Awards Presented at National Education Conference

Thursday, April 21 2016

Awards Presented at National Education Conference

The 2016 Distance Education Association of New Zealand (DEANZ) Award was awarded at the organisation’s biennial conference in Hamilton last night at Hobbiton. The awards evening is part of the DEANZ conference that hosted around 200 delegates at the University of Waikato from 17-20 April.

DEANZ Award
This year’s winner is Donna Dyet from Te Wānanga O Aotearoa. Donna developed a mobile app to support learners in the carpentry course, which is part of the Certificate in Applied Technology.

The goal of the project was to develop and trial a customised software application designed to promote learner engagement, provide improved access to authentic and relevant content, and increase the likelihood of educational success for students enrolled in vocational programmes.

The judges decided the project identified and addressed a learning need, developed a flexible/distance learning response, and was effectively implemented. They also commended the project for demonstrating good practice in the area of culturally responsive pedagogy.

Merit Award
A merit award was given to Rachel Walley from the Virtual Learning Network (Primary) for her work on the ‘Rural and Remote Schools Project’. This project successfully reduces the social isolation of students in rural and remote schools by creating online learning opportunities with similar students across schools.

The judges recognised the importance of this work within the New Zealand Educational landscape and the manner in which it builds on and potentially extends the long-term developments that underpin it. The project demonstrates a strong focus on learning and teaching with a number of technologies to enable a full range of learning possibilities

The DEANZ Award is designed to promote and reward excellence in e-learning, distance, open and flexible learning. Awards are made biennially for projects that advance understanding of best practice in e-learning, distance, open and flexible learning in New Zealand; are original or innovative in concept or application; and are relevant to and whose outcomes are useful to the e-learning, distance, open and flexible-learning community.

ENDS

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