Telecom Helps Students With Their Homework

Telecom Helps Christchurch And Southland Students With Their Homework

Telecom will be helping students in Christchurch and Southland with their homework as part of a partnership with the Government to create more digital opportunities for young people.

“Telecom is playing a key role in the Digital Opportunities Pilot Project that will provide an information and communications technologies (ICT) boost for Study Support Centres in Christchurch and Southland,” Telecom General Manager of Government and Industry Relations Bruce Parkes said today.

Telecom will be boosting the Internet capabilities at three Study Support Centres for the two years of the Government trial.

"Our vision is to set up learning centres where computers and the Internet are freely available to students in a supervised programme outside school hours.

“An extra benefit is that when students are not using these centres, they would be available for groups in the community to share knowledge of and access to IT and the Internet.

“This programme enables students to benefit from information technology, regardless of where they live or what their backgrounds are.

“We have entered into a partnership with Government and other businesses to try to give more people access to digital technologies.”

Telecom’s business partners in this project are Compaq, NZ Post, Microsoft, Vodafone, Renaissance and Te Kete Ipurangi (The Ministry of Education’s bilingual education portal). The full details of each partner's contribution and the locations of the centres are still being finalised.

“Telecom strongly believes the telecommunications industry has a role to play to create new digital opportunities. We want to be alongside Government, communities and schools to help use technology to reach their full potential,” Mr Parkes said.

“This initiative has the potential to give students who would never have had access to the internet the ability to learn on-line after school.”

Telecom has contributed over $70 million to helping New Zealand schools access ICT resources and skills. Telecom has also supported the establishment of over 60 SeniorNet centres, where people aged over 50 can learn about computers and the Internet.

Telecom has also worked with the Government to set up a trial community internet centre in Wairoa, which opened late last year.

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