The biggest buzz for Toni Nua as a teacher is walking into a room full of new entrants and seeing them at work on their tablets.
It's a sign digital learning is helping to create kids with a lifelong love of learning - children who previously might not have had the flame ignited or even had it snuffed.
Nua, the associate principal of Point England School, has been there for 13 years and for the entire time (since 2007) the unique digital learning initiative called Manaiakalani has been a part of the school's make-up.
Supported by the Manaiakalani Education Trust and a number of partners, including Spark, Manaiakalani is a beginning-to-end programme across 12 schools in the Glen Innes/Tamaki area - a thrust designed to accelerate students' learning by working daily on digital devices and making full use of digital resources to enhance learning ability and motivation.
The Manaiakalani schools, in Glen Innes, Panmure and Pt England have ensured children receive a Chromebook, paid off by their parents over time. Teachers manage the learning in new ways - sharing resources and where parents can participate in their child's progress.
In 2010, two pilot classes of Year 7 students began learning on digital devices at Pt England School. Nua was one of the teachers and Bobbi-Grace Vili one of her students. They are now Year 13 students preparing to enter tertiary education or the workforce. Bobbi-Grace, now a prefect at Tamaki College, is aiming to sit a combined arts and science degree at university next year.
The new entrants Nua enjoys watching at work are now the beginning of the beginning-to-end process - and the measurable impact of teaching kids with digital tools has been significant. The proof can be seen at Tamaki College where NCEA Level 2, Year 12 achievement rates for their almost entirely Maori and Pacific Island roll have shot close to 80 per cent from pass rates in the low 30 per cent.
That's not to say Manaiakalani is the sole reason - Tamaki College credits it and other projects and sheer hard work - but Nua has no doubt it is a major factor.
"When you see the new entrants on their tablets, you can see the incredible engagement of these kids and you are just blown away by what they know and how they are committed to learning," says Nua.
"That's the biggest benefit; I know it sounds like a cliché but it really is true - the engagement of these kids and the wonderment they have at learning, right from the little ones, is pretty amazing to see."
It's a far cry from the old perception of low decile schools as mere staging posts before releasing children who didn't want to be at school into a work force that had little or no room nor desire for them.
Nua says the Manaiakalani one-to-one digital device programme has not just opened a door on learning for the kids at Pt England School - it has stirred the very waters of the well of knowledge residing in most children.
"A lot of people think the one-to-one thing with the digital devices is taking away the face-to-face aspect and opportunities that arise from that but our experience has been that it has enhanced that," she says. "They think kids just sit behind their device and that's all they see - but it really does open the door to learning, experiencing things, creativity and collaboration."
Lynne de Gros, GM of key supporter the Spark Foundation, says: "So their eyes are open to a world much broader than just the boundaries of their community and possibilities are opened up in terms of what they can become."
Nua says Pt England School was progressing down the digital road even before Manaiakalani came on board: "We were doing podcasts, we had some access to digital tools in each classroom and we had Hyperstudio where they could create animation - that kind of thing.
"But the one-to-one programme gave them a wow factor - plus a lot more access; they were able to do a lot more on the devices. The use of Google Apps for Education also meant they could work collaboratively - and that's a big part of what we do.
"It's a question of being able to do more and be in charge of your own learning and make choices," she says. "The children end up becoming agents of their own process - that's a really big thing. It also means we are not just achieving academically - the research done on our alumni proves student achievement has been increased - it's also a matter of turning out better global citizens."
Nua says teachers have also benefited hugely from the programme; they can post resources to a central learning repository.
"That provides a platform which allows us to collaborate as teachers," she says "and many minds must be better than one. Previously teachers would generally work in isolation with very few people really being able to see what we were doing.
"Now that platform means we can share resources - so people can share what is there or put their own mark on it or come up with new ideas. That also means we are raising the benchmark all the time, as everyone wants to improve as a teacher."
•The Manaiakalani Education Trust was formed in 2011 and is supported by philanthropy, the government, national and local businesses, such as Spark.