Te Ara Poutama Alternative Education

Opening sequence (background music): title of the strategy, Connected Ako: Digital and Data for Learning, appears with graphical images of a puna (spring). Transition to moving icons of punas that represent the 6 areas of mahi in the strategy.  

Question appears on the screen: How is tech-collaboration transforming learning and opportunities for young people at Te Ara Poutama Alternative Education Centre? 

Transition to footage of the story. Interview style format mixed with background images of students and educational environments. 

-  [Amethyst, Student, Te Ara Poutama Alternative Education Centre] So I attend TAP, short for Te Ara Poutama. We have kids that come here that have failed in school, just didn't start school. This alternative education, it gives people other chances, more hope. 

-  [Dornae Rae, Tutor, Te Ara Poutama Alternative Education Centre] A lot of the kids when they first come here, they have come from the schooling system that has let them down, mostly because it doesn't fit the way they learn, or how they learn. 

- [Zoe Timbrell, Co-Founder, OMGTech] I am the kaiwhakahaere at OMGTech, or the Pam Fergusson Charitable Trust. We are a charity that supports the education sector, communities, just the general public in exploring how the future of technology is gonna change our lives. 

Students face a lot of challenges with digital technology, there's like access and interest. Te Ara Poutama students face even more challenges as an alternative education provider. 

- [Chantelle Foketi, General Manager, Te Ara Poutama Alternative Education Centre ] So the Maker Space idea came about in the first COVID lockdown in March, 2020. Suddenly we all had to work from home, and our kids weren't able to, most of them had no internet. There were definitely no devices in the home. Once we came back to class, we kind of got into the mindset that we had to get the kids ready, digitally ready to work. 

- [Dornae] We call it the Innovation Station, because we want it to be a place where innovation happens. It's a space where you can come and have a go. You know, you don't have to own any of this stuff. We've got it for you. 

- [Zoe] We know that this isn't just digital fluency, it's not using social media. The kids here are being taught skills for the future, for jobs. They've got CNC machines, they're gonna be our digital manufacturers of the future, and it's critical to have the right tools to do that. 

- [Dornae] Partnerships are vital. Partnering with OMGTech, partnering with Microsoft, partnering with Google, any of the tech sector partnerships to help build the students, help to build the community, because it's not something that can be done alone. 

- [Amethyst] We do a lot of 3D printing, a lot of coding. People should know computer literate skills. We're getting into a generation where we're gonna be more hands on with devices. 

- [Shyrahn, Student, Te Ara Poutama Alternative Education Centre ] I just love to learn, that's the thing and this course is, like, better than, like, High School. 

- [Chantelle] So we wanted the Maker Space to be student-run and student-led. So we've kind of handpicked four kids that have really stood out as potential leaders. 

- [Amethyst] Our goal is to teach others what we've been taught in the past year. We're wanting to open this up to the community, show them what we've made, teach them too. We just want to be more involved. 

- [Zoe] Te Ara Poutama have a really clear vision for the future of their students, and they know that collaboration is a critical part of that. 

They work really hard to find the right partners that are gonna work with their students in the best way, and we are really fortunate to get to be one of those partners, and to work alongside them and others to achieve their vision with their students. 

- [Shyrahn] I can basically do a lot of things, like I can base cut some, like, board, or, like, do some T-shirt pressing, and, back at, like, High School, I couldn't do that stuff. 

- [Chantelle] Previously, the kids were aiming for, you know, factory jobs, warehousing, roading, that kind of thing. Whereas now, their goals and dreams have changed so that they're actually talking about tech-based jobs. 

- [Kaiha, Student, Te Ara Poutama Alternative Education Centre ] I'm doing a digital job right now. I'm a digital intern. It's a place that's helped me getting me a job, and helping me in my future plans. 

- [Dornae] I want them to leave here knowing that they have the skills, they have the knowledge, that they can actually go out and do anything. 

- [Kaiha] Before I came to Te Ara Poutama, I probably wanted to work with my Dad, but after I came here, and started learning here and drawing more, I probably thought that animating and becoming an animator was my best option. 

- [Amethyst] I've changed so much since I've come here, and that's all my parents ever wanted. To not see me at home, you know, with no books. They'd rather, you know, see me here, coming home happy. I can be me, without having to change something about myself. 

Closing sequence (background music) with graphical image of the puna.  

Onscreen title appears: Connected Ako: living, learning and working in the digital world.   

Final screen shows logos of the education agencies. Top line showing agencies leading this work which will develop workplans based on the strategy: Ministry of Education (MoE), New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). Bottom line showing the broader education agencies who have contributed to the strategy and will use it to inform and guide their own plans and decisions: Education New Zealand (ENZ), Education Payroll Limited, Education Review Office (ERO), Network for Learning (N4L), Teaching Council, Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (Te Kura) and Research Education Advanced Network New Zealand (REANNZ)