NetNZ is a not for profit organisation that specialises in enabling high quality, online education across schools and communities.
Meet the dedicated leaders who steer NetNZ towards its mission of delivering high-quality online education. Our executive team brings together a wealth of experience and a shared passion for innovative learning solutions.
Our programs cater to various educational needs and interests, providing flexible learning options for students across New Zealand. Each course is designed to enhance your educational journey, leveraging innovative digital platforms and collaborative learning environments.
Whether you’re looking for specific subject information or guidance on enrolling, this page serves as your comprehensive resource for all course-related inquiries. Explore our offerings and join a vibrant online learning community.
Explore how we approach learning. Here, you’ll find first hand experiences of students, educators, and leaders who have embraced flexible learning.
I really enjoy philosophy and it's created a passion that I want to continue in university. I've also really enjoyed media studies and psychology - subjects I wouldn't be able to take at my normal school.
I love teaching students who love learning and have a thirst for knowledge. It's a great platform to encourage independent learning.
One of the biggest student successes I’ve observed is the personal growth of students to be able to learn in this environment. It was so evident that those who were already enrolled in the class were able to cope with Covid times very easily as they were used to online learning.
NetNZ enabled me access to an amazingly talented Korean teacher (Sue Kim) and use what I had learnt from her classes to achieve my NCEA qualifications to a very high level and to participate in extracurricular activities.
I went on a fully expenses payed culture immersion in Dunedin and Christchurch. Not only did this further expand my knowledge on Korean culture, but Chinese and Japanese culture too. I made valuable friends and over all it was just the best experience ever, and I wouldn’t have be able to do it without NetNZ.
Teaching with NetNZ is a step into a community beyond the local. A networked environment which connects teachers, schools, learners and communities. Explore what it means to teach with NetNZ.
We have supports in place for teachers to develop their understanding as part of a continuous and community focused process.
We share inspiring accounts and insights from the NetNZ community. Here, you’ll find firsthand experiences of students, educators, and leaders who have embraced flexible, digital learning.
NetNZ is a not for profit organisation that specialises in enabling high quality, online education across schools and communities.
Meet the dedicated leaders who steer NetNZ towards its mission of delivering high-quality online education. Our executive team brings together a wealth of experience and a shared passion for innovative learning solutions.
Our programs cater to various educational needs and interests, providing flexible learning options for students across New Zealand. Each course is designed to enhance your educational journey, leveraging innovative digital platforms and collaborative learning environments.
Whether you’re looking for specific subject information or guidance on enrolling, this page serves as your comprehensive resource for all course-related inquiries. Explore our offerings and join a vibrant online learning community.
Explore how we approach learning. Here, you’ll find first hand experiences of students, educators, and leaders who have embraced flexible learning.
I really enjoy philosophy and it's created a passion that I want to continue in university. I've also really enjoyed media studies and psychology - subjects I wouldn't be able to take at my normal school.
I love teaching students who love learning and have a thirst for knowledge. It's a great platform to encourage independent learning.
One of the biggest student successes I’ve observed is the personal growth of students to be able to learn in this environment. It was so evident that those who were already enrolled in the class were able to cope with Covid times very easily as they were used to online learning.
NetNZ enabled me access to an amazingly talented Korean teacher (Sue Kim) and use what I had learnt from her classes to achieve my NCEA qualifications to a very high level and to participate in extracurricular activities.
I went on a fully expenses payed culture immersion in Dunedin and Christchurch. Not only did this further expand my knowledge on Korean culture, but Chinese and Japanese culture too. I made valuable friends and over all it was just the best experience ever, and I wouldn’t have be able to do it without NetNZ.
Teaching with NetNZ is a step into a community beyond the local. A networked environment which connects teachers, schools, learners and communities. Explore what it means to teach with NetNZ.
We have supports in place for teachers to develop their understanding as part of a continuous and community focused process.
We share inspiring accounts and insights from the NetNZ community. Here, you’ll find firsthand experiences of students, educators, and leaders who have embraced flexible, digital learning.
Teaching with NetNZ is a step into a community beyond the local. A networked environment which connects teachers, schools, learners and communities.
We also have a strong commitment to cultivating innovative approaches to learning for students of our member schools and beyond. In order to do this we have supports in place for teachers to develop their own professional learning as part of a continuous and community focused process.
This space is designed to provide a place for teachers to explore practice.
Being a teacher with NetNZ means you are a part of an online, networked community of teachers that stretches across schools. In a way you have dual citizenship. While most of your time will be spent focused on in school responsibilities (well, most of you), ⅕ of your teaching time is now dedicated to NetNZ. That not only includes the teaching and administration of your course, but also actively engaging in the NetNZ community.
It is important that the connection you have with staff locally is replicated in some way online. We centralise our community using the google suite, in particular Google Spaces (built on google chat). You will first need to ensure your school has enabled google chat. Check with your local google administrator. The easiest way to check whether it is working is to go to and go to the spaces tab. You will see notifications appear on the top corner of the Spaces icon.
Just hover on “chat” and you will see any Spaces you belong to appear as below.
It is extremely important you keep in touch with communications through this space and engage at times. Ask general questions here or in the Foundations Space rather than emailing us.
Read through and reflect on our NetNZ: Guidelines for Learning and Teaching Online 2025. Designing effective learning are fundamental in this space. At any given time a learner needs to be clear what to do. How do you ensure this when you aren’t physically present to help? From there it is about developing relationships, connection and community. You will find the video conference section at the end very useful. There are so many ways you can use that once a week meeting. It takes careful thought and planning. This in depth exploration of practice is fundamental to ensuring a strong understanding of approach.
A far more detailed exploration of our approach to learning and teaching can be viewed below. There is some repetition from Guidelines to Teaching.
Towards Networked Learning- Stronger Together.pdf
It includes our partner networks in the North Island and also refers to the Virtual Learning Network, which is historically what we called the combination of networks at a national level. However, the pedagogical section (minus the bits on the Virtual Learning Network Primary) is all us. It is what drives our approach. And there is an approach here. There is plenty of room to move and express yourself within this, but there are values and principles that guide what we all do.
These are unpacked a little in our Pedagogical Framework below. Have a look at the continuum of practice and then go through each of the key aspects. Think back to the “Guidelines to Teaching ” and how you can implement these in practice.
These are online, not email courses. You need a central online hub that is the home for the course. This is where learners will come to find out what to do, to ask questions and to engage with other students. This will be supplemented by other technologies, but the course needs a welcoming home. It isn’t a matter of leaving it all for the one video conference a week. That is just one part of a much bigger picture. Communication and connection should happen throughout the week.
Much of our environment sits on the Google Suite. Google Docs is a vital tool most of us are aware of these days, but what you choose as your ‘home’ or hub is either:
Google Spaces. You will need to consider the use of multiple spaces that act as channels as Sue has done. Or you could start a new space each term. Google Spaces has the advantage of being part of the Google environment, but will need to be enabled at the home schools
Mattermost or Discord. Mattermost is centrally managed on a NetNZ server. You just need to ask for a team. Both are independent of google and are therefore easier to access.
NetNZ Online Learning Environments 2025
Here is some help for those exploring Mattermost / Discord – Slideshow | Video Tutorial
If you are using Google Spaces it will need to be developed using your NetNZ google account.
Google Classroom is not a recommended part of our online learning environment. Teachers coming into NetNZ need to be ready to learn new ways of approaching online learning. A fully online course as quite never needs to a blended environment.
There are key attributes of an online environment / hub in NetNZ. It is essential that any environment enables the following.
Creates a ‘home’ that acts as a central hub for all activity (whether directly within or through other linked platforms). This should feel warm, welcoming and centred on people. Rather like a physical space. It is a place to gather as a group.
Creates a sense of belonging and community
Enables easy connections with the teacher and other learners.
Communication is quick easy and enables one to one conversations, whole and small group discussion
Enables the teacher to post important announcements
Enables modules of learning to be created, shared and ensures learners clearly understand what to do. Learning can be structured at some level. There is clarity on what learners are meant to do
Encourages thoughtful emergent learning design. Easy to plan modules with learners
Creates a sense of ‘ako’, learning as a reciprocal process. Teacher as learner and vice versa. This means learners are able to do many of the things a teacher can
Enables learner agency and the co-creation of learning. Learners have some ownership of the environment
Enables direct messaging of learners. Direct messaging is quick and easy. Notifications can be turned on and off
Enables collaboration between learners
Is easy to access and join
Is mobile friendly (although not according to the govt!)
Enables multiple threads of conversation / communication
Our handbook is another key document for you. This answers many of the questions you will have on how things work. Please ensure you have read through it before you start next year.
While the principles of teaching and learning remain the same, the practice of teaching online is quite different to face to face. Our lockdown experience gave us a glimpse into this, although in a fairly unplanned way. This means that at some level, we do need teachers to engage in our NetNZ teaching community. It is absolutely vital to maintaining the quality of the environment and to teacher development. Otherwise you are just on your own in a silo and that is not what this is about. It is a network or community of teaching and learning. For learners and teachers.
However, we understand teachers are busy in their own schools. Duties, responsibilities, PLD, NCEA changes, Curriculum Refresh. The list goes on. So, there will be a schedule of hui and kōrero that teachers and eDeans will be able to engage with over 2025, but it will be flexible. All we ask is that teachers make a commitment to engaging in some of these over the year. We would not expect anyone to try and attend all of them. Work them into your calendar early in the year if at all possible. They will focus on various areas, sometimes in a very focused workshop format, at other times it might be a more informal cafe or a forum on an issue / challenge. A key area in term one in course design at a practical level.
Teachers committing to their first year teaching with NetNZ will be part of an additional Foundation Community which you will be invited to shortly. This will have its own google space and a once a term video conference meeting. This foundation group is led by Sue Kim our teaching and learning lead. You should also expect some observation of practice, ongoing support and conversations. It is a little like starting again.
We also hope to get a few projects off the ground next year which would be voluntary and only involve those who are keen to commit to a deep dive into something.
You should also read through the document given to all school leadership who provide a course. It will provide some insight into the importance of what we all do as teachers.
NetNZ: What does it mean to be a Provider School?
Our Memorandum of Understanding details the responsibilities of providing a course which all teachers should understand.
KEN PULLAR
Executive Leader
Contact: ken@netnz.org
(+64) 27 446 8532
DARREN SUDLOW
Executive Leader
darren@netnz.org
(+64) 27 2171121