Digital Citizenship – the role of the EdTech Sector

Kathryn MacCallum is an Associate Professor of Digital Education Futures within the School of Educational Studies and Leadership at the University of Canterbury (UC), NZ. She is also co-Director of the Digital Education Future’s Research Lab (DeFL). In 2019, Kathryn was recognised for her longstanding passion for integrating digital technology into her teaching and was awarded the Ako Aotearoa National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award. Kathryn has over the years established a strong research background focusing on the integration of digital tools into the curriculum both in pre K12, K12 and tertiary contexts. She has led and been involved in a number of research projects exploring the role of technology (and more recently AR and VR) to support learners. She has been involved in a number of research projects, both in New Zealand and Internationally, developing innovative approaches to the integration of technology within all sectors of education. Her current work explores the broad influence and roll out of digital skills and computational thinking across school in NZ and the impact this has on digital equity. Alongside extensive publications, Kathryn has also edited three books on the use of emerging practices in education. Kathryn also serves as Editor in Chief for the International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning (IJMBL), the Journal of Information Technology Education: Research (JITE: Research) and the Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice (JITE:IIP). She is also current President of the International Association for Mobile Learning (IAmLearn) and is a board member of EdTechNZ

Evo Leota-Tupou, Founder and Director of Pacific Kids’ Learning (PKL) - a start-up business specialising in providing creative solutions for language and literacy learning for young Pacific learners. Evo and her team successfully piloted the 'Pacific Digital Stories' project in 2021, working with 3 South Auckland schools, workshopping storytelling techniques using stop motion animation. These stories were then adapted into proper animation and showcased for parent and school engagement. As an added bonus of the project, the stories will also be used as a classroom resource in the form of eBooks and printed books. The PKL team are now preparing for the 2nd Pacific Digital Stories showcase, an annual event that aims to empower learning through technology.

Stuart is the Chief Digital Officer for the NZ Ministry of Education and was previously the Director of the Office of the Government CIO. He has extensive experience in both private and public sector, across a broad range of industries, including health & education, banking & finance, utilities, and several years as an independent consultant. In the education sector Stuart leads a comprehensive programme of work that is helping drive transformation of education through the use of technology, with a focus on the key pillars of digital enablement, digital wellness & digital equity. Stuart also undertakes a variety of governance roles, including external board roles at other public sector agencies, and is the current chair of NZ Tech Leaders.

2020 was the year when I began studying engineering at the University of Auckland. 2020 was also the year when students all over New Zealand had to take part in online learning. Back then were unprecedented times, and parents and students came to appreciate the importance of technological tools, without which learning would have been extremely challenging. 2020 was also the year when the limitations of technological tools were exposed. Unequal access to technology means that some students are disadvantaged over their peers. This can negatively affect team activities and even affect disadvantaged students psychologically, impacting their outcomes. At the same time, increased exposure to technological products and lack of skills in cyber hygiene mean that many students are unknowingly giving away insights into their personal lives to Big Tech, which can have long-term ramifications for their wellbeing. My name is Jared, and I am honoured to be one of the panellists speaking on behalf of students, for students. I envision a world where everyone has open and equal access to technology, where different platforms ensure interoperability with one another, and where data privacy and security are respected by all. In my free time, I tinker with free/libre and open-source software (FLOSS), which is built by the FLOSS community with the aim of ensuring that everyone has guaranteed rights and freedoms in the usage and development of software.