New Council and Chair
From the Chair
Kia ora,
Welcome to the first Technology Education newsletter for 2018. My name is Kerry Lee and I am the new national chair for technology education. I have been involved in Technology Education since its inception in 1995 and I’m passionate about ensuring the subject delivers its full potential for all New Zealand learners.
Last month, at our AGM, a new council was elected and you can meet the team at https://tenz.org.nz/council. I am excited to be working with the new team to review, renew, and improve our support for technology teachers. Having reviewed our current situation, we realise we have a lot to do but we are keen to get underway and have identified some immediate goals towards which we are already making progress. Our goals and progress are summarised in the following sections of this newsletter and we will keep you updated on our progreess in subsequent newsletters.
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.
Ngā mihi,
Kerry Lee
https://unidirectory.auckland.ac.nz/profile/k-lee
p: +64 9 6238899 (ext 48529) | m: 021-620318 | e: [email protected] | Office A206
Gate 3, 74 Epsom Ave, Epsom | Private Bag 92601, Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand
Skype: kerrymlee | WeChat: KerryMLee | Whatsapp: +64 21-620318
Immediate Goal
Our immediate goal is to improve communication and networking within the technology education community to provide support and the sharing of information and expertise.
Progress
Website
Key to achieving this goal is that we have effective systems available to facilitate information sharing and communication.
A first step has been to update our website and the new version is now available at https://tenz.org.nz
There is more work planned for the website which, in time, will provide more information and facilities for members. In the meantime, if you have any queries or suggestions regarding the website, please contact Mike Forret at [email protected] .
Regions
A fundamental goal for TENZ is to develop strong regional networks for support and collaboration. Below is a report on progress from Wendy Slatter our National Regional Co-ordinator .
Regions are getting up and running with a 2018 plan for regional meetings being developed at the Regional Chairs’ summit day in April. If you are interested in developing our regional networks, or would like to know when your next regional meeting is, please contact [email protected]. Once set, the dates will be advertised on our site, as well as member emails being sent from our database.
Auckland/Northland Region – your first meeting is March 22 hosted by the University of Auckland, Faculty of Education and Social Work, 74 Epsom Ave, Building A, Room 6EA-332.
If you have not received a member email regarding this, please contact Wendy on [email protected].
Wellington Region – a ‘save the date’ note – your meeting will be April 11. You should receive an email regarding this approximately 2 weeks before. If you just can’t wait and want to know the details, drop Wendy a line on [email protected].
Southern South Island and Waikato/Bay of Plenty Regions have already held meetings this term. If you missed out, please email Wendy with your up-to-date email address on [email protected].
Northern South Island Region – looking for a host school who will offer us a meeting space for the first meeting of the year. If you can host us by offering us a staff-room or technology space to meet, please contact Wendy either by email or phone her on 021 795 366.
Students – If you have joined under a student membership, our Students’ Regional Chair, Kaelin Jones 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.
Ministry of Education Expression of Interest
The Ministry of Education recently opened an Expression of Interest (EOI) funding process to further progress the Networks of Expertise component of PLD ( see http://services.education.govt.nz/pld/news/networks-of-expertise-expressions-of-interest/).
The key aims of this project are to develop sustainable, collaborative, networks of expertise to support professional learning and development within subject areas.
As the goals and requirements of this MOE Request for Proposals align closely with our goals, we have submitted an EOI for funding for technology education.
We will keep you updated on how we get on with this EOI.
Don’t forget to get in touch if you have any questions, feedback or suggestions.
All the best
The TENZ Team