Two Otago teachers have won Ministry of Education fellowships to explore ways of using e-learning to deliver literacy to a tech-savvy generation of pupils.
Pine Hill School teacher Esmay Sutherland, and Oamaru Intermediate deputy principal and teacher Deidre Senior, were among 10 teachers nationwide awarded fellowships for 2009.
Each has their own inquiry project designed to deliver new ways of engaging pupils for whom the latest technology is simply a way of life.
Ministry curriculum implementation manager Colin McGregor said the standard of entries was high, and the successful recipients would be making an exciting contribution to the teaching profession.
"This year, each teacher will create a professional e-portfolio demonstrating the shifts in their thinking and practice as a result of their e-learning innovation.
They will also contribute to research into common themes across their projects."
The present generation of school pupils already took technology for granted, Mr McGregor said.
"By bringing together tea- chers who are demonstrating leadership in e-learning, and providing them with the opportunity to explore what engages and works for our young people, I believe this year's e-fellows can make a big difference to the way literacy is delivered in the classroom in future."
Fellowship winners receive free broadband in their homes for three school terms and 15 days funded release time from school to work on their projects, and all are sent to a national conference related to e-learning.
Miss Sutherland said her project would foster pupils as authors by using animation to re-tell movie narratives.
"I can't wait to explore the opportunities of movie-making to enhance authorship in my literacy programme.
It's exciting to think that my work could be incorporated into the school curriculum in the future."
Mrs Senior said she felt honoured to be one of three fellows selected from the South Island.
She hoped to use the award to create a programme in which "more-able readers support less-able readers through blogging about texts to enhance comprehension".
"This gives me an opportunity to do something that I was looking at doing in the school next year. But with the fellowship, it allows me to have extra support to implement it and measure the success of it. It's getting the ball rolling a bit quicker."
The fellowships are supported by CORE Education, in partnership with the New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
Since 2003, more than 40 New Zealand teachers have been e-fellows.