Latest news with #AraInstituteofCanterbury
Techday NZ
11-06-2025
- Science
- Techday NZ
New book explores AI's transformative role in vocational learning
Researchers from Ara Institute of Canterbury have contributed to a new book examining the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in vocational education and training. The publication, titled AI in Vocational Education and Training , was released by Springer Nature and draws on the efforts of a group of educators and researchers from Ara Institute of Canterbury and Otago Polytechnic. Broader perspective Rather than focusing primarily on academic integrity concerns, the book examines how AI technologies, particularly generative AI tools, can be leveraged to improve student learning outcomes and educational practices. The editor of the collection, Dr Selena Chan, is an Education Developer at Ara and a recipient of the Ako Aotearoa Prime Minister's Supreme Award for excellence in tertiary teaching. Dr Chan stated that the work serves as a practical guide for vocational education and training (VET) providers interested in introducing AI in their teaching and learning. "It also addresses ethical concerns, ensuring AI supports learning rather than undermine academic integrity," she said. The widespread introduction of natural language AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, has ignited public discussion about plagiarism risks in education. Dr Chan, however, argues that their book encourages a shift in focus. She noted that artificial intelligence has considerable value in promoting active learning, encouraging students to engage in critical thought, and supporting independent analysis. "While the arrival of AI-powered natural language chatbots such as ChatGPT have sparked widespread debate about plagiarism, Dr Chan said the book offers an alternative perspective - highlighting AI's enormous potential to support deeper engagement, critical thinking and independent analysis." Range of disciplines The contributors examine AI integration within a range of vocational subjects, including construction management, graphic design, nursing, and business. The publication also dedicates attention to a project focused on adapting AI to benefit neurodivergent learners. Dr Chan explained that educational developers, learning designers, tutors, and senior students collaborated to create AI-assisted learning activities aimed not only at engaging students but also at helping them become more independent in their analysis and improving their practical application skills. She acknowledged the significant role of students in this research, saying the work would not have been completed without their involvement. "I wanted to acknowledge the invaluable input of ākonga (students) in the research, without whom the work would not have been completed," Dr Chan said. She also recognised the contribution of Scott Klenner, who is both Ara's Research Manager and the Director of Rangahau, Research and Postgraduate Studies at Otago Polytechnic. "Scott's guidance on inclusivity, rangahau (Māori research) and the incorporation of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) in research design was invaluable." Collaboration between institutes Scott Klenner commented on the joint effort between Ara and Otago Polytechnic, describing it as evidence of their leadership in applying AI to the local vocational education sector. "[The publication highlights] our academics' te hinengaro me te ringa mahi (thinking and work) for producing leading research, with an international publisher, exploring the most significant evolution of education this century." The editors describe the collection as a resource that offers case studies, practical frameworks and guidelines for both educators and policymakers seeking to adapt vocational education to contemporary demands in Aotearoa New Zealand. Dr Chan's background includes extensive publications in vocational education and technology-enhanced learning, and she serves as Academic Capability Leader and co-editor of the International Journal of Training Research.
Scoop
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Kilikiti Bats Bring Ara Campuses Together For Samoa Language Week
Samoan kilikiti pate (cricket bats) specially hand crafted and decorated by students will be at the centre of Gagana Samoa (Samoa Language Week) celebrations at Ara Institute of Canterbury. In a first for Ara, a tournament will take place bringing together teams from across the institute to play the Pacific nation's favourite sport. The event is the vision of Ara's Te Whatu Ora funded Pacific lead in Mental Health and Wellbeing, Greg Galovale, who wanted to involve trades students in a community project with a fitness focus. "I was seeking to promote joinery in the Pacific space but also health, wellbeing and community," Golavale said. "Our Level 3 Pre-Trade joinery tutors Tim and Jody saw the prototype and got right behind the idea. The end result is fantastic!" he said. Kilikiti bats were also made, decorated and gifted to key community groups who participated in Moana Health workshops to launch Gagana Samoa on campus. The event followed the 2025 theme 'Ia malu lou sā. Folau i lagimā - a well-grounded self is a successful self.' The Wednesday kilikiti tournament will see teams from Ara's Woolston, City and Manawa (nursing) campuses line up alongside a team made up of the joinery students who crafted the bats. Joinery student Theresa Desouza said it had been a rewarding project and she was looking forward to the event. "I've lived in a lot of different countries, so I grew up very multiculturally. This opportunity to engage in another culture and build community has been beautiful," Desouza said. Student Advisor Pacific (Fautua ma So'oupu) Rev. Fitifiti Luatua visited the Woolston campus to share insights and first-hand experience of the game with the class. Fergus Gaughan said he'd enjoyed learning about the history of kilkiti and the stories behind the bat design. "This project has also brought me back to why I started getting interested in woodworking. I enjoy working with raw timbers and shaping them. Being able to take something unrecognisable and turning it into art resonates with me," he said. Joinery tutor Tim Melker said incorporating the project into coursework had been straightforward as the skills involved in making the three-sided bat were similar to aspects of furniture making. "Our learners started with a square block. We used a jig and other machinery to cut off the bulk and then hand tools to fine tune it," he said. "But the standout aspect has been the cultural awareness we've gained through learning about the sport, having Rev share insights into the design of the bats and his experiences of playing in Samoa." Tutor Jody Pehrson added the class had created a legacy item through the project and the energy in the workshop told its own story. "The proof is in the engagement. Everyone has been focused on creating a bat worthy of the sport and now they want to go and play the game. We've all learned a lot," he said. Once the bats left the hands of the trades learners, they were decorated and embellished by a team led by third-year Bachelor of Design (Applied Visual Art) student Lydia Iosefo. "I do a lot of stencil work in my study, so this drew on that with some traditional patterning," Iosefo said. "As a bonus, this will count towards my professional practice hours which tests our ability to work with clients and deliver projects on deadline." Golavale said he was pleased the project had resonated with all those involved and he was looking forward to the inaugural kilikiti tournament - rain or shine. "If the weather doesn't play ball we'll head to the Whareora. We'll be ready for some fun and expect plenty of banter," he said.
Scoop
15-05-2025
- General
- Scoop
Christchurch Hosting A Weekend For Wikipedians
This weekend, a group of Wikipedia editors from across the country will gather in Ōtautahi Christchurch for WikiCon 2025 – the annual gathering for editors of Wikipedia and its many related projects. Wikipedia is one of the top visited websites in the world, and it is maintained by around 120,000 volunteer editors across the globe. Aotearoa does their bit too – there are thought to be a few hundred regular editors throughout the country, who spend their time reviewing and improving content, correcting typos, updating facts, and monitoring vandalism – all in the name of making knowledge freely available for everyone. WikiCon will provide opportunities for editors and contributors to connect face-to-face, helping to create collaborative relationships. The conference will also provide opportunities for editors and contributors to share and develop their skills and knowledge in editing. Held in Te Puna Wānaka at the Ara Institute of Canterbury, the schedule for the weekend includes sessions on all sorts of topics relating to Wikipedia – copyright, finding reliable sources, modelling iwi, hapū, and rūnanga correctly, and how Wikipedia deals with disinformation. Attendees include Mike Dickison who is currently Wikipedian at Large on the Banks Peninsula, Tamsin Braisher who recently completed a project creating a new Wikipedia article every single day for a year to help combat gender bias on the site, Axel Downard-Wilke who led the battle to get macrons on Wikipedia, and Siobhan Leachman who was the 2023 Wikimedia Laureate, and works tirelessly to make scientific knowledge as open and connected as possible. The conference is being hosted by Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand (WANZ), an affiliate of the international Wikimedia Foundation. WANZ supports people and organisations to contribute to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia Foundation projects. This includes providing training to new editors, supporting experienced editors to continue to grow and develop their skills, running workshops and events, developing projects to address gaps and bias, and advocating for open access of knowledge. WikiCon 2025 is the fifth conference for Wikipedians to be run in Aotearoa, and the first time it is being held in Christchurch.
Scoop
02-05-2025
- General
- Scoop
Ara Students Design Kids' Activities For Open Christchurch
Press Release – Ara Institute of Canterbury Ltd The Monster Architecture Treasure Hunt and Colour Me Mountfort colouring-in pages have been created to encourage children to learn more about many of the central city buildings featured in the 2025 festival programme. Ara Institute of Canterbury Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication Design) students are looking forward to seeing their latest projects put through their paces at the Open Christchurch Festival this weekend. The Monster Architecture Treasure Hunt and Colour Me Mountfort colouring-in pages have been created to encourage children to learn more about many of the central city buildings featured in the 2025 festival programme. Those who join the monster trail will be rewarded with colourful stickers for each of the buildings they visit. It's been a monster learning curve navigating the real-life design project, but the Ara team is proud of the final product. 'It's been great to be part of,' said student Tyson Haglund. 'It's the biggest thing we've seen through from start to finish and now it's awesome to look back and think 'we did that''. With more than 50 open buildings, guided walks and special activities, the Open Christchurch celebration of architecture event is a key fixture on Ōtautahi's calendar. This year, Ara students have made their mark on the weekend event thanks to the connections of their tutor, senior academic staff member Carl Pavletich. 'I was on the building selection panel for this year's event and Open Christchurch were keen for students to get involved. This has been an excellent way for them to complete a professional practice project,' Pavletich said. Sam Weavers, one of the students behind the colouring pages design, said they were quick to volunteer. 'Once we had the Open Christchurch brief, we started brainstorming and pitched our ideas in design meetings before preparing drafts to be approved. We had one-one-one meetings which were really valuable as we worked on the final edits and ended up with the finished product,' Weavers said. Haglund said the project was truly collaborative with creative freedom for the students matched with a clearly expressed brief from the team at Open Christchurch. 'We both got what we wanted out of the design process without restrictions, which was really helpful. It's been so satisfying to experience the client reaction. They were super stoked, and it was a good feeling to have delivered on the project for them.' Classmate Paulina Harrison said the project had presented real-life challenges. 'It was a big reality check needing to be on top of your communication and not wanting to let anyone down on the job. We needed to have time management, perseverance, patience and professionalism to complete the work,' she said. Phoebe Dutton said teamwork skills also came to the fore as they met the deadline. 'It was hard because it was the end of term, so we had class projects and final assignments due as well as getting the project done. It was a juggle, but it worked out so well,' she said. Many of the team plan to be out on the monster trail seeing their work in action this weekend. 'We've spent so long working on these files we're looking forward to seeing people actually holding it in their hands,' Haglund said.
Scoop
02-05-2025
- General
- Scoop
Ara Students Design Kids' Activities For Open Christchurch
Ara Institute of Canterbury Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication Design) students are looking forward to seeing their latest projects put through their paces at the Open Christchurch Festival this weekend. The Monster Architecture Treasure Hunt and Colour Me Mountfort colouring-in pages have been created to encourage children to learn more about many of the central city buildings featured in the 2025 festival programme. Those who join the monster trail will be rewarded with colourful stickers for each of the buildings they visit. It's been a monster learning curve navigating the real-life design project, but the Ara team is proud of the final product. "It's been great to be part of," said student Tyson Haglund. "It's the biggest thing we've seen through from start to finish and now it's awesome to look back and think 'we did that'". With more than 50 open buildings, guided walks and special activities, the Open Christchurch celebration of architecture event is a key fixture on Ōtautahi's calendar. This year, Ara students have made their mark on the weekend event thanks to the connections of their tutor, senior academic staff member Carl Pavletich. "I was on the building selection panel for this year's event and Open Christchurch were keen for students to get involved. This has been an excellent way for them to complete a professional practice project," Pavletich said. Sam Weavers, one of the students behind the colouring pages design, said they were quick to volunteer. "Once we had the Open Christchurch brief, we started brainstorming and pitched our ideas in design meetings before preparing drafts to be approved. We had one-one-one meetings which were really valuable as we worked on the final edits and ended up with the finished product," Weavers said. Haglund said the project was truly collaborative with creative freedom for the students matched with a clearly expressed brief from the team at Open Christchurch. "We both got what we wanted out of the design process without restrictions, which was really helpful. It's been so satisfying to experience the client reaction. They were super stoked, and it was a good feeling to have delivered on the project for them." Classmate Paulina Harrison said the project had presented real-life challenges. "It was a big reality check needing to be on top of your communication and not wanting to let anyone down on the job. We needed to have time management, perseverance, patience and professionalism to complete the work," she said. Phoebe Dutton said teamwork skills also came to the fore as they met the deadline. "It was hard because it was the end of term, so we had class projects and final assignments due as well as getting the project done. It was a juggle, but it worked out so well," she said. Many of the team plan to be out on the monster trail seeing their work in action this weekend. "We've spent so long working on these files we're looking forward to seeing people actually holding it in their hands," Haglund said.
