Wairarapa pre-schools going digital

DIGITAL PRE-SCHOOL: A digital cloud-based system, Educa, is being used at several early childhood centres in Wairarapa, says spokeswoman Vicki Campbell (left) including the Speckled Frog in Masterton, where owner Vicky Burcher (centre) and supervisor teacher Angela Magnus were coming to grips with the programme. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

Some early childhood centres in Wairarapa are going digital with a cloud-based system and smartphone app that links parents and families to the learning journeys of their younger members.

Vicky Burcher, owner of the Speckled Frog child care centre in Masterton, said the Educa e-Portfolio system is new to her business this year and the involvement and participation of parents had soared, through the Learning Stories category of the programme, which features text, images and videos that only parents and invited family members may view.

Educa spokeswoman Vicki Campbell said the Learning Stories element of the system begins when pre-school supervisors and teachers upload the child's story or exercise and any accompanying image or video.

A link is emailed to the parents, who can access the Learning Story on a computer or smartphone, and allow access to other members of the family "like grandparents or aunts and uncles living in Australia or Britain", Mrs Burcher said.

Parents and family members are able to comment on the upload, she said, and the feedback function has been getting steadily more popular.

"We still send a hard copy home with the children as well, but we've noticed more and more parents are commenting on the Learning Stories and that's positive for everybody."

The system also offers more security than social media platforms such as Facebook, Mrs Burcher said, "which some parents don't want their children on because it's not private enough".

The centre had also started using the noticeboard facility on the system, she said, to inform parents of upcoming events such as bike days, among other centre activities.

Mrs Campbell said the system "empowers educators and engages the community" and involves a policy information and a resource section, so centres are able to provide information to parents, and feedback from parents and families can be given.