Shaping the future of education in New Zealand
EdTechNZ June ‘23 Newsletter
As we celebrate another month of fostering innovation and pushing boundaries in the EdTech realm, we're excited to share with you the significant strides we have taken as a community. Our work is shaping the future of education in New Zealand, and we couldn't be more thrilled about what's in store.
Market Deep-Dive: Vietnam
This month we took our first trip on our export market deep-dives, to explore the global opportunities for our local EdTechs. Our first hybrid event took us on an exploration of the Vietnamese EdTech market, and boy did we learn a thing or two. It's a land teeming with potential and innovation. However, to tap into it, we need to dig deep and understand its unique facets - its culture, its politics and its economy.
As we debriefed, it became clear that we'd embarked on an enlightening journey into a fascinating new realm for EdTech. We're eager to put our newfound knowledge to work and can't wait to see what our local EdTechs can achieve together in this exciting frontier. You can watch our hybrid event here or read our blog post for more insights.
Next stop on our global market deep-dive will be the US market - keep an eye out for our event listing when it goes live!
Connected Ako – Shaping the Future
In the local scene, the Ministry of Education has just unveiled the digital strategy refresh, aptly named "Connected Ako". It's essentially a 10-year road map, leading us towards a future where learners and educators can not just cope, but thrive in the digital world. Now that's a vision we can get behind!
The strategy focuses on shaping the digital and data practices of our government education agencies and EdTech products are services that can assist our learners either in or out of the classroom.
We will be teaming up with the Ministry of Education on a webinar to go through the strategy refresh with our local EdTechs in mind with opportunities for you to ask the MoE themselves how they can be part of this new era of innovative learning. Make sure you register for our webinar on 26 July at 12 pm.
Coming Up: Founders Day Unconference
As we look forward to what's coming, we're excited to announce our Founders Day Unconference, hosted in Wellington on 4-5 August. This is an exclusive event for our EdTech founders for a chance to roll up our sleeves and work together on the key issues and opportunities facing our sector. If you’re an EdTech founder, make sure you check your inbox for your exclusive invite.
The Unconference is an open space for sharing ideas, challenges, and solutions. You drive the discussions and set the agenda. So, mark the date and come ready to brainstorm, collaborate, and be inspired!
That's it for this month. Here at EdTechNZ, we're committed to keeping our finger on the pulse, exploring new frontiers, and helping you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of educational technology. Let's continue this journey together.
EDTECH IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Grok Academy Limited | Lisette Tennant - Head of Partnerships | Developing cyber security skills and promoting awareness of cyber careers.
Grok Academy Limited (Grok) is a not-for-profit with an international remit offering online and unplugged coding, cyber security and digital literacy activities for students in primary and secondary school. Grok also provide curriculum guidance, professional learning, and advocacy to teachers and government.
Recently Grok has partnered with Tātai Aho Rau Core Education and are collaborating with the NZ Government (Ministry of Education and the National Cyber Security Centre), educators and industry (ASB, AWS, BNZ, CERT NZ, and Network for Learning) on a programme which aims to teach online security skills to all students in years 6-13. The programme, Cyber Skills Aotearoa provides teachers with classroom ready activities that develop cyber security skills and promotes awareness of cyber careers. Read more.
Thoughts and reflections from the front line - a teacher’s voice in education technology.
Susana Tomaz | STEAM Coordinator Westlake Girls High School | Across School Lead - Pupuke Kāhui Ako at Ministry of Education of New Zealand
In this month’s blog, Susanna talks about embracing the AI revolution in New Zealand schools - a make-or-break decision for education’s future. Read more.
Alison Mackie
Executive Director
EdTechNZ