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Community Technicians
Computers and other information technologies have become a fundamental part of the classroom, however technical support for some schools’ computer networks and hardware is often piecemeal and costly.
The Community Technicians' project (COMTEC) is a Ministry of Education (MOE) initiative aimed at helping rural, remote and/or low decile school clusters identify and train local people who are keen to up skill and provide ongoing technical support to their community schools.
Cluster schools will have primary responsibility for finding their potential technician within the community. Schools’ must have a reasonable degree of certainty that the identified person is suitable for the job and able to meet expectations, along the lines of specifications provided by the Ministry of Education.
COMTEC will provide the person with practical IT work experience and the opportunity to gain a tertiary level IT qualification. The MOE will contribute the majority of costs and provide equipment, while cluster schools will provide work experience and support.
After completing the qualification the ‘Community Technician’ is expected to continue to provide a level of support to the schools that is viable for both the schools and the Community Technician.
The Community Technician will be encouraged and supported to expand their service to include other small-community IT users such as farm, marae, and other local businesses.
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Community technician, Lucy Hazelwood, is noticing a trend. Demand for her repair service is dropping away and Lucy is delighted!
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Taumarunui-based Community Technician, Paul Northwood, is also exploring his options post July 2006. However, unlike his colleague Clint Deckard, Paul says the possibility of him building a self-sustaining business is unlikely at this stage. |
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With the Community Technicians’ project past the half-way mark, and graduation day only eight months away, some of the Comtecs are looking beyond July 2006 and are starting to plan life as a qualified Community Technician.
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Kaikohe-based Community Technician, Graham Dalton, recently had a day in front of the cameras being interviewed by reporter Nick Carew for the Maori Television technology programme, Cyberworld. |
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In between study, working almost fulltime and moving house, there is barely enough time left for the South Island’s only Community Technician, Kiwia Lake, to participate in her favourite seasonal hobby – catching whitebait.
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The Community Technicians’ Project took home the award in the Excellence in the Use of IT in a Community Project category at the IDG Computerworld Excellence in IT Awards held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Auckland recently.
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The July issue of Community Technician Richard Milne’s newsletter is about to hit the notice boards, staffrooms, principals’ desks and inboxes of the Central Plateau schools involved in the Community Technicians’ project.
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The Community Technicians’ project was recently announced as a finalist in the Computerworld Excellence Awards 2005. |
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Consensus from the principals, project administrators and teachers involved in Northland’s Community Technicians project is that the region’s three technicians, Graham Dalton, Emily Glew and Tristan Blainey are fast becoming invaluable resources to the schools they serve.
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In the five months since the appointment of William Berryman as the Digital Opportunities Community Technician, the Reporoa ICT cluster in the Bay of Plenty has welcomed the arrival of broadband and several new high-spec servers. |
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The third DigiOps project got underway with the launch of Community Technicians’ (COMTEC) project in Christchurch recently. A highlight of the proceedings was the technicians getting to see their ‘tools of the trade’ for the first time.
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