Increasingly Digital project

What did it involve

The project involved:

• a national survey of schools
• case studies with a small sample of schools and kura
• resource research and development
• exploring future learning environments.

• National survey of schools

  National survey of schools

  The purpose of the survey was to provide a national sample snapshot of how students and teachers discover, access, use, create, and share resources in their specific schools and communities (or learning environments).

  NZCER was contracted to develop, deliver, and analyse the results from the project’s survey. The survey was informed by case study insights and developed by NZCER and National Library with input from project partners. It was delivered to a representative sample of 600 English-medium schools and 100 Māori-medium kura in mid-June 2018.

  Report: National survey of schools for the Increasingly Digital project (pdf, 3.8MB)

• School and kura case studies

  School and kura case studies

  The case studies and the survey were designed to complement each other. The survey provided a broad and general picture of schools’ resource use. The case studies provided a series of smaller, deeper narratives.

  NZCER was contracted to undertake the case studies. The studies involved NZCER researchers and National Library Capability Facilitators working with 7 schools and 2 kura kaupapa to explore how they discover, access, use, create, and share resources. The researchers and facilitators visited schools and held workshops in Wellington and Auckland.

  Report: School and kura case studies for the Increasingly Digital project (pdf, 2MB)

• Resource research and development

  Resource research and development

  Resource research

  The project established a data analysis and research team to investigate data and resources created and owned by project partners. The objectives of this work were as follows:

  1. Uncover themes, trends, and patterns about the ways in which teachers and students are discovering and accessing learning resources within partner agency collections.
  2. Create a systematic, integrated map of the current provision of culture and heritage learning resources.
  3. Communicate the stories of how teachers and students discover and access resources based on analysis of the data.

  Resource development

  The project also developed resources in both te reo Māori and English to address priorities identified by case study schools and project partners.

  Te reo Māori resources — interactive digital biography stories

  The project created an interactive storybook app that tells the story of Turikatuku, a prominent tupuna from Whangaroa. It documents Turikatuku’s whakapapa, the history of her people, and important events that impacted them in the early 1800s.

  This resource provides te reo Māori curriculum content for Māori medium students and teachers involved in the case studies and for the partner agencies in the project.

  Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Whangaroa researched and wrote the narrative for the app in partnership with the National Library of New Zealand. Kiwa Digital developed the software and illustrations.

  Storybook app: Turikatuku — Te wahine taki wairua

  English resources — curiosity cards

  The project created a set of 15 completed curiosity cards, each containing an Aotearoa New Zealand heritage item and a series of ‘fertile’ questions. Fertile questions are an established type of inquiry question, designed to act as a catalyst for deep thinking and exploration.

  The cards were tested at multiple levels and respond to identified resource gaps, including resources for younger people (including printed material). 

  Selected cards include a question written in te reo Māori. The te reo Māori questions were formulated in te reo rather than translated.

  The first-released curiosity cards depict heritage items relevant to 2 Aotearoa New Zealand initiatives:

  • the He Tohu exhibition, with a specific focus on Women’s Suffrage, aligning with Suffrage 125 celebrations
  • the Tuia — Encounters 250 programme.

  Each card has a link to a set of curated resources on the DigitalNZ website that gives more information about the heritage item, including its context and background.

  Explore the curiosity cards

• Future learning environments

  Future learning environments

  The project explored learning resource access and use in both current and future learning environments. The national survey and case study work with schools provided the context for investigating current learning environments. Future-thinking workshops were run with both case study schools and project partners to explore future learning environments

  In June 2018, NZCER facilitated these workshops. At the workshops, participants discussed theories for futures thinking. They also took part in an exercise on thinking about the future. 

  Live illustrations were created at the workshops to capture the discussions and visions that project partners and schools had for the future of learning resources:

  View full-sized image (jpg,744KB)

  View full-sized image (jpg, 968KB)

National survey of schools

National survey of schools

The purpose of the survey was to provide a national sample snapshot of how students and teachers discover, access, use, create, and share resources in their specific schools and communities (or learning environments).

NZCER was contracted to develop, deliver, and analyse the results from the project’s survey. The survey was informed by case study insights and developed by NZCER and National Library with input from project partners. It was delivered to a representative sample of 600 English-medium schools and 100 Māori-medium kura in mid-June 2018.

Report: National survey of schools for the Increasingly Digital project (pdf, 3.8MB)

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School and kura case studies

School and kura case studies

The case studies and the survey were designed to complement each other. The survey provided a broad and general picture of schools’ resource use. The case studies provided a series of smaller, deeper narratives.

NZCER was contracted to undertake the case studies. The studies involved NZCER researchers and National Library Capability Facilitators working with 7 schools and 2 kura kaupapa to explore how they discover, access, use, create, and share resources. The researchers and facilitators visited schools and held workshops in Wellington and Auckland.

Report: School and kura case studies for the Increasingly Digital project (pdf, 2MB)

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Resource research and development

Resource research and development

Resource research

The project established a data analysis and research team to investigate data and resources created and owned by project partners. The objectives of this work were as follows:

1. Uncover themes, trends, and patterns about the ways in which teachers and students are discovering and accessing learning resources within partner agency collections.
2. Create a systematic, integrated map of the current provision of culture and heritage learning resources.
3. Communicate the stories of how teachers and students discover and access resources based on analysis of the data.

Resource development

The project also developed resources in both te reo Māori and English to address priorities identified by case study schools and project partners.

Te reo Māori resources — interactive digital biography stories

The project created an interactive storybook app that tells the story of Turikatuku, a prominent tupuna from Whangaroa. It documents Turikatuku’s whakapapa, the history of her people, and important events that impacted them in the early 1800s.

This resource provides te reo Māori curriculum content for Māori medium students and teachers involved in the case studies and for the partner agencies in the project.

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Whangaroa researched and wrote the narrative for the app in partnership with the National Library of New Zealand. Kiwa Digital developed the software and illustrations.

Storybook app: Turikatuku — Te wahine taki wairua

English resources — curiosity cards

The project created a set of 15 completed curiosity cards, each containing an Aotearoa New Zealand heritage item and a series of ‘fertile’ questions. Fertile questions are an established type of inquiry question, designed to act as a catalyst for deep thinking and exploration.

The cards were tested at multiple levels and respond to identified resource gaps, including resources for younger people (including printed material). 

Selected cards include a question written in te reo Māori. The te reo Māori questions were formulated in te reo rather than translated.

The first-released curiosity cards depict heritage items relevant to 2 Aotearoa New Zealand initiatives:

• the He Tohu exhibition, with a specific focus on Women’s Suffrage, aligning with Suffrage 125 celebrations
• the Tuia — Encounters 250 programme.

Each card has a link to a set of curated resources on the DigitalNZ website that gives more information about the heritage item, including its context and background.

Explore the curiosity cards

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Future learning environments

Future learning environments

The project explored learning resource access and use in both current and future learning environments. The national survey and case study work with schools provided the context for investigating current learning environments. Future-thinking workshops were run with both case study schools and project partners to explore future learning environments

In June 2018, NZCER facilitated these workshops. At the workshops, participants discussed theories for futures thinking. They also took part in an exercise on thinking about the future. 

Live illustrations were created at the workshops to capture the discussions and visions that project partners and schools had for the future of learning resources:

View full-sized image (jpg,744KB)

View full-sized image (jpg, 968KB)

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