Porirua schools work smart with funding to plug in digital learners
NEWS: 19 June, by Te Huia Moke
PORIRUA SCHOOLS are trying to put devices into students’ hands, but they are not forcing the parents to buy them.
Schools and families buying laptops and tablets are playing a part in the rise of electronic sales, according to Statistics New Zealand,
In the March 2015 quarter sales in electrical and electronic goods retailing rose 8.9% compared to sale from the same time the year before, the 2015 March quarter Retail Trade Survey shows.
Kiwis spent $1.049 billion in the 2015 March quarter compared to $880 million spent on electronic devices in the same period of 2014.
The jump follows a 5% rise in the December 2014 quarter compared to the 2013 December quarter.
“Some respondents have commented that increased sales of laptops and tablets for school use have boosted sales in this quarter,” Statistics New Zealand says.
“The sales volume trend for the electrical and electronic goods retailing industry has been rising for several years, but has had particularly large gains in recent quarters.”
Two principals of Porirua primary schools spoken to by NewsWire say they seek funding for devices to help the students learning.
Bryce Coleman, principal of Paremata Primary School, says they do not get any special funding.
“We just apply for grants and then build the funds into the capital expenditure,” Mr Coleman says.
“We apply for the grants through the Mana Community Trust.”
Mr Coleman says it is not compulsory for parents to buy devices for their children.
The school provides Google Chromebooks and older laptops.
“This year, we’ve bought four Chromebooks for each of the year 7-8 classes. They also have six other computers and some old laptops. In total there are 10 to 12 spare devices for each class”.
The students are using the recently purchased computers to do their school work online using Google Docs, often emailing their work and achievements to their parents.
Principal of Porirua East Primary school Irene Unasa does not believe the BYOD idea is necessary but still implements it where they can in the school curriculum.
“We do get an element of funding. We get an operations grant from the Ministry of Education to help buy the devices,” Mrs Unasa says.
Because they get a grant from the ministry they do not ask the parents for any money.
“We endeavour to integrate the devices into our curriculum. The students use the computers for math, English etcetera. They’re playing educational games, writing stories and researching.”
Electronic sales contributed to an overall rise of retail sales for the March 2015 quarter.
The sales volume trend for the electrical and electronic goods retailing industry has been rising for several years, but has had particularly large gains in recent quarters.
“The total volume of retail sales rose 2.7 percent for the March 2015 quarter, following a 1.9 percent rise in the December 2014 quarter,” Statistics New Zealand says.
“The total value of retail sales rose 1.7 percent ($329 million) in the March 2015 quarter, following a 1.4 percent ($261 million) rise in the December 2014 quarter.”
The total retail sales figures in the March 2015 quarter was $19.320 billion compared to $17.984 billion in March of 2014.
The latest quarter’s increase is the largest sales value rise since the September 2011 quarter, when sales rose 2.3 percent ($381 million).