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Submission on the Education (Update) Amendment Bill To the Education and Science Select Committee Personal Details: Virtual Learning Network Primary School Rachel Whalley ePrincipal 10 Clem Elliott Drive Matata Whakatane 3194 I wish to appear before the committee to speak to our submission. I can be contacted at: 0276566140 [email protected] I wish that the following also appear in support of our submission: Rick Whalley (Governance Group Trustee/ Founding Principal) Geoff Wood (Governance Group Chair)

Aims of the Organisation: The Virtual Learning Network Primary School is a schools based initiative, working with and across Aotearoa New Zealand schools and kura, and is inclusive of all New Zealand children at all year levels. The Virtual Learning Network (VLN) Primary School extends learning opportunities for students by enabling online collaborations between schools. The VLN Primary is about providing equity and access to better learning opportunities for New Zealand students. It connects schools through a collaborative online network (the Virtual School) in order to share the best of our teaching strengths, open up access to specialist teachers and to build professional capability that enables schools to become more flexible and open places of learning for our children. Through the Virtual School we offer young learners the choice to engage with a range of subjects that may not be available in their school. We provide teachers and school leaders with professional learning and support to enable them, their students, and their communities to develop networked future

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focussed learning organisations. The VLN Primary School is a registered Charitable Trust governed by its participating schools and supported, in part, by the Ministry of Education. Approximately 80 schools and 1500 students have participated in the VLN Primary School to date since 2009.

How Does Learning Work in the VLN Primary School? Learning is tailored to meet the needs of students, and make the most of the strengths of the schools. For example, through a reciprocal arrangement, the schools provide teachers in a subject in which they have a high level of expertise. Where it isn't possible for schools to provide that teacher, another teacher is contracted into the VLN Primary. Students and teachers are connected through Zoom web-based video conferencing technology, use Google Apps for Education, and a private social networking site called WeLearn. These tools provide access to a wide range of learning resources and enable communication between teachers and students and the students with one another. There are currently regular weekly classes for: ● Extension maths ● Computer science & programming ● Literacy ● Astronomy ● Visual Arts ● and a wide range of languages: ○ Te Reo Māori ○ Mandarin ○ Korean ○ Spanish ○ French ○ Cook Islands Māori ○ German ○ Japanese ○ Afrikaans ○ Italian ○ Bahasa Indonesian ○ Tagalog In addition to this, the ‘Over the Back Fence’ project run by Rosmini College provides the opportunity for regular connections with schools in New Zealand, Pacific, South Korea and India; and global projects with a focus on health, safety & environmental health topics. Our Rural & Remote Schools Project brings together schools from Stewart Island, Great Barrier Island, Eastern Taranaki, the West Coast and Wairarapa with the goal of reducing the social isolation of these distributed students, giving them opportunities to learn alongside peers their own age and preparing them for leaving their communities to go to high school. We collaborate with our secondary colleagues in NetNZ and the VLN secondary communities to share practice and to ensure our students have continuous learning pathways from the primary to the secondary sector.

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The VLN Primary School has two full time staff that manage operations and 14 part-time eTeachers who teach our various online programmes. Schools work in partnership with the eTeachers and VLN Primary staff to support students in their ‘home’ schools. Schools sign an Memorandum of Understanding, when registering their students, to ensure commitment to our Protocols of Participation 1 that outline the responsibilities of all parties to ensure our learners are well supported and set up for success in the online environment.

Who has been consulted? In preparation for this submission, the following people and organisations have been consulted: ● Principals and teachers participating in the VLN Primary School programmes; ● the wider educational community who receive our communications; ● educational organisations - NZEI, PPTA, Education Council, NZPF; ● various government politicians; ● secondary online communities - NetNZ, FarNet, Volcanics, Baylink and WelCom clusters. The VLNP Governance Board ○ Geoff Wood - Rosmini College, North Shore ○ Janine Chin - Confucius Institute, Auckland ○ Wayne Howes - Moanataiari School, Thames ○ Natasha Jackson - Oakura School, Taranaki ○ Melanie Matthews - Wairakei School, Taupo ○ Hazel Owen - Ethos Consultancy ○ John Owen - Cyma Ltd ○ Rick Whalley - Core Education ○ Dr Michael Barbour - Touro University, California ○ Rachel Whalley - VLN Primary School

Scope of this Submission The Education (Update) Amendment Bill is quite wide ranging in its scope, and ​this submission focuses only on Part 3A Communities of Online Learning. A ​ ny references to ‘the bill’ are reflective of Part 3A and not of the bill in its entirety. In general we support the intent of Part 3A of this bill although we have concerns about its proposed implementation.

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VLN Primary School ​Protocols of Participation https://goo.gl/U6xfWH

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We support the bill because: It will provide recognition and support for virtual learning in the ‘mainstream’ education setting. For over 20 years programmes have been provided ‘virtually’ through online classes & projects taught by New Zealand based teachers 2 3 and has largely gone unsupported and unrecognised by the Government. Lack of resourcing for current virtual learning initiatives such as the VLN Primary School has restricted progress in developing sustainable operations for this work.4 A lot of our limited time and resource in the last four years has been spent on looking for sustainable funding options that would enable us to operate alongside schools for the benefits of our learners. This time would have been more productively spent on developing innovative teaching practice, creating online curriculum and resources, and building relationships and professional capacity across school networks. It is long overdue that this type of learning be brought into the ‘mainstream’ of learning for New Zealand students and resourced as such.

It will provide more choice and learning opportunities for learners The VLN Primary governance team believe that participation in virtual learning gives students a voice and choice in what they learn, how, when and where they learn, and who they learn with regardless of their geographical location and economic means. For example, parents and teachers whose children are learning within the VLN Primary community: “say they want these opportunities for their children when schools can’t offer options or for times when their children can’t get to school.” ".... commented that not only did it give her the opportunity to study a second language and complete her studies online, but it provided her with the chance to learn and socialise with other children her own age. In doing so, she said she had the opportunity to reflect on herself as a learner and better understand her capabilities and where she fits in relation to others.” 5 Research supports the fact that online learning can be effective for learners in a variety of ways. However, it does depend on how that online learning is designed, taught and supported 6. The VLN Primary, and many of the existing online learning communities in New Zealand, use 2

Powell, A., & Barbour, M. K. (2011). Tracing international differences in online learning development: An examination of government policies in New Zealand. ​Journal of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning, 15(1), 75–89. 3 ​Roberts, R. (2010). Increasing access for learners – The Virtual Learning Network. In V. Ham & D. Wenmoth (Eds.), ​e-Learnings: Implementing a national strategy for ICT in education, ​1998-2010 (pp. 144-152). Christchurch, New Zealand: CORE Education Ltd. 4 Barbour, M. K. (2011).​ Primary and secondary e-learning: Examining the process of achieving maturity. Christchurch, New Zealand: Distance Education Association of New Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.vln.school.nz/file/download/11402 5 Principals’ comments.

​Barbour, M. K. (2013). The landscape of K-12 online learning: Examining what is known. In M. G. Moore (Eds.), ​Handbook of distance education (3rd ed.) (pp. 574-593). New York: Routledge. 6

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these research-based practices, along with decades of experience, to teach and support students effectively.

It will help build capability across networked communities of schools Participation in online communities of learning provide teachers and school leaders with collaborative networks, professional learning, and support. Training to be an eTeacher and working online with our students provides huge professional growth opportunities for those teachers. This is just as beneficial for their teaching practice in face to face situations.7 Collaboration between teachers across schools also ensures that programmes are developed to meet the diverse needs of our learners. This ability to leverage on a network of connected teachers who share common vision for students is a valuable educational system asset. With every school in New Zealand connected to an ultra-fast managed schools network, now is the time to support the online communities of learners and teachers that use that infrastructure.

It has the potential to level the playing field especially for smaller rural schools Although all learners can benefit from participation in online learning communities, students who are in rural, remote or isolated communities have the most to gain from access to wider learning opportunities and professional expertise coming into their schools virtually. These learners now have more curriculum choices than their counterparts in large urban schools. Small schools (less than 200 students) make up 50% of all New Zealand schools. The majority of schools currently working with the VLN Primary School are small rural schools. R ​ egulation and support of online learning by the government would extend the potential for more small and rural schools to participate in online communities of learning. “​students can have more opportunities in our smaller schools and not be disadvantaged by isolation and school size’8

It will provide a regulatory framework and resourcing for virtual learning that is already taking place in New Zealand A regulatory framework for online learning is welcomed by the VLN Primary school to remove the operational barriers that have challenged us in our work across schools. Currently having no legal status within the schooling system means that:

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we have no ability to share staffing, for example FTTE staffing, permanent or fixed term units with schools;

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it is difficult to employ all our teachers equitably according to their collective agreements (if they are working independently of a school);

Roberts, R. (2010) Teaching Under the Microscope - Trends in Online Learning.In N. Dabner, S. Bailey, J. Johnson, N. Davis (Eds.), ​Proceedings of ULearn10 - Research Stream. 6 - 8 October, 2010. Christchurch, NZ:Core Education. 8 Principal’s comment.

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VLN Primary personnel have no access to a wider range of PLD;

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it is difficult to provide the professional support needed for teacher appraisal and registration;

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we don’t have the oversight and support of educational agencies such as ERO;

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we don’t have access to additional benefits of being part of the school system; for example, TELA laptops for our teachers.

We have managed our basic operations through the development of a Charitable Trust entity that is ‘owned’ by participating schools along with a host school arrangement supported by Memorandums of Understandings and lots of trust and goodwill. This isn’t sustainable in the long term. With increasing numbers of schools and students participating in the VLN Primary, piggy-backing through a host school system for long periods of time puts pressure on this goodwill arrangement.9 A regulatory framework and improved resourcing to online communities of learning would enable sustainability of operations, accountability and systems level support to provide quality programmes and fair employment conditions and recognition for online teachers.

The VLN Primary has been actively lobbying and making submissions for the resourcing and support of online learning The following are the main points of our previous submissions that have led up to our current position: In 2012 in a submission to the Inquiry into 21st century learning environments and digital literacy.10 ​We asked that the Committee: ●

“Investigate the opportunities for technology to increase collaboration between neighbouring schools, and between distance learners.

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...​recognises the role that groups such as the VLN Primary have i​ n providing support, structure and expertise for schools to develop collaborative learning opportunities for students and teachers in blended and online learning environments.

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... ​explore how these groups can be supported by o ​ ngoing resourcing and funding​ to enable them to sustain their development and positive impact on the benefits to learners.”

Roberts, R. (2009). Video conferencing in distance learning: A New Zealand schools’ perspective. ​Journal of Distance Learning, 13(1), 91–107. 10 Roberts, R., & Whalley, R. (2012) ​Submission to the Science and Education Committee - Inquiry into 21st century learning environments and digital literacy. Matata, NZ: Virtual Learning Network Primary. Retrieved from​ https://goo.gl/aVX8Ly 9

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In 2013 in an appeal for continued funding we presented a position paper 11 to Associate Minister of Education Nikki Kaye. I​ n this proposal we sought: ● “ongoing ​financial resourcing​, guaranteed for the next three years; ●

the ​assistance of a MoE policy analyst​ to work with us to develop a s ​ ustainable model for the future of the VLN Primary as a virtual school working within and across schools;

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assistance to contract NZCER ​to research the effectiveness and future potential of the VLN Primary School​ to extend learning opportunities for students in the primary sector.”

In 2015 we made a submission to MoE Education Act Update 12 consultation process​. We asked that: ● “Students to be enrolled in more than one school. ●

Students to not have to be physically present at school to be considered enrolled and participating in programmes of learning. This can include students who are partially home schooled, or need flexible time out of school for their wider learning or special circumstances.

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Teachers to be able to work across multiple schools and also not need to be physically present in a school for part or all of their working time.

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Professional support and leadership for teachers who work online and across multiple schools to ensure they are able to meet the requirements for performance appraisal and ongoing registration. And to ensure that online teachers have the same access to professional opportunities such as PLD, scholarships, sabbaticals and the like.

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Resourcing for schools to collaborate virtually, regionally and nationally. Including the establishment of national and regional coordination, brokerage and leadership. The establishment of Communities of Learnings shows that there is a cost in the brokerage and support of schools collaborations.

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Virtual schools (VS) be established as part of the publicly funded schooling system.

We ask that the changes to the Education Act ​recognise the role that groups such as the VLN Primary have ​in providing support, structure and expertise for schools to develop collaborative learning opportunities for students and teachers in blended and online learning environments. We ask that the changes to the Education Act ​address how these groups can be supported by ongoing resourcing and funding​ to enable them to sustain their development and positive impact on the benefits to learners.”

VLN Primary School. (2013). ​Proposal to the Ministry of Education. Matata, NZ: Author. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/n331cD 12 VLN Primary School. (2015).​ Submission to the Ministry of Education on the Education Act Update. Matata, NZ: Author. Retrieved from​ https://goo.gl/AIosQH 11

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We have concerns about: Privatisation of education The proposed legislation, is very open and invites ANY provider to apply to be a CoOLs, therefore opening the door wider to further privatisation of the education sector which could be fundamentally negative for the Aotearoa New Zealand education system. The failure of Virtual Charter Schools in the US, for example, illustrates the pitfalls that we need to avoid.13 14 We don't want to see our education system sold to the highest bidder and taken over by profit driven global organisations like K12 Inc or Pearsons. T ​ hese overseas examples illustrate that their model of online learning is not beneficial to students15 and is siphoning precious educational dollars into private pockets.16 “In principle it's a reasonable, useful and timely idea. What counts is who is in control. If we as New Zealanders are in control that is a good thing because we will be in control of our educational future and destiny. If New Zealand schools education system is not in control then we could damage NZ Education irreparably within a generation [emphasis added]. We cannot afford to outsource an effective system so easily.” 17

Quality of Online Education and the Important Role of Teachers There is a perception that online learning means that one teacher can teach multitudes of students at a fraction of the cost of bricks and mortar schools.18​ It is frequently perceived that online learning could be used as an agenda to create cost saving efficiencies within the schooling system. This is not​ a model of online learning that has successful outcomes for learners. Class sizes in the VLN Primary are the same or smaller than average face to face classes. Teacher-student relationships and student peer relationships are important to successful learning outcomes for children in online learning. 19 20 21

Molnar, A. (Ed.); Huerta, L., Shafer, S. R., Barbour, M. K., Miron, G., Gulosino, C. (2015). ​Virtual schools in the U.S. 2015: Politics, performance, policy, and research evidence. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. Retrieved from ​http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/virtual-schools-annual-2015 14 Miron, G., & Gulosino, C. (2016). ​Virtual schools report 2016: Directory and performance review. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. Retrievedfrom http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/virtual-schools-annual-2016 15 Barbour, M. K. (2016). Virtual education: Not yet ready for prime time? In W. J. Mathis & T. Trujillo (Eds.), The Test-Based Education Reforms: Lessons from a Failed Agenda (pp. 407-429). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Retrieved from ​https://goo.gl/yJvnWe 16 Herold, B. (2016, November). Rewarding failure - An Education Week investigation of the cyber charter industry. Education Week.​ Retrieved from ​https://goo.gl/yOJ7hi 17 Principal’s comments. 18 Barbour, M. K., & Adelstein, D. (2013). ​Voracious appetite of online teaching: Examining labour issues related to K-12 online learning. Vancouver, BC: British Columbia Teachers Federation. 19 de la Varre, C., Keane, J., & Irvin, M. J. (2011). Dual perspectives on the contribution of on-site facilitators to teaching presence in a blended learning environment. ​The Journal of Distance Education, 25(3). Retrieved from ​http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/751/1285 13

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There is also a misconception that children can access programmes such as Khan Academy or Coursera and that this type of access constitutes online learning. These programmes are online resources for learning not potential CoOLs. These approaches on their own devalue the importance of the role of the teacher in mentoring and guiding our learners to achieve success. We agree with the Education Council when they say that we should give ‘priority to ensuring learning is led by the teaching profession’22 - “the greatest influence on student progression in learning is having highly expert, inspired and passionate teachers and school leaders working together to maximize the effect of their teaching on all students in their care (Hattie, 2015, p. 2, in Fullen & Quinn, 2016).23

An open educational marketplace that has the potential to undermine public schooling Currently online learning provisions through the VLN communities strengthens small schools and enables them to retain students within their own communities. However this could be reversed if online learning was promoted and funded in competition with local schools instead of being used to complement existing local programmes. In other words, the diversion of potential funding away from local schools into CoOLs could undermine the ability of schools to provide learning for their own students. This trend was illustrated last year in the secondary schools response to Trades Academies funding.24 “So that. For us the COOLs would be great if they could exist in tandem with regular schooling - rather than replacing it.” 25

Full time online schools as an option for all students Full time distance learning is already an option for some students who are unable to access schooling for various reasons; for example isolation, transience, illness, and/or alienation from school. Many of these students are currently catered for by Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu. For these students full time online learning is a viable option. Full time online learning would also provide new flexibility and choices for children whose parents have chosen to educate them at home. “I think the opportunity for COOLS will be right in line for those of our students who are transient or those who travel and to have an option other than home schooling, correspondence school or truancy.” 26

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Keane, J., de la Varre, C., Irvin, M. J., & Hannum, W. (2008). Learner-centered social support: Enhancing online distance education for underserved rural high school students in the United States. In Whitton, N., & McPherson, M. (Eds).​ Rethinking the Digital Divide: Research Proceedings of the 15th Association for Learning Technology Conference (ALT-C 2008) (pp. 39-48). 21 Roblyer, M. D. (2006). ​Virtually successful: Defeating the dropout problem through online school programs. Phi Delta Kappan, 88, 31-36. 22 Stoop, G. (2016) ​Teachers - Keep us Connected in a Connected World. Education Council: Wellington. Retrieved from ​https://goo.gl/gQmc1E 23 Fullen, M., & Quinn, J. (2016). ​Coherence. Thousand Oaks CA: Corwin a Sage Company 24 Moir, J. (2015). ​Teachers say Trades Academies are limiting subject choice at school. https://goo.gl/1JvnXZ 25 Principal’s comments. 26 Principal’s comments.

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However we don’t believe it should be a default option for ALL students to choose, from their first day at school. Research shows that students in full-time online programs achieve very poorly.27 Supplementary online programmes in contrast, such as those provided by the VLN Primary, are comparable to face to face in levels of student achievement.28 Learning support is critical for students success in learning online. In current Aotearoa New Zealand practice, this support is provided for by school-based support staff, a classroom teacher, Principal, or mentor teacher, in partnership with the students’ online teacher. 29 Students studying online full time at home are unlikely to have access to the same level of pastoral care and learning support that is available to them in the school based setting.30

Equity and Access for Learners Enrolment policies and fees may exclude access to learning choices for many students. Access to free education is a right for our students. The Digital Divide is still a reality for many families in New Zealand.31 This presents concerns for students who are learning from home.

We recommend that: ●

Priority resourcing, and support for Communities of Online Learning (CoOLs) should be directed to Aotearoa New Zealand based learning communities such as extensions of existing Communities of Learning (CoLs), VLN communities and Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu. This would ensure that collaborative practice, and years of successful online learning experience are leveraged to support new ways of providing learning opportunities online. It would also ensure that teachers and school leaders expertise is leading change in schools and will be underpinned by our world-class New Zealand Curriculum.

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Educational oversight be placed on private companies who wish to provide online programmes to ensure quality of delivery and outcomes and long term relevance for our learners.

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A rigorous accountability regime be required of all online education providers, and that those providers be non-profit and ensure the New Zealand education dollar remains within the Aotearoa New Zealand education system.

Miron, G., & Gulosino, C. (2016). ​Virtual schools report 2016: Directory and performance review. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. Retrieved from http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/virtual-schools-annual-2016 28 Patrick, S., & Powell, A. (2009).​ A summary of research on the effectiveness of K-12 online learning. Vienna, VA: International Association for K-12 Online Learning. Retrieved from ​https://goo.gl/uwqy9o 29 Whalley, R. & Khoo, E. (2016) Supporting primary student Independence in virtual learning: Investigating the role of school-based support staff. In ​DEANZ 2016: Conference Proceedings April 17-20, 2016. Waikato, NZ: The University of Waikato, NZ. Retrieved from ​https://goo.gl/VOZNoz 30 Waters, L. H., Menchaca, M. P., & Borup, J. (2014, January). Parental involvement in K-12 online and blended learning. In ​Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 303-323). ETC Press. 31 Crothers, C., Smith, P., Urale, P. W. B., & Bell, A. (2016). The Internet in New Zealand 2015. Auckland, New Zealand: Institute of Culture, Discourse & Communication, Auckland University of Technology. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/rqBNbE 27

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A model of funding be developed and trialled that doesn’t redistribute school funding to such an extent that it undermines a school’s own funding stream.

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Resources be allocated to schools to ensure the provision of learning support for online learners.

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Funding and enrolment policies are weighted to support students that have the most benefits to gain - children in small, rural communities; children with limited access to curricula choices; and children identified as priority learners by the education system.

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The Ministry of Education collaborate with existing online communities to help develop robust accreditation guidelines and undertake trials.

Ngā mihi nui

Rachel Whalley VLN Primary School ePrincipal 11 November 2016