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Kia ora , 

 

This e-news features some of our latest updates and activities.

 

Our third and final Regional Forum for 2025 takes place in three weeks on 19 August in Christchurch. Hosted by the Southern Sector Services Manager, Jennifer Leahy, Ako Aotearoa warmly invites educators across Aotearoa New Zealand to attend this event. Claim your spot.

Also in this Ako Alert:

  • Southern regional forum

  • Post-forum workshops
  • Visit to central Otago
  • New educator pathway 
  • ConCOVE Conference ticket deal!
  • Blog #5 | Innovative approaches to support Pacific learners in tertiary education
  • 2024 Ako Aotearoa Annual Report
  • The New Zealand Literacy and Numeracy Educator Awards 
  • Tuia Te Ako returns - free webinar series 
  • PLD theme for August | Neurodiversity
  • More upcoming professional development
  • Free Manako webinar

Website pick of free resources

Ako explored - Report

Research report 

Ako Explored – Six principles for enhancing learner outcomes in tertiary education

 

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AI Practical tips collection

AI in education

Practical tips on using

AI for educators

 

 

 

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Connecting with our community

Southern regional forum 

Southern forum socials - Linkedin-1

Spaces are filling up for our Southern Regional Forum in Ōtautahi Christchurch! This year’s forum features a dynamic line-up of kaiako, researchers, AI experts, and a 2024 Te Whatu Kairangi Award recipient, sharing insights through presentations, panels, and discussions. 

The range of organisations represented by attendees already registered, include: 

  • BCITO
  • Think beyond 
  • Yoobee Colleges 
  • Open Polytechnic NZ
  • Lincoln University
  • TEC

Register now to claim your spot!

 

    Post-forum workshops

    Michael Grawe

    Pathways Awarua Workshop

    With Michael Grawe

    20 August 1:00pm - 3:30pm

    
    
    Dr Selena Chan

    Resource Launch | Using Generative AI to support foundation/bridging ākonga

    With Dr Selena Chan, Tricia Lewis,

    Rory Collins and Dr Amit Sarkar

    26 August, 12:00pm - 1:00pm

    Attending the southern regional forum is not required to register for these sessions. 

    Visit to Central Otago 

    REAP Otago visit

    Southern Hub Regional Manger, Jennifer Leahy, was thrilled to connect with Otago educators at Central Otago REAP where she was able to run an informative workshop on bicultural teaching and educator wellbeing and share some helpful resources located in our knowledge centre. 

     

    Jennifer was happy to collaborate with Michael Grawe, who also ran a workshop on Pathways Awarua and the various learning opportunities it offers both ākonga and educators. 

    New educator pathway

    Neurodiversity educator pathway

    Our new Neurodiversity Educator Pathway is now available on Pathways Awarua.

     

    Designed to complement our live workshops, this self-paced learning series helps educators build confidence and capability in supporting neurodivergent ākonga. The pathway includes practical strategies, reflective activities, and guidance for creating inclusive learning environments across tertiary settings.

     

    2-for-1 Tickets for ConCOVE conference

    ConCOVE are encouraging registrations for their upcoming Tūhura: Insights to Actions conference in Wellington on 21 August, with a 2-for-1 ticket offer (deal ends 8 August).

     

    Grab the deal and Register now.

    Concove conference

    More news from Ako Aotearoa 

    Blog #5 | Innovative approaches to support Pacific learners in tertiary education

    Pacific lead image

    Our latest Ako Aotearoa blog post has just been published:

    Innovative approaches to support Pacific learners in tertiary education

     

    Featuring insights from educators and researchers working directly with Pacific communities, this blog offers practical examples of what’s working across the sector and offers useful tools that educators can use to uplift their Pasifika learners.


    Visit our blog to read posts on AI, Learner Agency, UDL and more. 

    2024 Annual report

    2024 annual report

    The 2024 Annual Report of Ako Aotearoa is now available.

     

    The report highlights the activities of Ako Aotearoa over 2024. Including the quality ratings of our PLD programme, how we strengthened relationships to support learner success, a detailed recap of the Te Whatu Kairangi awards, and much more. 

     

    Read more here.

    The New Zealand Literacy and Numeracy Educator Awards 

    Ako Aotearoa is proud to support the Manako programme in celebrating the inaugural New Zealand Literacy and Numeracy Educator Awards ceremony,  at 11am on 8 September.

     

    Join us for this online event to support New Zealand's top Numeracy and Literacy educators for 2025. 

    New Zealand Literacy and Numeracy Awards ceremony

    Online hui for Māori educators

    Tuia Te Ako

    We’re pleased to welcome back the Tuia Te Ako webinar series, featuring thought-provoking presentations on key issues affecting Māori learner success.

     

    Register now for the three upcoming free webinars: 

    • Teaching Te Tiriti - 20 August
    • Teaching Te Reo - 17 September
    • Teaching Māori Learners - 15  October  

    Join the kōrero.

    PLD theme for August | Neurodiversity

    We're thrilled to see that our upcoming Neurodiversity August workshops are now full. Please contact us if you missed out and think your team or organisation would benefit from this workshop series, including the following topics:

    • Autism | Supporting learner success
    • Dyspraxia | Supporting learner success
    • ADHD | Supporting learner success
    • Dyslexia | Fostering metacognitive strategies.
    Neurodiversity themed month

    Upcoming professional development

    Strengthen your teaching practice

    Māori cultural coaching

    Ako Aotearoa’s Māori Cultural Coaching programme offers five online, self-directed courses, each centred on a key Māori value: Manaakitanga, Rangatiratanga, Whanaungatanga, Wairuatanga, and Ako.

     

    Tailored for tertiary educators, each course offers approximately 10 hours of flexible, self-paced learning, enriched with personalised support from a Māori cultural coach via one-on-one online sessions and regular drop-ins. Whether you're looking to deepen your understanding or apply Māori values more intentionally in your classroom, these courses provide practical, culturally grounded guidance.

     

    Learn more.

    Free Manako webinar 

    Free Webinar August-1

    Join us on 6 August for a webinar on the role of research-informed teaching in tertiary education.

     

    Presented by Dr John Benseman, this session will explore ways to increase research-informed practice not only for adult literacy and numeracy teachers but also programme organisers and administrators.

     

    Learn more.

    Sponsored tertiary events

    We are proud to sponsor and contribute to the following:

    APSTE logo - green background

    Annual APSTE Fono

    18 - 19 August

    2025

    Te Mana Ākonga

    Te Mana Ākonga

    10 - 14 September

    2025

    itenz-logo

     ITENZ Conference

    16 - 17 September

    2025

    ako-logo@4x-1

    Ako Aotearoa, c/o Massey University, Wallace Street, Mt Cook, Wellington 6021, New Zealand, 0800 692 566

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    Contents of this email are Copyright © 2025 Ako Aotearoa, All rights reserved. Publications, resources, and tools available on our website ako.ac.nz are shared under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.