Last updated 17:37, November 11 2015
Showing posts with label MOA Kluster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MOA Kluster. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 November 2017
Wednesday, 11 November 2015
Gaming leads Auroa School students to a moa
Gaming leads Auroa School students to a moa
Two youngsters keen on video games have proved their skills can be educational.
Auroa School's Kaiah Bloor,12, and her brother Durann,11, won the supreme award in the second annual Moa Awards in Opunake on Tuesday night.
The two teamed up to make winning movie The Bum Race, an imaginary journey around Taranaki.
"They sat on their bums all around Taranaki. Each photo was a still and they used stop-go animation," principal Heath Chittenden said.
"In between, they've got video gaming noises, magic boxes appear they can punch to get more points and they get to fly on broomsticks."
Chittenden was thrilled with the win, as well as the swag of other awards the school's students achieved.
"The calibre across the whole cluster is extremely high. We have some pretty talented students and teachers here," he said.
This year was the second time the technology awards for students of Matapu, Opunake, Auroa and Kaponga Schools (known as the MOA Kluster) have been held.
Parents were begging for tickets to the sold-out awards night, Opunake Primary School's Hannah Williams said.
The theme for the night was Star Wars and the school principals all dressed as characters from the movies.
Awards were presented in 10 different categories, including Te Reo, blogs and graphic design, animation, short movies and educational video.
Finalists were driven to the awards in classic cars and entered via a red carpet, Williams said.
The awards were started to help the four schools incorporate digital literacy and new technology into their curriculum, Opunake Primary deputy principal Leo Frank said.
"The nice thing is that all our traditional subjects are in there, behind everything there is learning going on that reflects the curriculum, its just a really good, interesting way for the kids to learn what they need to learn."
"The kids who have an artistic bent have a real chance to scratch that itch, its really nice to give them that opportunity."
- Stuff
WINNER! WINNER! WINNER!
Last night we all enjoyed our MOA Awards. We were a very lucky class who had 9 nominations in many different categories. We got to see lots of our work up on the big screen and show our whanau all of the great work we have completed over the year. Unfortunately we were not successful in all categories but we are very happy to those students who did win.
Thursday, 5 November 2015
Technology students hunting rural Taranaki Moa
Our MOA Awards made it into the Hawera Star.
Technology students hunting rural Taranaki Moa
Technology students hunting rural Taranaki Moa
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| Opunake Primary School students, from left, Jaimee, 13, Lucy, 13, and Brydee, 12, are hoping their film "The Good, The Bad and the Beautiful" is good enough to win the best short movie category at the annual MOA awards. The girls filmed their movie at Stratford's Pioneer Village. |
Students at four rural Taranaki schools are hoping they've caught the elusive Moa in the lead up to this year's annual awards.
Taranaki's premier technology awards for students of Matapu, Opunake, Auroa and Kaponga schools, known as the MOA Kluster, are being held on Tuesday November 10 at Opunake's Sandfords Events Centre.
Tickets have sold out to the second annual 'Moa Awards' event and Opunake School principal Lorraine Williamson said the judges would have a hard time deciding who would win each category as well as the overall supreme prize.
"I think the calibre of movies is superb, I have looked at all of the movies and I think it will go to the wire," she said.
"I think it will be a very close call for whoever judges it. I just think that the kids have really lifted the bar. I'm just so impressed by what all of the schools have done."
Auroa School principal Heath Chittenden said at least two items entered by his school had a good chance of taking out the top spot.
The winner at 2014's inaugural event was Opunake School but Chittenden hoped this year could be his year.
"We've got about 39 finalists that are here so we've got a good variety of different areas that they've been put into," he said.
"I definitely think there's been a big jump in the standards from last year to this year. Kids seem to be a lot better organised, a lot better planned out, some of the ideas are phenomenal."
Kaponga School, newer to the cluster, has entered the awards for the first time in 2015.
Principal Shane Downs said the winning entry would depend a lot on each individual judge's tastes.
"We've got some pretty cool still stuff but it depends if they are looking for the more technology intense stuff," he said.
"No one really knows as to what they are going to do. Last year the one that won it was a silent film."
Students have worked all year to prepare entry projects alongside their classroom learning.
Matapu School principal Jarad Chittenden was unavailable to comment prior to deadline but is understood to be looking forward to the event.
MOA AWARDS:
Created in 2014, the annual event, held at Sandfords Event Centre, is open to students from 5 years old to 13 years old.
Students can win awards for best student blog, best short movies, best educational movies, best music video, best animation, best Te Ao Maori, best graphic design, best original image, best book trailer and best actor/actress/narrator/performer. Categories are divided into junior, intermediate and senior levels.
Junior level is for students year 0-3, intermediate is for year levels 4-6 and senior is for those in year 7 and 8.
Educators are also in the spotlight with two awards, best teach blogs and best use of IT by a teacher, up for grabs.
Independent New Zealand and overseas judges are reviewing the work in each category and allocating the awards.
Held on Tuesday November 10 2015, starting at 7pm, the event has completely sold out.
For more information visit http://moakluster.blogspot.co.nz/p/moa-awards.html
- Stuff
Friday, 23 October 2015
MOA Awards 2015
Here are two videos to prepare us for our upcoming MOA Awards. Please watch and enjoy.
Monday, 31 August 2015
MOA Kluster changing technology and education
Opunake Primary School and our MOA Kluster has made the paper.
A "cutting edge" approach to education using technology is having a big impact in four rural Taranaki schools.
Opunake, Matapu, Kaponga and Auroa primary schools have formed the "MOA Kluster", a joint approach to the training for and implementation of e-learning in its classrooms.
Opunake Primary School principal Lorraine Williamson said the approach was designed to create "cutting edge innovation in Taranaki schools" and authentic uses for classroom technology.
"We think it's fairly innovative because these teachers are doing the research then they are doing a combined teacher inquiry," she said.
Sharing the learning across the four schools was part of their joint aim to change the direction of maths education across the board.
"We are very keen to explore computational thinking which is a way of thinking around STEM subjects."
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, taught as integrated subjects based on real-world applications is something the school's want to trial starting in 2017.
"What we are reading is that computational thinking will be a necessity for kids coming through school today."
Williamson said there were lots of irons in the fire, a science research and development team would be set up next year.
"We are currently applying to the New Zealand Society of Science to put forward four teachers to do six months in-depth training with scientists in the field. They would be expected to come back and share that learning with the rest of the teachers in the schools."
The 2017 focus would be on engineering, Williamson said she felt the technology aspect was already being well-covered.
Auroa School principal Heath Chittenden said the implementation encompassed far more than computers and devices. It was about technologies.
He has been visited by about 50 school representatives from around the country over 12 months because of the work they are doing.
Matapu School principal Jarad Chittenden said it was the biggest thing the school was doing at the moment "but in a really positive way."
"This is something that we wouldn't have done without being a part of that cluster."
Kaponga Primary School principal Shane Downs said he had joined the group slightly later so was now focused on catching up.
"One of the big things for us is that, for our teachers and our kids, there is something to aim for," he said.
"We're trying to work at twice the speed."
As part of the cluster's approach, the schools pioneered the Moa Awards in 2014.
Each school can submit up to 10 items created by their students throughout the school year using technology that are independently judged across different categories.
Designed to motivate students across a level playing field, Matapu principal Jarad Chittenden said he was blown away by his students technological understanding.
"It's just trying to get teachers to use that technology in authentic ways."
A wholly successful event so far, Chittenden said hundreds of tickets were sold to last year's event.
"It was way bigger than we thought it was going to be."
Held at the Sanford's Event's Centre in Opunake, it provided students and teachers to showcase what happened at their school.
"What we wanted teachers to do was incorporate technology," he said.
"We think it is a good way to engage kids in the classroom through using those devices."
For students that struggled with book presentation, it allowed different mediums to display their classroom learning.
"If a kid's doing a video they can show more understanding than if they had written it down."
Sponsored by the Lysaght Watt Trust, the awards were treated as a traditional ceremony, students dressed in their best and arrived in style.
- Stuff
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