At eCampus NZ, we’re gearing up for this year’s 2020 LearnX Live! Awards.
The LearnX Live! Awards bring together leading organisations across the globe to celebrate projects and solutions that deliver best practice in eLearning design. This year, eCampus NZ has been nominated in two categories: Best Free eLearning Resource Design and Best Shift-it-Online eLearning Resource Design. We can’t wait for the virtual award ceremony in September!
At eCampus NZ, we love the spirit of goodwill and knowledge sharing we’ve seen across the sector this year. In the spirit of sharing, today we’ll be taking a closer look at one of the projects that has been nominated.
Tere: your guide to moving online swiftly has been nominated for an award in LearnX’s Best Free eLearning Resource Design category. If you haven’t already, click on the hyperlink and check it out!
They say that adversity breeds innovation, and this was certainly the case with Tere. In March of this year, New Zealand educators faced a sudden shift to online delivery as a result of the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. As a leading provider of online education, eCampus NZ quickly committed to sharing our expertise in online learning to help educators and learners manage this transition.
As part of a coordinated effort to reach out across the sector, a small but talented team at eCampus NZ created Tere in record speed. Tere is an interactive digital resource that supports the fast development of an online learning environment, helping educators integrate e-learning tools and strategies into their practice efficiently and effectively. The project was led by eCampus NZ Lead Instructional Designer Tim Thatcher, an experienced e-learning consultant who has facilitated the implementation of e-learning in national and international tertiary organisations, schools and businesses.
Three focus areas underpinned the design and development process. Firstly, the team knew that their first priority was to support the wellbeing of learners and educators. “We took into consideration the fact that many New Zealanders would be isolated from family and community during the lockdown,” says Tim. “We wanted to put together a framework to support both educators and learners with that in mind.”
Secondly, the team were determined to help New Zealand educators develop culturally responsive online teaching strategies. “There aren’t many resources and strategies available that synthesize New Zealand’s unique cultural identity and best practice in eLearning,” says Tim. “We placed Te Ao Māori at the centre of this resource. We knew that this focus on cultural responsiveness would also support learner wellbeing.”
The third goal was to empower educators, and in turn, learners, by helping educators to capitalise on their available skillset and resources and develop strategies that aligned with their individual teaching practice.
Once the concepts and learning path had been established, the resource was given the name Tere, a Māori word which translates to ‘swift’ in English. This is an apt title for a number of reasons, including the fact that Tere: your guide to moving online swiftly was released to the public eight days after the project began!
Tere is an interactive, user-friendly digital resource that guides users through a series of six modules with focus areas such as developing e-Learning success criteria; fostering human connection, engagement and empathy in an online space; encouraging active learning online; and planning and communicating a strategy for moving online. In addition, users can fill their kete with powerful instructional tools and strategies for online instruction, feedback, collaboration and assessment
The content is framed by a culturally responsive narrative, giving users a parallel experience of what inclusive e-learning might look and feel like. “I’m pleased to see an emphasis on creating relationships and fostering whakawhanaungatanga. Manaakitia ki a koe,” wrote one user.
“A fantastic resource, clear concepts and a great selection of digital tool suggestions,” contributed another.
Tere was accessed by over 40 organisations during the first six weeks it was online, confirming the widespread need for support in transitioning to online delivery. “We were happy to see that Tere was used by broad range of organisations across New Zealand,” says Tim.
“Hopefully it will continue to have a positive impact on many learners.”
We’ll find out more about the awards we’ve received at the official announcement during the LearnX Live! Virtual Summit & Awards Show on September 17th 2020. Register now and celebrate with us and over a thousand Learning and Development professionals from around the globe!