The Mind Lab by Unitec links with the Next Foundation

The Mind Lab by Unitec links with the Next Foundation

Preparing Kiwi kids for the digital future has taken a step forward.

The Mind Lab by Unitec is delighted to announce it is partnering with the NEXT Foundation to deliver 800 scholarships for teachers to undertake postgraduate study in digital and collaborative learning.

The Foundation is also providing a grant to research the impact of the qualification.

The scholarships will allow more teachers to access the Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Practice (Digital and Collaborative Learning) and get the skills and knowledge they need to prepare young learners for an increasingly digital future. The pace of technological change has led to a growing need for teachers and schools to consistently integrate digital literacy into the curriculum, and build an education system that sets our children up for a successful and rewarding future in a technology-enabled world. The course is designed to help teachers at all levels build knowledge, improve their technical capacity and confidence and learn new ways of engaging students.

The NEXT Foundation is a philanthropic group committed to assisting educational and environmental projects. It supports education projects that contribute to New Zealand’s long-term knowledge capital and performance through research, teaching, leadership training, skills and values development, technology adaption, and institutional and methodological innovation that ultimately underpin New Zealand’s economic strength. (http://www.nextfoundation.org.nz/)

The Mind Lab by Unitec is a pioneer in digital and collaborative learning, reflecting the new theoretical and practical frameworks of contemporary education.

The Mind Lab by Unitec founder and Chairperson Frances Valintine says technology has changed the way we communicate, share and learn, both at school and at work. Teachers need to be supported to help them implement new learning practices so students are prepared for the modern world.

“School budgets for staff development are small so to have the Next Foundation contribute to these scholarships is amazing,” she says. “The more teachers we can train the better prepared our young people will be for the future work place, and that’s got to be a good thing.”

The Mind Lab by Unitec is also excited to announce it will be opening in Gisborne and Wellington in March 2015 and in Christchurch in July 2015, continuing the work of reaching as many teachers and children as possible.

Unitec chief executive Rick Ede says both developments are fantastic news.

“The world is changing and educators need to change with it,” he says. “The partnership with the Next Foundation and the expansion to Gisborne and Wellington means we can reach more teachers and their students with these new ways of teaching and learning.”

ENDS

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