NZ publisher wins UK e-learning role

By PETER GRIFFIN technology writer

An Auckland children's book publisher has won a lucrative contract to contribute online content to the British Government's e-learning programme.

But moves to replicate that relationship with the New Zealand Government have failed to get off the ground.

From next month, Wendy Pye Publishing will begin providing literacy and numeracy learning material to the UK portal www.learn.co.uk, the information hub at the centre of the country's multimillion-pound plan to bring learning and teaching resources online.

Children in primary schools in the UK will be able to log on to educational "intranet" to access learning resources developed locally by Wendy Pye, including high-quality animations and phonetic games.

Ms Pye said the British e-learning strategy involved the Government working closely with private sector companies such as the Guardian media group - owner of learn.co.uk - and the BBC to quicken national plans for interactive learning.

She said New Zealand "wasn't even on the radar screen" in terms of its e-learning strategy with the draft paper, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for Schools 2002-2004, barely touching on Government partnerships with learning content providers.

"In Britain the Government is saying to private enterprise, 'We can't do this alone'. I don't see that coming through here," she said.

Much of the content that will soon be available to British primary school children has already been released by Wendy Pye in the form of books and CD-Roms.

The New Zealand Government's e-learning strategy has centred on Te Kete Ipurangi, a Ministry of Education portal providing resources for teachers and principals.

In June, the portal had an average of 25,000 visitors a day, but online resources aimed at schoolchildren are less well established.

The Ministry of Education accepts that content development for e-learning has so far been "limited in scope" but hints at big developments on the horizon.

"The ministry is investigating participation in an Australian initiative, The Learning Federation, that will see development of interactive learning materials that New Zealand companies will be able to tender for," a spokesman said. "Literacy will be one of these priorities."

Links


learn.co.uk

Galaxy Kids

Te Kete Ipurangi