eLearning

This year the Preparatory School combined Digital Literacy and Digital Technology lessons under one learning area, which was renamed eLearning. Anneke Kamo worked alongside the Preparatory School teachers to teach weekly lessons for a semester per year group, incorporating a range of digital learning experiences.

As we began 2022, the possibility of remote learning due to COVID-19 was still looming over us. Therefore, in Term 1 there was an emphasis on learning and consolidating the skills the students would need, should they be learning from home. Microsoft Teams was a key area of focus for the students, ensuring they were confident in making Teams calls to communicate with their teachers. The Junior Department students prepared for home learning by practicing using Seesaw to complete activities that could be uploaded for their teachers to see.

eLearning in the Junior Department this year began with coding and robotics for the Year 1–2 students. They learnt unplugged coding skills before putting these skills into practice with the use of the Beebot and BlueBot robots. The students also became confident in using QR codes to source information and to create stop motion projects using the iPads. In 2023, the Junior Department iPads will all be replaced to gain improved security features.

Robotics in the Middle Syndicate remains a highlight of the eLearning programme. Years 4–6 completed a term each of Robotics lessons using the LEGO EV3’s.

This year the classes competed in the ‘EV3 Games’ which was a robotic version of the Commonwealth Games. The games were a huge success and the students thoroughly enjoyed coding their robots to verse each other in different events.

As the EV3 robots have now been retired, and the corresponding app which we use will be discontinued, it is now a priority for St Andrew’s College to update these robots. After researching and trialling both LEGO Spike Prime and VEX Go robots, it was decided that we would like to continue using LEGO. We will be purchasing eight new robots for 2023, with the hope of adding the extra four needed for a class set throughout the year.

The Years 7–8 programme included Digital Literacy lessons with a focus on cyber safety. In 2023, the eSafetyHQ online program will be incorporated into eLearning lessons at every level.

In Term 4, the Year 8 students were able to experience using virtual reality goggles to support their lessons around environmental sustainability of the oceans. They concluded the year with a 3D printing unit.

Throughout the year, Minecraft Education was used to enhance our lessons. The Year 8 students used the Minecraft Ngā Motu world to present their pepeha. The Year 6 students created eBooks which were then presented to children in the Junior Department.

The wide range of skills the students have developed during their eLearning lessons in 2022 have enabled them to be confident learners in all digital settings.

TOGETHER, BUILDING BETTER PEOPLE, FOR LIFE