Ministry appoints CORE director to national role

CORE Education’s Director of Development, Nick Billowes, has been appointed the national coordinator for the Ministry of Education’s 2011 e-Learning PLD programme. 

This role provides management support to the range of e-learning PLD national programmes currently run by the Te Toi Tupu consortium:

• The Blended e-Learning PLD programme
• Enabling e-Learning capability web presence
• e-Maturity Principal and teacher e-Learning planning framework
• Virtual Professional Learning Development programme (VPLD) for principals and teachers
• Digi-Advisors: developing the capability of PLD providers and teachers to select and use digital content and services.  

The purpose of this national role is the initiation and implementation of these initiatives. The ultimate aim being the creation of a coherent and dynamic programme of e-learning PLD, which integrates national and regional programmes across New Zealand.

Over the past 10 years Nick has established a national profile as the coordinator of the highly successful ICT  Professional Development programme. Combining his years of teaching and management experience with a commitment to new technologies, and his passion for professional learning, Nick spearheaded the establishment of the organisation that was to become CORE Education in May 2003.

Nick is also well known in the education sector as the convener of New Zealand’s annual ICT conferences for teachers, which now attracts international audiences. Nick is also a recognised leader in the field of professional learning programme development including projects in Māori medium development, early childhood, and the school sector.