Justin Sampson
Ako Aotearoa (NZ) - eFest 2008 Gold Sponsor
Presentation

Justin is the Knowledge Manager for Ako Aotearoa.

Online collaboration to improve Teaching & Learning

In this session you will have an opportunity to learn more about the development of Ako Aotearoa’s new web-site which is specifically designed to support collaboration across the sector on improving teaching and learning. Justin will discuss this major development which is due for launch at the end of September.

Associate Professor Dr. Mark Laws
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi (NZ)
Presentation

Associate Professor Dr. Mark Laws is the Director of the eWānanga Centre for Creative Teaching and Learning at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. He has a background in Computer Information Science and Technology specializing in language acquisition through e-Learning, translation and bilingual systems and cultural resource development. Dr Laws has been a member of the Tertiary e-Learning Reference Group (TeLRG) hosted by the Ministry of Education since 2005.

Putting the 'e' into Wānanga: Customizing an online learning environment for Māori teachers, learners & developers

Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi is committed to the advancement of mātauranga Māori through the engagement with Iwi Māori, other Indigenous groups, the Wānanga sector and the wider tertiary sector. The Wānanga have a number of initiatives to improve the effectiveness and quality of provision through the design and development of new programmes, new pathways and the reorganisation of existing resources, including the procurement of new resources to support its teaching, learning and research capacity.

The development of a customised bilingual Student Online Learning Management System called 'eWānanga' provides a learner support service that is based on traditional educational learning models intermixed with Māori pedagogies to offer students more culturally appropriate flexible learning modalities. The eWānanga system incorporates multilingual functionality with a bi-lingual interface, an English-Māori word translator and a Māori language pronunciation programme. These innovated features are now integrated into a series of guidelines designed from a Māori holistic perspective which in essence could be utilized by any developer for any language and culture.