Web-based teaching program on trial

By ADAM GIFFORD

Two South Auckland private training establishments have teamed up with Oracle and Skills New Zealand to develop a web-based literacy and numeracy program.

The pilot of Lamp (Language and maths program) was launched earlier this month by Prime Minister Helen Clark and Tertiary Education Minister Steve Maharey.

Lamp is being developed by Future Skills Academy, an IT training company in Manukau City, and Mangere-based Skills Update Training Institute, which over the past decade has trained more than 6000 mainly Maori and Pacific Island students in a wide range of trade and professional skills.

Skills New Zealand is paying for a six-month trial for 200 learners at several Auckland training providers.

Its contribution will cover some of the costs, including the US$4 ($7.70) per user per month fee for Oracle's iLearning Management System, which is hosted in the United States, but Future Skills managing director Sam Alavi said he was looking for further sponsors or investors. Future Skills has 12 full-time staff and 30 contractors on the project. Many are former or retired teachers, trained as instructional designers.

Because many of the people at which the system is aimed will start with little or no reading skills, the application is being designed so words will sound when the cursor is run over them.

Students start with a short test which determines their learning needs and suggests the English or maths modules they need to achieve outcomes. Modules include such practical skills as filling in tax forms or how to interpret instructions.

Skill New Zealand Manukau region manager Stella Ford said while Lamp looked simple on the surface, it had proven to be a huge and complex exercise to do right.

She said designers had built in tutor-training modules showing how Lamp can be incorporated into other classwork.

LAMP Language and maths program