Lower Hutt school enrols in wi-fi trial

An education initiative is bridging the equality gap by putting wi-fi in the homes of more than 120 primary school children.

Rata Street School in Lower Hutt has become the second school in the country to sign onto the trial project which seeks to give Kiwi students equal opportunities to access digital learning from home.

Crown company Network For Learning (N4L) and telecommunications infrastructure provider Chorus will provide a wireless system that will extend its fibre broadband network into students’ homes. The trial is scheduled to begin later this year.

Teacher Clare Curry said the project was about putting the low-decile school’s students on a level playing field with their peers in other schools.

It was estimated that half of Rata Street’s pupils did not have home internet access. ‘‘Naenae is one of the most underconnected communities in the country, so it’s good to make things more equitable.’’

All year 5 and 6 students at Rata Street were issued with a laptop to use in class. Students would now be able to take their computers home as part of the project.

The ability to use a computer to continue learning at home would help students become digitally literate in a ‘‘digital world’’.

With computers becoming an increasingly important tool in education and employment, Curry said it was crucial that all students had the opportunity to use the devices at school and at home.

Students will have access to the filtered N4L managed network which they use at school.

The Rata Street project follows a similar trial at the Haeata Community Campus in Christchurch.

The Lower Hutt scheme was initiated by Te Awakairangi Access (TAKA) Trust and Hutt City Council with the support of the Ministry of Education, N4L and Chorus.

N4L chief executive officer Larrie Moore said there had been interest in the Haeata and Rata Street projects. Other schools, community trusts and technology companies were all keen to help bridge the digital divide for students.

Lessons learned from the two projects would help inform future programmes as to what technologies and models worked best.

ELLEN O’DWYER/STUFF Lazarus Kaia-Pairama, 9, and Sapphire Kiernan, 10, will be among the first students at Rata Street School to be able to use their school-issued computers at home.