500,000+ students & teachers using N4L's Managed Network

More than half a million students and teachers across New Zealand are now using N4L's Managed Network to support their learning, with schools continuing to connect to the government-funded service well ahead of schedule.

Today more than 470,000 students and 33,000 teachers from 1460+ schools (nearly 60% of all schools) are using the Managed Network for fast and reliable internet services, which includes uncapped data, web filtering and network security.

When the rollout is complete by the end of next year, more than 800,000 users are expected to be using the Managed Network.

"The uptake from schools and the pace of the rollout is encouraging," says N4L CEO John Hanna. "Key to this is the collaborative and tailored approach we take to transitioning schools onto the Managed Network.

"Our team is out there visiting schools, working with their local technology providers in all corners of the country. It really is a team approach and together, we are all driven by the new learning opportunities and brighter futures of the young people we are designing these connections for. Helping our young people achieve their best and preparing them for their future is really what this is all about," he says.

N4L says Northland's rural Broadwood Area School is one of many schools which has found success using the Managed Network to fast track its digital learning plans. Since connecting to the Managed Network six months ago, Principal Pani Hauraki says a whole new world of teaching and learning opportunities has opened up to the decile one school, which borders the Raetea forest and is outside mobile coverage range (45km south of Kaitaia).

"Before using N4L, we could not increase our expectation around using the internet for learning as the area's connectivity was so poor and unreliable. But now our teachers and students are fully excited, using online learning tools to supplement the curriculum, and share school news on our brand new website," Hauraki says.

"We are only a tiny little school which often means one book in the library has to be shared by many students - and now our fast and reliable internet means we can all use the same resource at the same time.

In addition to the Managed Network, N4L is building a digital learning hub called Pond which 6000-plus teachers are using to find and share learning resources, as well as connect and collaborate with their peers. Yesterday it was revealed that N4L strengthened its ties with NZQA, announcing a new partnership that will enable teachers to manage their moderation requirements later this year.