Groundbreaking technology helping youth to explore history
An innovative new educational programme launched in Kaitāia last week uses the most up-todate augmented reality and virtual reality technology to take young minds on an exciting exploration of their history.
Unlocking Curious Minds - The Journey of Tōhe will use the latest groundbreaking technology to expose young minds attending the year-long programme to an important part of their history - the story of Tōhe, the visionary navigator whose legacy is embedded in the landscape of Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe/ Ninety Mile Beach.
David Lasike, from Kaitāia Digital Hub, where the programme is being run from, said Unlocking Curious Minds - The Journey of Tōhe, is a transformative educational programme aimed at inspiring rangatahi through the exploration of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies.
It will be launched at the Digital Hub on Thursday with chairman of the Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe Beach Management Board, Haami Piripi, who will give the introduction and provide historical knowledge of the kaupapa the programme it is about.
Lasike said the launch marks the start of a unique journey where rangatahi will delve into the rich story of Tōhe, the visionary navigator whose legacy is embedded in the landscape of Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe.
The opening session will commence with a pōwhiri to welcome students, organisers, collaborators, principals, and parents/caregivers.
“It is an opportunity to come together in the spirit of whanaungatanga (kinship) and celebrate the launch of this initiative.”
Lasike said youth taking part in the programme - and it was already almost filled - would go on a unique journey, combining the latest technology to tell part an important of their history.
“Last year we had a coding classes and this year we will be moving on and using that coding, with different types of the latest technology in AR and VR. It will be exciting for the rangatahi taking part and will give them a totally new perceptive on this part of their story,” he said.
The distinctions between VR and AR come down to the devices they require and the experience itself: AR uses a real-world setting while VR is completely virtual. AR users can control their presence in the real world; VR users are controlled by the system.
Lasike said the latest technology will be incorporated into the course, which tells and important story from iwi in the area.
“Everybody knows Te Oneroaa-Tōhe/Ninety Mile Beach, but not everybody knows the story behind it. It will be very relevant taking kids on this historical journey and using something that’s very innovative to them and will teach concepts that will benefit them well into the future.”
Part of the course will be using drones to map the beach and students will spend plenty of time on Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe/Ninety Mile Beach with the drones and getting to understand the history.
Lasike said the programme was supported be Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa, Ahipara Takiwā, Auckland University, Lynker, Zealandia Consulting, and Recycle-A-Device which provided devices for the students to use.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has been asked to investigate further alleged abuses of the nowscrapped clean car discount, this time over possible breaches covering 231 vehicles across 51 dealers.
An anonymous complainant supplied the agency with details of vehicles they said were wrongly advertised for sale by car dealers who had claimed rebates themselves by promising to keep the cars for their own use for 90 days.
Dealers were allowed to claim EV rebates for cars they registered to themselves, but only if they signed a statutory declaration saying they would use the vehicle as a company car, courtesy car or demonstration vehicle for at least three months.
Many cars registered in dealers’ names in December would still be within the no-sell period now.
RNZ understands NZTA looked into the tip-off and confirmed to the complainant’s representative that staff believed six of the listings were in breach.
The agency did not clarify why it believed the other instances did not breach rules.
NZTA would not comment on the complaint, saying only that it was “committed to investigating any alleged abuses of the clean car discount scheme, and taking appropriate [action] where any breaches are established”.
“We are currently investigating a small number of alleged breaches — we’re not in a position to comment on the detail of those investigations while they are under way,” it said in an email.
After asking questions of NZTA, RNZ also received a statement from Transport Minister Simeon Brown addressing alleged abuses of the scheme.
“I have made it clear to NZTA that I expect them to undertake investigation and enforcement action where there has been any alleged abuse of the scheme,” he said.
“I have asked NZTA to provide me with regular updates on their enforcement action to claw back any money that has ended up with individuals who were ineligible for the subsidy.”
The latest development comes after RNZ revealed a man shopping around for EVs had complained to NZTA that he was offered a vehicle by a dealer who said they had claimed the rebate on the vehicle in late December, and was willing to pass the subsidy on to him by offering a lower price. That was in February and within the 90-day period.
NZTA is still looking into that complaint.
The man, who did not want to be named, supplied RNZ with a text exchange where a car dealer offered to discount a vehicle by the amount of the subsidy, saying the vehicle had been registered in December to claim the discount. He said the dealer assured him he was allowed to do that.
“It really [rang] an alarm bell with me,” he said.
“If they’ve said this to me once, how many other vehicles have they got there?”
At the time, the agency told RNZ that complaint was the only one it had received.
Both dealers and individual buyers rushed to take advantage of the rebates in December, the final month for claiming them, after the coalition Government announced it was canning payments of up to $7000 each for electric vehicles.
Figures supplied on Friday showed dealers made up a higher proportion of rebate claims than usual in December.
Previously released figures showed almost a fifth of Government subsidies claimed for electric vehicles during the final month of the clean car discount were paid to car yards, not individual buyers.
More than 10,000 subsidies in total were paid out on vehicles registered in December: 1906 to car dealers for company cars, compared with 8488 payments to individual purchasers.
Over the duration of the scheme, just over 192,000 rebates were paid. Of those, 21,000 were to dealers — a little over a tenth.