gazing-at-mt-taranaki-feature

E kore e pau te ika unahi nui — Restoring the holistic wellbeing of Māori boys through connection and innovation

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Māori boy gazing at Mt Taranaki

E kore e pau, he ika unahi nui
It will not be consumed for it is a fish covered with large scales
Here Taranaki compares its tribe to a heavily armoured and therefore unconquerable fish… (Mead, S. M., & Grove, N. (2001). Ngā pēpeha a ngā tīpuna)

As part of CORE’s commitment to supporting innovative practices, Jason Ruakere and I have been awarded CORE’s Pro-bono research grant, which we are undertaking during 2018.

Puniho Pā, Taranaki
Puniho Pā, Taranaki

The brief for the research is:
“E kore e pau te ika unahi nui” is a collaboratively-based research project with Puniho Pā, whānau, schools and a group of Māori boys living in coastal Taranaki. This is an exploratory study, this kaupapa is investigating and trialing how Ako is applied within ancestral spaces (marae, awa, moana, and maunga), and enhanced through digital interaction (e.g., coding, Google Maps and virtual reality).

Our research is steadily providing knowledge about how marae environments can improve Māori learning outcomes (Te Kupenga Mātauranga o Taranaki, 2011). While kaupapa Māori studies into the effects of marae learning are scant, what is available suggests that these settings provide powerful localised educational content and pedagogy, which can contribute to the following learning outcomes for Māori (Lee, 2012; George, 2010, Doherty, 2009; Hond, 2013):

  • Pragmatic expression and commitment to education solutions for Māori students by Māori.
  • Enhanced cultural belonging, control and innovation, encouraging leadership, collective participation and community action, and improvements in intergenerational learning.

We will endeavour to extend these earlier studies. The project focuses specifically on critically describing processes of ako when framed by ancestral spaces and future-oriented pedagogy and content. The trial team are exploring our own theories about how ancestral spaces can improve and strengthen the holistic wellbeing of Māori boys. Through the generation of pūrākau, this study is exploring effective practices of Ako in marae and hapū environments (Lee, 2009). Pūrākau are described as:

“…a traditional form of Māori narrative, contains philosophical thought, epistemological constructs, cultural codes, and worldviews that are fundamental to our identity as Māori” (Lee, 2009, p. 1).

Laying hīnaki, Matenehunehu River.
Laying hīnaki, Matenehunehu River.

Current inequities between Māori and non-Māori learning outcomes pose challenges to our present education system. New and innovative approaches to supporting Māori boys is needed.

We hope that this project will meet this challenge, and add value to:

  • discussions about the theory and practice of hapū-driven and 21st-century practices of Ako
  • the different ways marae and hapū support learning through pedagogy and programme design, which mirror the knowledge and practices of the local whānau, hapū, and iwi and future-focused learning principles.
Making a hīnaki
Making a hīnaki.

The overarching research question for this project is:

How does Ako in ancestral spaces enhance the holistic wellbeing of Māori boys?

To date we have:

  • Held a wānanga for the boys and their whānau to strengthen relationships and connections with each other and the hapū.
  • Spent a weekend camping and exploring and learning about local areas of significance for the hapū.
  • Established weekly wānanga to support the boys with their schooling and build on the previous knowledge learnt about the local area. We use digital technologies to retell stories about the local area.

We hope that our findings will provide us with key learnings about the elements that encourage and hinder practices of Ako in marae and hapū contexts, and solutions to create mutually beneficial school, kura, and marae/hapū relationships.

We look forward to sharing the learning and outcomes through future blogs and presentations.

 

Useful links:
CORE Education’s Arareo Māori team provides several products and services to cater for kura, schools and private and public organisations. This includes professional development, te reo Māori consultancy, publications, research and events. Ki te hiahia whakapā mai, tuku īmēra ki arareomaori@core-ed.org.

Image Credits:
Feature image — Ānaru White
Puniho Pā – Jason Ruakere
Laying hīnaki — Ānaru White
Making a hīnaki — Anaru White

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student engaging with technology

Hangarau Matihiko — E tipu e rea

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E tipu e rea mō ngā rā o tō ao
Ko tō ringa ki ngā rākau a te Pākehā
Hei ora mō te tinana
Ko tō ngākau ki ngā taonga a ō tīpuna Māori
Hei tikitiki mō tō māhunga
Ko tō wairua ki tō atua, nāna nei ngā mea katoa
— Tā Apirana Ngata		 Grow and branch forth for the days destined to you
Your hands to the tools of the Pākehā for the welfare of your body
Your heart to the treasures of your ancestors as adornments for your brow
Your spirit to God, who made all things
— Sir Apirana Ngata

Digital technologies in 2018

While holding fast to tradition, Māori have long embraced technologies, whether they have been used in the whare or on the marae to nourish, create shelter, warmth, and protection for their people. Travel forward to today — more and more kura are also embracing the potential that modern technologies can bring to learning in kura, in the whare, and on the marae.

In 2018, digital technologies will be recognised as a whenu within the Hangarau Wāhanga Ako. Learning in digital technologies will link to learning across all Wāhanga Ako in Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. To support kura with this, CORE Education’s Arareo Māori team piloted the Hangarau Matihiko ā-Takiwā (HMāT) project. This is part of the MOE’s Strengthening Digital Technologies initiative, and one of nine projects. This project is designed to involve kura in Digital Fluency and build the possibilities afforded to our tamariki with Hangarau Matihiko, and what is already working well in our kura. There are three distinct outcomes for this project:

  1. Raising the level of confidence and competence of kaiako and whānau to provide digital learning experiences with a Māori worldview and with facilitation in te reo Māori
  2. Strengthen the engagement between kura, kaiako, and whānau
  3. Gather data from participants to evaluate the specific project objective, which is bringing kura and whānau together for learning purposes.

Why? The benefits?

  • De-mystify learning associated with hangarau matihiko
  • Inspire other kura to participate/engage
  • Awareness of the possibilities of learning with digital technologies
  • Students and whānau learn together — ako.

Snapshot of the pūrākau at a kura involved in the HMāT project

Here’s a snapshot of one of the pūrākau at a kura involved in the HMāT project.

Me mahi tahi te kura, te whānau, te hapū, te iwi me te hapori.

By inviting the whole whānau (kaiako, ākonga, and whānau) into the HMāT project, we were able to support whānau engagement in teaching and learning, thus strengthening digital fluency across the kura. The holistic approach of inviting whānau into the process ensured these key outcomes (supporting whānau engagement and growing digital fluency) were met.

teaching in the Hangarau Matihiko ā-Takiwā project

The approach used was to facilitate a full day of learning in the kura, using a range of hangarau matihiko with a group of senior ākonga. The focus was contextualised, as the upcoming new classroom build for the kura meant ākonga were also invited to design their new classroom. The programme design was co-constructed with kura, and was identified as the most effective use of PLD time with the facilitators. Senior ākonga were chosen to work on the project, as they would be able to teach the other ākonga, and it also fitted into their current topics for learning. The following were identified as being crucial to the success of the day:

  • Feedback from both ākonga and kaiako indicated that ākonga thoughts on what Hangarau Matihiko was, had expanded. For example, one ākonga initially talked about learning and the internet at the beginning of the day, and then realised Hangarau Matihiko was much more than they originally thought.
  • As the facilitators introduced new concepts and elements of Hangarau Matihiko, ākonga could identify new opportunities and include them in their new classroom plans.

student learning digital technology

The ākonga had plenty of exploration time with the hangarau matihiko and, as a result, ākonga could identify the opportunities and demonstrate these to each other. The approach taken was driven by the authentic context of the new build the kura was about to start planning for. This empowered ākonga (with a variety of different learning styles) to engage and work independently or in groups. One ākonga confessed being a “non-engager” and, because of the day, was now working with his peers a lot better and completing his work.

Engagement levels were high and ākonga showed enjoyment of their mahi and were on task all day. At lunch time, half the ākonga didn’t want to have kai; they stayed and finished their projects despite being encouraged to have a break.

whanau hui

A whānau hui took place at night at the local marae to coincide with the HmāT visit. This was an opportunity for the ākonga to share their learning from the day. Ākonga spoke about what they had learned, such as using robotics, animations and design thinking, and how they had applied this to their completed designs for the new build. A sense of pride was visible, and one ākonga went so far as to ask a friend to attend so he could share his learning.

The crucial part was that whānau were heard and had the opportunity to see what their tamariki had learned during this experience. They could see the excitement on their faces, and were able to ask questions and get some answers. For example, one question was about the isolation of the community and whether this was a barrier to access further learning and employment opportunities. The opportunities —now the kura and area has access to fibre — were discussed, and how this connectivity is starting to overcome this barrier.

The biggest challenge the HMāT team faced, was to make the most of the limited face-to-face time with the kura. The desire to make the most of the face-to-face opportunity was to the fore in the programme design for the day. The design and goals of this project helped to overcome this challenge by ensuring we tailored learning experiences based on what we knew about the ākonga.

The whānau hui highlighted the success of the day and the value of this project. It was also an opportunity to share new learning led by the ākonga. Tumuaki also spoke about the use of hangarau matihiko at the kura. The HMāT team also talked about the many opportunities of the kaupapa as stated by the ākonga.

In our work with kura, we have identified several challenges and opportunities that can further enhance ākonga and kaiako use of digital learning technologies into the future. In general, these challenges and opportunities include:

  • Develop culturally appropriate methods of understanding how digital technologies impact on ākonga and whānau learning.
  • Ensure equitable access to high-quality and relevant reo and tikanga Māori digital resources for kaiako, ākonga, and whānau. This includes sourcing and designing digital mediums platforms that can be linked to curriculum areas and the diversity of the Māori medium sector; and
  • Provide ongoing and tailored professional learning and development opportunities to assist kura to initiate, embed, and sustain effective Māori-medium content, pedagogy, and infrastructure.

Resources

CORE Education Māori Resources: Kīwaha, Whakataukī and Te Whānau Pū Cards

CORE Education’s Arareo Māori team provides several products and services to cater for kura, schools and private and public organisations. This includes professional development, te reo Māori consultancy, publications, research and events. Ki te hiahia whakapā mai, tuku īmēra ki arareomaori@core-ed.org.
arareo maori team

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managing cloud platforms

Two tips for managing your Cloud-based platforms

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managing cloud platforms

In my previous post I shared ideas around the management of cloud-based systems such as Google Suite for Education (GSFE) and Microsoft’s Office 365. Building on from that post I have two important subjects I regularly get asked about around security:

  • Passwords
  • What to do when people leave a school

Passwords

The Verizon 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report, states that 63% of confirmed data breaches involved weak, default, or stolen passwords.
A password security strategy should increase security with little impact on staff through highly secure useable practices. Here are some recommendations to consider:

When people leave the school

When an account is deleted, anything created on that account such as emails, files, folders, and calendars will also be deleted. An important consideration is: what content needs to be retained by your school, what needs to be downloaded or transferred to that person, and what should be archived.

In GSFE, accounts can be suspended rather than deleted. This means that the shared content is still accessible to others, but the user themselves cannot log on to access it. Ownership of their files can be transferred to another account such as a generic ‘past users’ account, or to a particular person.

In Office 365, the user’s ability to sign in can be blocked by the administrator. Their OneDrive files must be copied to another location.

Another option to consider is to rename the user who is leaving to ‘deleted_$Name’, change the password, and disable email for that account.

If you have any questions around cloud management or generic technology tips and tricks, the invitation is always open. Leave a comment below and I will be in contact.

 

Image credit

Feature image is a combination of images:
Clouds image from Unsplash
Lock image: Everaldo Coelho and YellowIcon; [LGPL], via Wikimedia Commons

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files in the cloud

Managing your Cloud-based systems

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files in the cloud

In my role I get asked a lot of questions about best practice in relation to digital technologies. One question I have had lately is around the management of cloud-based systems such as Google Apps for Education (GAFE) and Microsoft’s Office 365. The management of these platforms could easily be a lengthy post. For this post I will focus on folder structure and sharing, and write about other considerations, such as security and end of year rollover, in later posts.To Share or Send

A significant difference between previous systems and cloud-based systems is the ability to share files and folders with people rather than send them. The benefit here is that everybody always has access to the latest version compared to having multiple copies of the same Word document being circulated via email. For this reason, I always encourage people to share files rather than send attachments.

Organising a shared folder structure

A robust and logical structure for storing and sharing files is important for any organisation. The existing folder structure on your server may be useful and it will be familiar, or you might decide that this is time for a change.

It is always useful to have clear naming protocols for files and folders that are understood and used by anyone with access to these files and folders it. If you have named a file/folder carefully in your cloud service, the search function within it should enable you to able find it again.

The following two links provide extra information about where to start.

This diagram shows a department structure for a New Zealand high school. Note that the grey folders are staff access only and the purple folders are also shared with students.

Expectations when sharing resources

Setting up clear expectations (even a policy) around the sharing of resources in your cloud system is good practice. The implications of which files/resources are filed where need to be be considered. For example, the decision around which files / resources must be filed in the shared file system and which are allowed to be shared outside of the school domain need to be made based on the expectations or policy of the school.

This may be a good opportunity to consider your school’s policy around who owns the resources a teacher produces, and whether you want a Creative Commons policy in place.

How to avoid files and folders from being deleted

It is possible for items to be deleted when giving others editing rights to files and folders. Here are some ways to minimise accidental deletion of files:

  • Ensure clear expectations are made that files are not to be deleted or removed from shared folders except by identified people/roles.
  • Do you have a generic user account for organisation-wide shared folders? This ensures these folders are owned by the organisation and stay when people leave.
  • Make certain files/folders are ‘view only’ to those with whom they are shared.
  • Backing-up files stored in cloud services is recommended for at least the most important users. Products such as Spanning, Syscloud or Backupify are popular and cost-effective.

These are just some considerations when organising your cloud-based systems. Having structures in place and articulating the importance of these to staff will help to ensure smooth transitions and on-going sustainable practices.

To summarise here is a list of the key points I have mentioned:

  • Share files rather than send attachments so that everybody always accesses the latest version
  • Use clear naming protocols for files and folders that are understood and used by anyone with access to it.
  • Set clear expectations (even a policy) around the sharing of resources in your cloud system.
  • Set expectations that files are not to be deleted or removed from shared folders.
  • Use a generic user account for organisation-wide shared folders.
  • Back-up files stored in cloud services for at least the most important users.
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Tips to start the new year

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Back to school

Ngā mihi o te wā. Happy New Year.

The start of a new working year is the perfect opportunity to implement and try new things. For me this includes checking over my ways of doing things to make sure I am working efficiently and utilising the connections I have. I am grateful to be able to work alongside kura and schools and would like to share some tips based in common questions I get asked to help kick start your new year.

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