Niue/OER

Overview

Niue is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the Rock of Polynesia, and natives of the island call it The Rock. Though self governing, Niue is in free association with New Zealand, and thus lacks full sovereignty. Queen Elizabeth II is Niue's head of state. Most diplomatic relations are conducted by New Zealand on Niue's behalf.

Niue is 2,400 kilometres northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. The people are predominantly Polynesian.

Its capital is called Alofi.

The population of Niue is around 1,269 (July 2012 estimate according to the CIA's World Factbook).

Further information

For further general information see Wikipedia:Niue/OER.

Education in Niue/OER

For a general description of education in Niue/OER see Education:Niue/OER.

e-learning

For a description more focussed to e-learning see E-learning:Niue/OER.

In August 2008 it was reported that 100 percent of primary and high school students have what is known as the OLPC XO-1, a specialised laptop by the One Laptop per Child project designed for children in the developing world. (2) Although this initiative gained extensive coverage in the world media, the costs and benefits of the project are unclear. OLPC Oceania has not published any follow-up reports or evaluations to indicate that the arrival of the XO laptops has led to real improvements in student learning. Evidence from similar projects in other countries casts doubt on the effectiveness of the OLPC’s approach, which concentrates on getting laptops into the hands of students, without considering the longer term issues of maintenance or teacher support. The USP has been funded to conduct an in depth evaluation of the OLPC Oceania initiative with particular focus on the Niue experience. Until this report is published, it is necessary to suspend judgement. (3)

ICT Initiatives in Niue Primary School -

Young primary school level children are also introduced to the computers at the Year 4 level. The program at Niue Primary is integrated into the Technology Program.

Niue Primary School has the following equipment:

- 1 digital camera

- 1 colour photocopier

- 1 black and white photocopier

- 1 computer for office use

- Computers for students’ use

- Internet connection for the office computer

- Floppy discs

- PIN drives

- 1 DVD player

- 1 Video camera

- 1 Video recorder

- 1 Scanner (2)

ICT Initiatives in Niue High School -

ICT initiatives in Niue High School have been going on for a very long period. Niue High School has many student computers for ICT classes and all computers have CD burners and have access to the internet. They own digital cameras, 1 video camera, 2 video recorders, 1 DVD player, 1 TV screen, Teacher's personal laptops, 2 stereos, 1 scanner, 1 fax machine, 1 external modem, internal modems for all computers that have internet access, pen drives/flash discs, CDs and DVDs for students information, Zip drives and external hard drives, two black and white photocopiers. Both teachers and students have access to the Internet, as a result of special effort at the beginning of 2004 to improve Internet access for students and teachers. (2)

There are only two schools in Niue and both are offering some form of ICT courses to the students. The course outlines used closely follow the New Zealand Technology curriculum document. All other subject areas require the use of the computer with Internet connection in order to access information available through the net from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. This includes access to Unit Standards and Achievement Standards as well as assessment exemplars for students’ assessment activities. Information Technology is offered as a half-year course to students of Years 7, 8 and 9 (Forms 1, 2 and 3). The students are introduced to the basic ways of using the computer but the emphasis is on keyboard skills. At the Year 10 (Form 4) level, students may opt to continue to take IT or choose to take up other subjects. Over the years it has always been a problem meeting the high demand from students who wish to continue taking the subject. Students in years 7, 8 and 9 are allocated two hours of IT per week for two terms. Each term is about 9 or 10 weeks. (2)

Niue was a founding-member of the USP. The history of distance education on the island was for a long time almost inseparable from the activities of the Niue Campus, established as an Extension Centre in 1972. At present, enrolments are extremely low. In 2008, there were only 5 EFTS enrolled at USP Niue. Demographic decline on Niue and the increasing number of distance education providers active in the local marketplace are likely to be major contributing factors. (3)

The Niue Campus provides USP students with access to video broadcast courses, online learning materials and teleconferencing facilities (both video and audio). This access has been greatly enhanced since the USPNet upgrade in 2006. (3)

Internet in Niue/OER

Internet hosts (2010) - 397,270

Internet users (2009) - 1,100

Internet users per 100 inhabitants - 65 (3)

In 2003, Niue became the first territory to offer free wireless internet to all its inhabitants. (2) The country has a developing infrastructure with a freely available, ubiquitous wi-fi network and every school child with a laptop through the OLPC (One Laptop per Child) initiative. Nonetheless relatively low bandwidth does hinder connectivity. (1)

OER Initiatives in Niue/OER

The ICDE report on regulatory frameworks for distance education (1) notes that falling attendance at tertiary institutions due to out-migration and the incursions by distance education providers mean that the current provision of tertiary education in Niue is likely to further erode. However, the ubiquitous wi-fi availability means that all citizens will soon (if not already) have access to distance education. Although the ICDE report does not mention OERs in relation to Niue directly, the ubiquitous internet access means that it could be suggested that Niue residents are in a good position to take advantage of OERs as part of distance education.

References

2. ReVica/VISCED page for Niue (http://virtualcampuses.eu/index.php/Niue)

3. ICDE Country Profile for Niue (http://www.icde.org/projects/regulatory_frameworks_for_distance_education/country_profiles/niue/)

Reports

1. ICDE Report: 'Regulatory frameworks for distance education: A pilot study in the Southwest Pacific/South East Asia region - Final report'. December 2011. Prepared by the Project Team (Team leader, Dr. Rosalind James) (accessed at http://www.icde.org/filestore/Regulatory_Framework/RegulatoryFrameworksforDEfinalreport2.pdf on Wednesday 11th July 2012)

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