Hikina a tātou ākonga kia haere kōtui tātou ki tua
Walk hand-in-hand with us to uplift our learners and safeguard the future
Who we are
Kōtui Ako VLN is a collaborative network of Primary and Secondary schools and kura serving Years 0 – 13, who work together to improve access to educational opportunities for their learners, via the online environment.
Participating schools are able to offer their learners a wide range of programmes, based on the New Zealand Curriculum and NCEA qualifications.
By contributing to the Kōtui Ako VLN online learning community, schools gain access to over 100 programmes, enabling them to more successfully meet the learning needs of their students.
What we do
Our team enables collaboration between schools, their learners and their online teachers, through a reciprocal teaching and learning exchange.
Learners are engaged both synchronously and asynchronously through the use of weekly video conferences and digitally curated learning environments.
Online pedagogy and practice of teachers is enhanced through an ongoing professional learning development programme led by our experienced and skillful team.
What are the benefits:
Ākonga/learners
- Access to a wide range of learning opportunities;
- Improve communication and self-management skills in authentic contexts;
- Improve digital literacy, learner agency and confidence;
- Build on interests and passions;
- Build connections with others beyond the classroom
Kura/schools
- Access to a wide range of curriculum opportunities;
- Access to qualified, registered, specialist teachers;
- Enable flexible timetabling solutions;
- Develop independent, self-managing, digitally competent learners
Kaiako/teachers
- Professional development for online pedagogy and practice;
- Improve digital competence in teaching online;
- Teach within areas of skill, strength and passion;
- Teach from within a school context, or flexibly from anywhere
Student Voice
Our Nationwide Online Community
Our strategic purpose is to enable schools and kura to access high quality educational opportunities for their ākonga/learners through online learning.
TOTAL NUMBER OF SCHOOLS
94
TOTAL NUMBER OF REGISTRATIONS
1603
Keep up to date!
News
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Kia ora koutou katoa, Kia orāna, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Nĭ hăo 你好, Annyoung haseyo 안녕하세요, Namaste, Assalām alaikum, Hola, Bonjour, Hallo!
🌸Spring is in the air! 🌸 With the promise of warmer days ahead and a well earned break at the end of the week, I invite you to take time to catch up with the activities of our learners and kaiako teaching and learning online through Kōtui Ako VLN.
Netsafety Week earlier in the term was a timely reminder to consider how we support our tamariki and rangatahi to thrive in the digital world. Our case study from Ngamatapouri School illustrates what it takes to become a great online learner. We provide links to Netsafe NZ resources for schools to help manage digital incidents.
The draft Secondary course list for 2025 is available now! Amanda outlines what is involved for schools and learners and the benefits of being able to access a wide range of curriculum for our senior students.
He taonga te pepeha was a professional learning focus for us during Te Wiki o te reo Māori. Thanks to Tewai for leading us in this PLD and sharing resources about researching and creating our pepeha and mihimihi. Did you see the recent article in NZ Education Gazette that profiled our Māori programmes? How te reo Māori is thriving in virtual classrooms across Aotearoa
你好 nǐ hǎo! To celebrate NZ Chinese Language Week this year, we are sharing free digital resources and details of our online classes.
We introduce two of our talented teachers: Suzy Carnachan, Photography e-teacher and HOD from Orewa College and Malcolm Belton Economics e-teacher from Thames High School. Their reflections provide useful insights into the pedogogies and practice of teaching online. We recognise Malcolm for his many years of teaching service and curriculum leadership (NZCETA) as he retires after 48 years in education.
‘Professional development for teachers in virtual environments: evolving online practice’ was a paper presented by Lucie and Rachel at the FLANZ conference at Waipapa Taumata Rau / University of Auckland on their work with the NEX Kōtuitui online teacher network.
Our primary age learners recently shared feedback about their online classes. This helps inform our Professional Growth Cycle and learner support processes.
Our team wishes you and your whānau a safe and restful term break.
Ngā mihinui
Rachel & Amanda
Read the full publication
Kōtui Ako | Virtual Learning Network Aotearoa Pānui September 2024