Kamlesh Prakash, head of science at Bay of Islands College, has been a lead learner himself, participating in the Manaiakalani Digital Fluency Intensive to continue to upskill. He has also generously shared with his colleagues locally and across the country using online forums to share his knowledge and successes.
The photo of his makeshift desk brought a smile to the face of everyone who knows him, and the words he shared with the paper rang true:
Kamlesh Prakash said attendance rates for most of his online classes had been more than 70-80 per cent throughout the lockdown period. He agreed that one model would not fit all, but overall he was happy with what his students had achieved so far "in these challenging times".
There is a talented pool of teachers at Bay of Islands College and other teachers to comment in the article included Head of physical education Ruth Hills; Head of English Hayley Brocklehurst; Patsy Wynyard, head of Māori; Specialist classroom teacher Esther Van Dyke; and Principal Edith Painting-Davis. She quoted a firmly held belief of the Manaiakalani Programme
"Nothing can replace an effective teacher, and any teacher who can be replaced by a computer, should be," she said.
