From the Chair
Kia ora,
Can you believe the year is almost over? I hope you all have a relaxing summer holiday break and return to school in 2019 refreshed and renewed.
This year has certainly been a busy one for TENZ. First of all, I wish to thank the many teachers who have worked so hard to support colleagues and students. You are inspirational. Your passion is evident and we thank you.
The second group I would like to thank is the TENZ Council for your commitment. You are truly amazing. You freely give up your time to help the organisation and members move ahead. We have achieved so many goals this year and this is because of all your work behind the scenes. Wendy Slatter, Liz Reinsfield, Mike Forret, Louise Milne, Wendy Fox, Bruce Granshaw, Ceri deBoo, and John Williams – on behalf of all TENZ members -thank you. Words are not enough – but please know it is appreciated
To sum up the year.
We won a Networks of Expertise Contract and begun the Matanga project led by Liz Reinsfield. This was a mammoth undertaking. The project specifics needed to be developed, advertising undertaken and Matanga selected. Meetings and workshops were held throughout NZ. This project was designed to develop sustainable networks of expertise. Liz is making sure that the money the MOE provided for this project is used for the long-term benefit of the discipline – not just a few quick-fix courses. Matanga, it is great to have you on board.
Ceri deBoo has been working with the TRCC to develop a teacher refresher course based on coding and digital technologies, which will be held in Wellington in 2019. This workshop will be run ‘by teachers for teachers’.
Some regions are well established and their regional coordinators are helping to create wonderful events each term. Thanks to Wendy Slatter and often the passion of one or two teachers, regular TENZ regional meetings have started to occur in some of our smaller regions and towns. This year Northland and Timaru have held meetings and it looks like many more are planned. Please contact Wendy if you would like your region to get underway.
Many of you will have seen how the TENZ website has gone from an empty shell at the start of the year to what it is today. We are aware this is a work in progress, but we have to thank Mike Forret for all the effort he has put into developing the site. As soon as someone has an idea Mike puts it into action. Feel free to contact Mike with all your suggestions. We want the TENZ site to be user-friendly and the ‘go-to resource’ for all technology teachers and researchers.
TENZ membership has steadily grown over the year. We have now employed a part-time person to help contact student teachers who joined TENZ but have changed email accounts and are now employed in a school. If you know of any first year/ provisionally registered /beginning teacher please tell them about the merits of TENZ and encourage them to become members. The more members we have the easier it is to get sponsorship, which enables us to undertake more tasks for you.
TENZ has worked with many organisations. These have included robotics events, free international movies about the first solar powered flight, industry visits, awards nights, product launches etc. Workshops around the country have been held on electronics, coding, jewellery making to name a few.
TENZ has assisted with the organisation of the New Zealand Primary Teachers Conference, the DT4HS two day Auckland Conference, as well as hosting the annual TESAC meeting (meeting of all leading technology associations).
At the beginning of the year, we knew the TENZ technology conference would be in Auckland but nothing else had been decided. We now have the dates and venue and a call for proposals has been distributed. Please keep October 1-3, 2019 free. You won’t regret it, this conference looks very exciting. The conference is designed specifically for teachers as well as researchers. There will be opportunities to share practice, learn new skills, as well as go on exciting trips such as over the Auckland Harbour Bridge and to the Pop-up Globe. Many companies and organisations are generously volunteering their time and venues, for example, Peter Minturn Goldsmiths will be having free workshops to learn jewellery making and the Pop-up-Globe for costume design.
A letter was sent to the Prime Minister and another to the Minister of Education stating the association’s concerns about the management of the teacher shortage issue. The response from Chris Hipkins was very polite, but did not provide detail of strategies to address the needs of the discipline, and the specific issues which we raised.
This year for me was a privilege. I had the opportunity to meet and work with some amazing teachers, and was also introduced to so many new and exciting organisations which support technology in diverse ways. New Zealand is lucky to have so many people who are passionate about technology and can see the potential it holds for so many of our students. I wish you a relaxing holiday and I look forward to sharing TENZ achievements with you in 2019.
Best wishes/ Ngā mihi,
Kerry Lee (Chair of TENZ)
Matanga Project Update
During December, the first phase of the Mātanga project got underway – led by Liz Reinsfield and Wendy Slatter. Over 100 teachers with an interest in technology education attended face to face meetings in Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington, and Christchurch. These teachers were introduced to the project and their regional Mātanga (mentors with curriculum expertise). The project aims to establish networks of expertise within the community and develop practitioners’ curriculum knowledge for practice through online tasks. These online tasks encourage professional goal setting, curriculum meaning making, enactment, and reflection. Teachers are encouraged to develop an e-portfolio of evidence to present their generated evidence, and can use it to gain Recognition of Prior Learning for one Masters paper at the University of Waikato. Phase two, which consists of the online work between the teachers and Mātanga, will get underway in early 2019.
TENZ Conference update
The 2019 Technology Education New Zealand conference will be held from 1 – 3 October. The venue is to be Albany Senior High School, 536 Albany Highway, Albany, Auckland. Keynote speakers have been approached and confirmed, including Associate Professor Welby Ings. Welby is recognised as being an inspirational speaker and a highly innovative thinker. Teachers and researchers are invited to contribute to the conference in one or more of the following:
- Research Presentations (45minutes)
- Virtual Research Presentation (12 minutes)
- Student Poster (Paper poster or display, unmanned)
- Exemplary Practice Workshop (45 minutes)
- Interactive Workshop (2 hours + 15 minute break-down)
Please see the conference flyer for further information.
Wendy, Ceri and Kerry have been loading any useful material they come across onto the Facebook page. Feel free to do the same.
I hope you all are members of this Facebook group, but if not, contact the Facebook team and tell them which school/centre/organisation you work in. The link is https://www.facebook.com/groups/technoteach
TRCC
A meeting with the TRCC Wellington planning committee was held on 24 October and this resulted in a number of positive outcomes. Practitioners who can deliver clear messages about the digital technology strand of the curriculum have been identified, and a workshop style of presentation with keynotes delivered by Julie McMahon and Iain Cook Bonney, have been the selected as the preferred mode of delivery. Further meetings, using Zoom, have been scheduled for the beginning of each month.
Website
Please check the TENZ website and remember to login to your TENZ account to check your membership details and complete your profile. Many changes have been made. Mike is putting in many hours on this and would love to hear your thoughts. If you have any queries or suggestions regarding the website, please contact Mike Forret at [email protected] .
Regions
If you have not received a membership email, please contact Wendy Slatter on [email protected].
Auckland/Northland Region A successful Jumbo Day was held in Northland during which teachers explored the digital technology strand of the Technology curriculum. Please contact Wendy Slatter if you have questions about future professional development plans.
Waikato/Bay of Plenty In Term 4, on the 15 November, a meeting was combined with a visit to Waikato Valley Chocolates at Horotiu followed by food and drinks at the Cock and Bull. Please contact Steve Andrew on [email protected] if you have any questions or suggestions about future events.
Central Region Central Region TENZ is still looking for a Central host who will offer us a meeting space. If you can host us by offering us a staff-room or technology space to meet, please contact Wendy Slatter either by email or phone her on 021 795 366.
Membership
Students – If you have joined under a student membership, Ceri deBoo will be contacting you regarding the change-over from a student membership to an individual or institution (through your school) membership. We look forward to welcoming you to our professional organisation.
Contact Us
We regularly receive emails from members, requesting information or suggesting new directions. We want to build a strong, connected and collaborative technology education community and, to this end, we are keen to hear from you. Please feel free to contact us with any queries, new developments or suggestions you might have, either via our website https://tenz.org.nz/contact or by direct email or phone.
Best wishes
Louise Milne
(Secretary of TENZ)