Three Stages in the Digital Integration of New Zealand Schools

Abstract

In New Zealand, teachers and students have been collaborating through digital connections since the early 1990s. Digital integration began as a structural collaboration between rural schools to share staff and resources, developing in a second stage to include regional intranets. In 2007 it is possible to collaborate with the global educational environment from within a classroom or office. A third stage of digital integration in schools is emerging as a result of students and teachers being connected to the internet through broadband, using web 2.0 applications to construct knowledge collaboratively beyond the classroom walls. This paper outlines the three stages and examines their implications for teacher education.