Virtual Learning Network

Professional learning and development:

This support is for school leaders and teachers who are involved in whole school e-learning capability review and development in all of the following:

• English medium primary
• English medium secondary
• kura kaupapa Māori
• kura ā-iwi
• Māori medium settings
• Specific year groups or other groups in the above.

The expected outcomes of the PLD are:

• improved student outcomes through the appropriate use of digital technologies to support learning and digital citizenship
• parents, family, whānau, and communities engaging with students' learning
• school leaders leading the integration of digital learning capability
• teachers using digital technologies appropriately in their practice to develop effective learning environments for all students
• professional learning networks connecting and supporting school leaders, teachers, and PLD suppliers to integrate and share digital learning capability opportunities, leading to the achievement of the outcomes of The New Zealand Curriculum /Te Mārautanga o Aotearoa.

Programmes focus:

Schools will have individual e-learning PLD programmes that are informed by the needs of students. Programmes may focus on:

• teaching and learning (pedagogy)
• leadership and management
• community partnerships
• ways that new technologies can best support learning. 

Participants will learn to address student needs through the use of digital technologies and e-learning environments such as digital tools, resources, collaborative environments, and communities. Participants will acknowledge themselves as learners, taking responsibility for their own professional learning and use of technologies through the use of appropriate frameworks, teacher inquiry, and professional networks.

Learning with digital technologies PLD:

• supports schools to review processes for routine engagement with whānau/iwi and the wider community about the impact of technologies on learning, cybersafety, and digital citizenship
• supports schools to review the way technologies are made available for the school community, focusing on their effectiveness and impact on learning
• supports schools to use digital technologies in a reciprocal and sustainable way to engage with whānau/iwi and the wider community.

Methods of delivery:

A flexible and tailored PLD programme is co-constructed with the school following a strengths and needs analysis. The programme:

• will focus on a blended approach to PLD consisting of an appropriate combination of face-to-face, online, synchronous, and asynchronous engagement
• is inclusive of learning communities
• will create and foster opportunities for collaboration within and between schools
• promotes the use of technologies to make connections (locally, nationally, internationally).

Measured outcomes:

Change in depth and intensity of provision is dependent on progress, and progress is reviewed regularly and linked to student engagement, wellbeing, understanding of learning, and achievement.

Sustainability:

Sustained teaching as inquiry within an ongoing school-wide e-learning capability self-review is required to achieve improvements in teacher knowledge, skills, and capability in the use of digital technologies and pedagogy.