UC-Tonga videoconferencing teaching trial successful

A group of Tongan students from Tonga High School got a taste of what it’s like to take classes at the University of Canterbury recently when a videoconferencing trial linked teachers at UC with students in Tonga.

Funded by Continuing & Bridging Education, the trial was organised by the School of Biological Sciences and Tonga Initiative Project Manager and EcoCARE Pacific Trust’s Russell Taylor (Biological Sciences). The EcoCARE Pacific Trust is a non-profit organisation set up by University of Canterbury alumni to address health, education and environmental issues in the Pacific region.

The aim of the trial was to find out whether the available technology could support a proposal to run UC undergraduate degree courses remotely in Tonga.

The recent trial, which used the KAREN Network, saw Sue Adkins (Foundation Studies) teach a biology class from UC’s Access Grid videoconferencing room, to the school students who were located in a conference centre in Nuku’alofa, where Mr Taylor had set up a temporary remote learning node.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) Professor Nigel Healey also used the connection to discuss the trial with Alfred Soakai from Tonga’s Department of Communications and Tonga’s Director of Education, Dr Viliami Fukofuka.

Dr John Pirker (Biological Sciences) also spoke about how videoconferencing was used to teach a joint Canterbury and Otago seafood sector course.

Mr Taylor said the trial on 9 July went “incredibly well” and the next step was to run an expanded pilot programme to test the technology more fully.

He said videoconferencing technology could be used to help students living in remote areas access educational opportunities without incurring the financial costs of leaving home. It would also give them access to good teachers.

“One of the problems for people living in these places is getting access to good teachers. Often teachers are required to teach all subjects even if they don’t know anything about the subject.”

Mr Taylor said the technology could also be used in the supervision of postgraduate projects by UC staff, used by Tongans within Tonga to teach high school classes, and for health diagnostics and communications.