Latest news with #NZQA
Scoop
6 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Open Polytechnic Launches New Introduction To Generative AI Micro-Credential
Press Release: Open Polytechnic A new micro-credential developed by Open Polytechnic, New Zealand's specialist online learning provider, in conjunction with Spark, offers businesses and individuals the opportunity to understand and utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Introduction to Generative AI micro-credential, now open for enrolment, provides ākonga (learners) with an introductory understanding of how generative artificial intelligence can drive efficiency and innovation in Aotearoa New Zealand. Topics covered in the micro-credential include practical guidelines for getting the most out of generative AI, the ethical use of AI, and Māori data sovereignty. 'Open Polytechnic is a world leader in online and distance education with significant expertise in educational technology,' says Open Polytechnic Executive Director Alan Cadwallader. 'We are pleased to be able to combine our expertise with a company like Spark NZ to provide opportunities for busy adult learners to upskill in AI and learn more about the latest advancements.' 'By completing this micro-credential, ākonga will learn how to integrate generative AI tools into their workflows, enhance communication, and leverage these technologies to streamline operations and enhance overall performance. This highly relevant micro-credential will also teach ākonga about the ethical implications and limitations of generative AI uniquely applied in an Aotearoa New Zealand context.' Once ākonga (learners) have completed this micro-credential, they will have a basic understanding of Generative Artificial Intelligence to support their productivity, in both personal and work contexts, and know how to assess the generated content for accuracy, quality, and relevance. This micro-credential is relevant for people in different industries including media and entertainment, advertising, education, healthcare, and finance. Open Polytechnic has been pleased to work with Spark in the development of this NZQA accredited micro-credential. Spark is on its own AI journey, with a focus on upskilling its people through Te Awe, a skills acceleration programme within Spark that is building the 'hard to access' specialist digital skills needed in today's world. "As the use of AI accelerates, we want to ensure that the skills shift we are experiencing does not further entrench existing inequities within the technology sector and our community. When we created Te Awe, our ambition was to eventually extend offering the digital skills and opportunities to learn them, to those groups who currently have low participation rates in the tech sector, to ensure we are intentionally growing a more inclusive high-tech workforce pipeline for the future,' says Heather Polglase, Spark People and Culture Director. "We are excited to build on Spark's Te Awe foundations and take that next step now with the creation of an NZQA accredited Generative AI micro-credential. We have taken our learnings from Te Awe and collaborated with Open Polytechnic, as a business division of Te Pūkenga, to create a nationally recognised micro-credential, that will equip more New Zealanders with the skills and knowledge to co-create and engage with AI meaningfully.' Spark will be sponsoring micro-credentials for 30 digi-coaches (digital teachers) from around the country, who are a part of a Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa programme to support digital literacy in local communities. These digi-coaches will work in public libraries and community venues to help upskill digital literacy skills for local citizens. 'We're excited to be one of the first to engage with this new GenAI micro-credential", said Laurence Zwimpfer, Operations Director for the Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa. 'We have invited 30 jobseekers on our Digi-Coach programme to complete this course as part of their 13-week training, which includes work placements in libraries and other community organisations. We believe this will give them a real advantage in securing jobs and helping the communities and organisations that they work with to better understand and use GenAI tools." Ākonga who complete the micro-credential receive a digital badge that can then be shared on social media or mentioned on a work-related CV. The Level 3 micro-credential can be completed online in 40 learning hours, with two intakes each month, making it ideal for personal or professional development. If you are a business or individual that is interested in utilising AI technology, then go to the Open Polytechnic website. Terms and conditions apply. At a glance
NZ Herald
21-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Education sector grapples with AI in exams, student mental health issues
Newstalk ZB education reporter Jaime Cunningham told The Front Page NZQA investigated 876 reported breaches of external assessments last year - 738 were substantiated. 'Authenticity was the most common type of breach in 2024, with 209 reported cases. Use of AI was identified as a breach type by NZQA for the first time,' she said. Secondary Principals' Association president Vaughan Couillault believes some of the authenticity cases likely involved AI. 'It's easier to identify when a student has miraculously produced some piece of work that's so different from the rest of their work throughout the year. 'But it is hard to know when the AI is being used, and students use it in an exam when they possibly don't need to, but they're just relying on another tool to help them get a better grade,' Cunningham said. Cunningham said more students with mental health issues are turning to distance learning at correspondence school, Te Kura. 'They've just had exponential growth since 2018. They've had 32% more enrolments since then. So, from 21,000 to 31,000. 'Te Kura is pointing it towards more students with mental health issues and social anxiety really wanting a different type of education to help them and make sure they're still getting some kind of learning. 'They do reckon it's partly due to Covid. Possibly more students realised the benefits of learning online and really enjoyed it. That's why perhaps there have been more students, particularly in the year nine to 13 age group,' she said. Students need to meet the Ministry of Education's eligibility criteria to enrol. This includes students who have families living overseas, have been referred for their engagement and wellbeing, are pregnant or young parents, or elite athletes. Schools will be keeping a close eye on Budget 2025, which is set to be released later today. Already, Associate Education Minister David Seymour has earmarked $140 million over four years for lifting school attendance. Most of this funding – $123m – will go towards establishing a new attendance service, based on recommendations from a 2024 report from the Education Review Office (ERO). The remaining $17m will go towards strengthening existing frontline attendance services.
NZ Herald
19-05-2025
- NZ Herald
AI-linked breaches contribute to NCEA exam misconduct rise
Authenticity was the most common type of breach in 2024, with 209 reported cases. Use of AI was identified as a breach type by NZQA for the first time. There were 59 investigations relating to AI. Secondary Principals' Association president Vaughan Couillault believes some of the authenticity cases likely involved AI. 'We're becoming increasingly aware of [AI] and when you've got a student who produces a miraculously different piece of work to anything they've been able to produce in class, that stands out quite a lot,' he said. 'But it is quite challenging when you've got potentially a talented student who also attempts to use other means to produce some work.' NZQA's deputy chief executive of assessment Jann Marshall said the bigger focus on AI reflects the growing use of ChatGPT and other tools for assessments. 'What we need to make sure is that students use them appropriately - to brainstorm information, not replicate or simply transfer the information into an assessment,' she said. 'We continue to provide quite a bit of guidance, and we're working with our colleagues at the Ministry of Education to regularly review and update that as the technology changes.' Couillault said he's disappointed at the number of students breaching assessment rules - but there has been a significant increase in the number of assessments since Covid-19. 'So we now have three significant external events throughout the year as opposed to historically only one,' he said. 'That's all that literacy and numeracy stuff - so a fair chunk of the increase is attributed to those new digital assessments.' Marshall said 418 of the 876 breaches investigated resulted in action taken. She said there are times when warning letters are sent to students and they still receive the results. 'So for example, if a student takes notes into the assessment, but the notes wouldn't help them in the assessment, then that's often a warning letter. 'However, if the notes are found to have advantaged them, then the result is withheld and they will not receive a result at all.' Couillault said this is the best approach, as no one wants to see an entire qualification binned because of a 'five-minute indiscretion'. 'So I'm happy to trust [NZQA's] judgement in that case, however, we are all acutely aware of the challenges AI brings to authenticity and assessment.'
NZ Herald
10-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Jessica Cameron's journey to shepherd on Waikato farm
'I spent a few days on my uncle's Helensville sheep and beef farm through the Gateway programme at school, and found I really liked farming.' Getting into farming 'When I was looking at how to get into farming in 2022, I realised it was quite hard if you weren't born into a farming family,' Cameron said. 'My uncle had a student from GFF, and it looked like a really good way to enter the industry and be well-trained and come out with NZQA unit standards.' Growing Future Farmers is New Zealand's largest farmer-led vocational workforce training programme. It spans two years and is fee-free within the sheep, beef and deer sector. After being matched with Alastair and Ann Reeves of Waimai Romney Stud in Te Akau as possible farmer trainers for her two-year placement, Cameron visited the farm and was offered a place. 'Waimai is a ram stud, and they also have their own breed, Chara Blacks,' she said. 'They are all about genetics, testing and selection, and that really makes your brain work, and I enjoyed being part of that.' Alastair and Ann are very supportive of sport at high levels and willingly gave Cameron the time off to continue with waka ama. She competed with the Aotearoa Waka Ama Team at the 2024 World Championships in Hawaii, and she manages her training using a machine in her room. Farm life Cameron lived with three other students from Growing Future Farmers who were on other farms in the area. Students are allocated to a student success adviser, and she described her SSA, Morgan Lilley, as her second mum, saying 'she was great'. Four days a week (32 hours), Cameron worked on the farm and also attended courses once a week covering shearing, fencing, tractor driving, equine care, ATV driving, chainsaw and dog training. She said the curriculum covered an extensive list of courses and skills. Advertise with NZME. 'At the beginning of the first year, we get a heading dog pup to train, and we get a huntaway pup halfway through the first year. 'I was fortunate enough to be trained by one of New Zealand's top dog triallists, Leo Jecentho, who also hand-picked my pups. 'My heading dog, Smoke, has the genetics of Leo's champion dogs, and I get to keep both my dogs when I graduate the programme.' Fridays also included a Zoom call with Eastern Institute of Technology tutors, and completing her assessments, which Cameron admitted she sometimes had to focus on. The programme covers costs for 'our house, Wi-Fi, power and meat, and we get around $200 a week from our sponsorship money for food and anything else. 'I've got really good at budgeting, and we did a financial literacy course on budgeting with Rabobank.' A future farmer Cameron's new role won't take her out of the area where she has just spent the last two years, and she will still be close to two of her former housemates who also have their first jobs in the Te Akau area. 'I'll be on a 1000-ha effective sheep and beef farm carrying 10,000 stock units with a 50/50 split between Romney breeding sheep and Angus steers.' She is looking forward to starting work and applying her skills to a real farming job. 'Because of the GFF programme, I've got qualifications and two years of industry experience, allowing me to enter farming at a more senior level. 'I'm going to be working with a GFF student myself, so that will be really good.' Cameron said she found the whole GFF experience supportive and enjoyable. She is grateful to her farmer trainers, Alastair and Ann, but also to their farm manager, Tom Lilley, whom she shadowed for the two years.
RNZ News
06-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
'We need real security guards': Cleaners doubling as security guards at rural Waikato hospitals
Health New Zealand said the an "integrated" service operates at all four rural hospitals in the Waikato. Photo: Bret Kavanaugh / Unsplash A nurse at a rural Waikato hospital says cleaners are doubling as security guards; covering both jobs when they are on shift. Health New Zealand confirmed the an "integrated" service is operating at all four rural hospitals in the Waikato. A Te Kūiti Hospital nurse said they need dedicated security to help protect both the workers and patients. The nurse, who Checkpoint has agreed not to name, said they have seen violence and aggravation in the hospital as a result of people being frustrated with the health system. They said they generally feels safe during the day shifts but once it hits later in the day, or on the weekends, the nurse described feeling "50 percent safe". "There's less people around... We have just our cleaner, who's also our security guard," they said. "They have their jobs as a cleaner to complete, which aren't necessarily in the ward where we are. They can be anywhere in the hospital. "Overnight, there's only two nurses on and our security cleaner. Sometimes they [the cleaner] are doing double shifts, so they're pretty tired... That makes it even a bit more less feeling safe." The worker said the two roles used to be separate but claimed Health NZ decided to scrap that model and make the cleaners double as a security guard. "We lost some very good cleaners over this because they didn't want to be security guards, they just wanted to clean," the nurse said. "Now, they have to go outside, in the dark, alone [and] make sure the hospital and surrounding areas are safe. Make sure our cars aren't broken into - which happens very often, unfortunately." Te Kūiti Hospital. Photo: RNZ/Natalie Akoorie Health New Zealand said that an integrated 24/7 security, cleaning and attendant service operates at all four rural hospitals in the Waikato. A spokesperson said all staff employed in hospital security roles are qualified to a minimum of NZQA level 2, and are holders of a current Certificate of Approval issued by the Ministry of Justice. They added on duty security staff are equipped with both a duty phone and RT radios to ensure they are accessible at all times. "We have not been made aware of any security incidents that have been unable to be appropriately responded to since the model has been introduced," a spokesperson said. "However, review of the integrated security, cleaning, and attendant service at Te Kūiti hospital has recently been completed and the recommendations are currently being considered." The nurse said some of the cleaners aren't suited to being security guards. "These particular ladies, I don't think they would be able to stand up to someone who would be very aggravated in a situation where time is precious and a lot of people are counting on them to make sure everybody is safe," they said. The nurse is calling for dedicated security guards to be reinstated. "We just need real security guards again. We used to have them from 6pm to 6am and they would be a presence in the hospital... They would be there, by the door, just making sure we are safe." It comes as health workers are increasingly feeling unsafe at their jobs. At Palmerston North Hospital, staff have been calling for more security after a series of violent attacks. A nurse leaving her shift last month was held up at gunpoint outside the grounds of the hospital, with the perpetrator yet to be found. That same night a staff member was knocked unconscious, suffering a serious head injury. Palmerston North Hospital senior staff say not a day goes by without a health worker getting abused or assaulted, and staff are feeling frightened and unsafe. They want security guards to have additional powers so - as happens in courts and at Parliament - they can restrain people acting violently. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
