Ruahine Kindergarten Association 1st to head into the cloud

25 November 2011

Ruahine Kindergarten Association first to head into the cloud

Ruahine Kindergarten Association has become the first early childhood education provider to use the Ministry of Education’s cloud based online e-portfolio site.

‘My Portfolio’, is an online personal learning environment. Currently it is available free to all New Zealand schools, which use it primarily for their pupils to document milestones and achievements.

Two of the Association’s teachers however, recognised the potential for ‘My Portfolio’ as a professional learning tool. One is working towards her teacher registration and the other is her mentor. The pair shared their experience and information at a provisionally registered teacher workshop, where there was great interest shown in the site’s potential for teachers’ professional development.

The professional services managers from the Association approached the Ministry of Education to request access to the system. Based on the trial information, they were able to negotiate access for the Association, a first for any early childhood education provider.

The Ministry provided some basic training to the Association, which plans to roll out the e-portfolio system to teachers and their mentors working towards their registrations. ‘My Portfolio’ will then be introduced to other teachers as the level of skill with the system grows.

“We are very excited to be the first early childhood provider to use this site. The great thing for us as professional service managers is that we will be able to make comments and support teachers on line which will make learning much more authentic,” said Professional Service Manager Sally Roberts.

All teachers in the Ruahine Kindergarten Association are fully qualified and it is one of the key attributes at the Association’s twenty-five Kindergartens in the region. ‘My Portfolio’, says Sally, is a valuable tool in maintaining the excellence of the teaching, which in turn means better learning experiences for the children in their care.

ENDS