A satrical video about the benefits of ultrafast broadband and gigabit services in the classroom has won John McGlashan College top prize in the national Gigaschools Video Competition.
A large group of pupils spent a month and a-half shooting and editing the video, which is an amusing account, part parody, of the impact on future schooling that access to increased internet speed and sophisticated digital tools has in the classroom.
Principal Neil Garry said the school was proud of the achievement.
''They've spent a long time working on this, using quite a lot of intricate equipment and technical knowledge.
''And they've certainly learned a lot on the way, too.''
The entries were judged by artist-designer Johnson Witehira, Manaiakalani Trust executive chairman Patrick Snedden, and pop artist-television presenter Massad Barakat-Devine.
Mr Snedden said the McGlashan video stood out because it creatively demonstrated how ultrafast broadband would drive educational development and learning in schools, over and above simply connecting to faster broadband.
The junior category was won by Whakatane Intermediate School.
Both winning schools had demonstrated that ultrafast broadband speed was the petrol that would drive the engine of educational development and learning, he said.
John McGlashan College's entry was one of four southern schools which made the top five in the senior competition.
Second place went to Wakatipu High School. Mount Aspiring College and Southland Girls' High School shared fifth place.
John McGlashan College will be awarded 300,000 gigapoints for Dunedin's Gigatown competition tally, as well as $2500 worth of technology and 10 GoPro video cameras.
''The staff are quite excited about that,'' Mr Garry said.
''Students use iPads quite a lot in the classroom.
''It will blend quite well with some of the things we are doing in our curriculum.''
