FROM STUDENTS  - FROM PARENTS - FROM TEACHERS   

-  The website has been really great in helping my study, especially as the content is tailored to the NCEA Standards. - M Au, Year 11 St Dominic's (Henderson)

"I'm using live wire a lot. It's helped greatly already. I feel like I am as prepared for the exams as I can be and that's thanks to the program. Thank you for the program - it's great." - George, Year 11

- Here is what a Year 9 student says about Live-wire Learning:
"The great part about Live Wire Learning is that you know exactly where you've gone wrong and know how to fix it.
   There is no time limit to answer the questions so I think that makes it a lot easier for students as you can work at your own pace. And if you want a challenge or not, it is completely over to you. There is a wide range of topics to choose from which makes it really versatile and easy.   Because Live-wire Learning is on the computer, you don't need to carry any books or pencil-cases around, which I think we students are finding really great.  Being web-based it is also great because you can work at school and then complete it at home.
   It's a great way to boost your learning in a short amount of time. If you're willing to learn, then this site is the answer."
- Moana-lyn Year 9, Northern Southland College

• "Live-Wire Learning is lots of fun. I really enjoyed it and found it useful for helping me with language work, especially spelling and apostrophes. It's a great set up and easy to access!"
  - Jonathan, Year 7 student at Middleton Grange
  
• "After doing Live-wire for a term, it dramatically benefitted my grades. I got an Excellence in my school exams and put it down to doing the Live-wire modules for 1.6 Unfamiliar Text. It is good to have a variety of examples of poems, speeches, posters etc ...Overall I like Live-wire because it is a new and bright way to get practise in different aspects of English."
  - Nicole (Year 11 student)
  
• "The programme was excellent for revision and if you didn't understand something, the programme could tell you where you went wrong."
  
• "It was helpful for the upcoming exam because it covered the topics that we had learned and was an easy programme to use."
  
• "The teaching notes are informative and well laid out. Subjects are relevant and challenging. Good product."
  
• "I would be happy to use this programme for exam revision. I think it would be useful because it will help students to achieve better exam results."
  
• "Live-wire is great and extremely helpful to revise through out the year. It gives the student a really good idea at where they are sitting in the NCEA exam system. The system gives a reasonable variety of question types and the explanations are helpful and clear."
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FROM PARENTS

• Thank you for all your support this year.  The program has been very beneficial.  He already has 50 excellent credits so we are hoping that he will have NCEA Level 1 endorsed with excellence.
  (This Year 11 student received the Top Scholar in Senior Mathematics 2011: 1390 Questions Answered Correctly, 2239 points)  
• "I would like to thank Livewire Learning for enabling me as a parent to be involved in my child’s study again. The immediate response to questions, the guidance for help when unsure of answers are both invaluable for a parent who is asked by their child for help, but is unable to assist due to lack of knowledge in a particular subject area. I like the idea of different levels of questions as it helps to boost confidence before starting on some of the more difficult questions.”
  
• "My daughter found Year 11 Science so valuable she has been begging me to get her subjects for this year. We did enjoy improved learning last year and am sure it affected her results very positively."
• My son got NCEA level 1 with Merit (very few of his friends did).  I have no doubt that LWL made a difference.  It gave him a change from paper based studying and was almost enjoyable (his words)!
  
• "My son found this program invaluable. He had been on correspondence and had struggled but he was able to take himself through this program and prepare himself step by step for his upcoming NCEA 5th form exams. I believe, with the help of this program he consequently passed! Thanks so much."
• "I have a 15 year old daughter struggling to grasp Accounting and found your website when looking for a tutor -  it looks fantastic. And I am sure it will be well used from now till November."
  
• I recently installed Live-Wire Learning 2005 for my Year 10 son. I found the programme very user friendly to load with clear "walk through" instructions.
  The tutorials were similarly logical to follow. James was able to very quickly find his way to subjects he wanted to study and found the subject matter very useful. The computerised format held his attention and the instant feedback on his answers is a format that works. Well done, Live-wire."
  
• "Fantastic revision resource because it gave students another chance to review material not fully understood in class. "
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FROM TEACHERS

• Advantages of Live-wire Learning:
  1. As we are one of the few schools in NZ to use a Linux operating system as opposed to Micosoft it was been immensely beneficial to us having Livewire as an online resource/tool rather than needing to install software (which we cannot do)
  
  2. We have 100mins lesson so it's crucial to have a variety of activites to keep our students stimulated - I have used Livewire as extension for the accelerate students to work on after they have completed core learning.  I have put the class in ability groups that had 5 different work stations/activities, one of which was Livewire, so the students enjoyed the variety.
  
  3. There are no excuses, such as I lost my homework or I didn't know what to do... It is black and white as to whether they have completed the tasks.
  
  4. Students enjoy having the teaching notes to supplement our in class learning and thrive on the immediate feedback - as opposed to waiting a week or so for me to mark their work :)
  
  5. I would like to explore how I can mix game theory with Livewire and incorporate a leader board that links in with the results generated by the program
  
  Most of all, it has been wonderful having the creator as a support person on call when I have needed assistance, particularly in the initial stages.
  Sharon Kiely, Accounting teacher, Albany Senior High School
  
  
• "If you are prepared to put up to 20minutes into setting this program up with your students, the time you will save in the long run is immense. The NCEA students can do self directed work towards both their internals and their externals, and I have found that there are activities in there which would take me weeks to create. The students are best served by their ability to access every resource they may need to help them to progress, and as every teacher knows, we can only do so much! This program helps both the eager students to excel and also the reluctant students to see results and feel good about their learning. Students can access the program from anywhere where they can get on the net, and many will surprise you by choosing to work on it from home or during spare time at school.
  
  I ordered Livewire for my Year 12 class as a trial and it worked so well that I have initiated it in all classes from Year 7 to 12, and our Senior Management have expanded this into different subject areas. Our students use it on a weekly basis and often beg to use it when they have finished their work. It is, at its simplest level, an online textbook which offers instant answers, and justifications for those answers, in brief, ten question 'tests'. The teacher can see who has done each activity and what each student scored via the management suite.  One could even set it for homework, and simply check online to see if it had been done. The best thing about Livewire, is that the students love using it. It is non-threatening and challenging at the same time. They become engaged in their learning and interested in their results. Thank you Neil and the Livewire team, for your friendly and prompt response to any questions we have had, and for the personal assistance received during the setup process."
  Holly Higgins, Lecturer, School of Secondary-Tertiary Studies,
  Manukau Institute of Technology (former HOD English, St Paul's College, Ponsonby)

• "Livewire is proving very successful with all our students from Year 9 up, particularly those with identified gaps in their knowledge. It provides a sound structure on which to improve students' knowledge and understanding of subjects."
  Tim Burgess, Kip McGrath Director, Mt Eden & Ponsonby Centres.
  
  
• "We had very good results in our Level 1 Science: 21 Excellence grades up 6 from last year and 10 from 2006. I am sure our use of Livewire is a contributor."
  Kerry Ryan, Hod Science, St Kevin's College, January 2009:
  
  
• "Just wanted to let you know that we made good use of your English & Maths NCEA 1 programmes last year. I look forward to using them again at my Kip centre this year.  Having your well set out (& NZ curriculum based ) Live wire allowed me to offer students at secondary school  computer based learning opportunities. Thank you for developing these programmes & supplying them to us through  our Kip McGrath Education franchise."
  Shelley Harrison, Kip MGrath director
  
  
• Here is a comment from an Accounting teacher at Aotea College:
  "Things are going really well with Livewire. The students are enjoying it, they are using it at home as well as a bit at school. Those students without computer access at home come in to the computer lab at lunch time. They don't seem to mind giving up a bit of their own time! A number of them are also using it as a preassessment test before we start a new topic!
     One big lesson they have learnt is that they must read the questions carefully and that is making a difference to the quality of written work they are doing. "
  
  
• John Cluett, Head of Sciences Learning Area writes:
  “A class from Albany Junior High School found the registration and login was accomplished with ease. The teacher had no input other than provide the security code. Within the 50 minute period the class completed and all achieved the achieved level sections. Due to time constraints I will only be able to use this a couple more times which is a pity because I think there would be more interest and opportunities if I was to get it “out there”.
  
  Comments from the students included:
  - “This is easier than my web mail.”
  - “I liked the way I could refer to text in the top part of my screen; I never got lost with an answer; I feel proud.”
  - “I do not like multi choice that ask for two answers; I had a perfect score until then.”
  - “Could we use this next year?” from 4 students.
  - “It was easy to use.”
  - “I like the way I could focus on learning the words.”
  
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• Jenny Vermunt, secondary English teacher, Invercargill
  "Live-wire Learning provides variety, integrates IT and gives students instant feedback. It has been simple and straight forward to implement in my teaching programme.
      I have been using it very effectively with my Year 11 class primarily as homework. Setting a number of modules each fortnight, I have been quite strict in requiring my students to print off their results, to show them to me and then paste them into their folders. While there are the normal compliance issues around completing homework, the students have enjoyed using the programme and have found it helpful for both internal standards and leading up to the externals. 
      Live-wire provides a stimulating context and revises the skills of English which students can do for themselves. It leaves me more time to focus on other activities. I'm keen to use it with the Junior classes."
• "The English material is spot on for Level 1.  Very appealing resources in a medium which students will be keen to use.  The instant feedback is excellent because the right answers are explained. So it's a teaching programme, not just a testing programme."
   - Marion Borrell, fomer Hod English, Wakatipu College, Queenstown
  
• " We are absolutely delighted with Live wire. One student came in to say that he had heard about Live Wire at school and was keen to try it ... Live-wire has made it possible to do a great job with senior English students in particular. I like the fact that it has examples as well as explanations."
  - KIP MCGRATH director
  
• “We are finding the engagement of the students to be quite incredible. Currently we have enrolled Year 11 and 12 Accounting students, Year 10 Maths students and a group of gifted and talented Year 9 Maths students.
      The key elements the students really enjoy are the instantaneous feedback the system provides, the tracking of their progress and the ability to work from a range of places both at school and home.
      We are really excited about the opportunities this software can provide for our students and we look forward to working with Live-wire Learning to develop them.”
  - Wayne Duncan MEd(Psych)Hons, PG Dip Ed, BSc, Dip Soc Sci, Dip Tch
  Deputy Principal, Northern Southland College
  
  (You may contact Wayne at wduncan@nsc.school.nz for further details. Northern Southland are integrating Live-wire into classroom teaching via their interactive whiteboards and are strengthening the link between home and school by using the programme for homework.)
• The students found it very interesting – we were using it for revision of a previous topic – and were shocked about how much they had forgotten! The more mathematically able students loved the “let's beat the machine” challenge, while the challenged students found the explanations associated with each question very valuable.
  - Jason Reid, Deputy Principal, Aparima College
  
• "Re Learning Support: I have found this an excellent resource for students to work at their own pace and level. The content supports NCEA curriculum and reinforces what has been taught in class. The self correcting aspect of the modules is also invaluable.
  - Jocelyn Grantham, Learning Support, Dilworth School
  
• “Live Wire is a superb learning tool. It’s flexible enough to be used as a direct instructional aid, for reinforcing important concepts, and/or for self-checking and revision. It relates directly to NCEA requirements and all content is nicely presented, interesting, and engaging. A ‘must have’ resource for teachers and students alike.”
  - Dr Michael Reid, PhD – Teacher and Educational Advisor at Middleton Grange School
  
  
• "Just had our first session with the young men today and it went down a treat! The enthusiasm was great to see. Thanks very much for your support, help and prompt responses."
  - Janis Burges, Year 12 Dean, Selwyn College, Auckland 

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