As a distance education provider, Te Kura’s main learning platform is its online teaching and learning environment on the Desire to Learn (D2L) platform. Here ākonga can access course content in the form of subject-based modules, work on linked external platforms such as Google Docs and Maths-Whizz, view a calendar of synchronous learning video calls and attend these securely online, and use a personal section of the website called My Korowai to record their offline learning goals and achievements as well as check in about their wellbeing and how their overall learning is going. 

In addition to the My Te Kura site, many kaiako and kaimanaaki (form teachers) choose to use Google Classroom to distribute resources and host class video calls. Overall, the fact that most of their learning content is available online means that ākonga can access their learning at any time of day.

While asynchronous learning has always been at the core of Te Kura’s curriculum delivery, synchronous learning is a newer practice for Te Kura. This has been facilitated by the move from a primarily paper-based programme to a primarily internet-based programme. Synchronous learning opportunities are promoted but not mandatory. These include face-to-face sessions called Huinga Ako where ākonga can work with their kaimanaaki. Huinga Ako take place in a number of towns and cities nationwide, and all ākonga including those who are rural or overseas can view and join online synchronous learning opportunities in an online calendar on the My Te Kura website, as shown below.

Te Kura is moving into hybrid learning from an all-distance starting point while many other schools move into hybrid learning from an all-face-to-face starting point. It is interesting to note that the aim – an accessible combination of distance and face-to-face learning with both synchronous and asynchronous learning elements – is the same for both Te Kura and traditional schools.

An innovative practice at Te Kura is the inclusion of “Leaving to Learn,” a practice in which ākonga-led learning outside of the school curriculum can be documented online and counted as engagement (Te Kura’s hybrid-focussed approach to attendance).