can best help
Derek
One site that senior maths and science students could use is: Salman Khan’s Khan Academy As it is described on the website: ‘What started out as Sal making a few algebra videos for his cousins has grown to over 2,100 videos and 100 self-paced exercises and assessments covering everything from arithmetic to physics, finance, and history.’ And it is free. Bill Gates rates him as his favourite teacher.
[…] to Derek Wenmoth’s earlier post about the desperate plight of schools in the Canterbury region following the […]
[…] On the CORE Education blog, we have been discussing the need for creative and flexible solutions to deal with prolonged disruptions to school as a result of the Christchurch earthquake (see Derek’s post on Blended solutions) […]
Good one Derek, some of us at Te Kura are happy to be involved and interested in what this blended approach might mean for secondary students in the future. Certainly Mike Hollings is thinking forward away from the ‘kids in rows of desks’ model.
Getting our resouces on line for anyone in a CH school was a paradigm shift for Te Kura/The Correspondence School. It certainly raised a few eyebrows around here the day it happened.
In science, we are going further with the New NCEA where we are asking students to construct their own course from the 30 something standards offered at Level One. This has an on-line component which parallels the hard-copy booklets (also available as downloads) but is only available to Te Kura students,
However in science, I hope we are accepting the challenge, and I for one am pleased to see we have kicked out the old School C model of Level One science which students were finding increasingly irrelavant.