Key Competencies
It helps students develop the Key Competencies of:
a. Critical Thinking because the graded questions move students up the levels of Bloom’s taxonomy from Remembering to Evaluation
b. Managing self because students have to manage aspects of their learning; complete tasks in their own time; show an improvement in scores and ‘working at’ levels via their results.
c. Using language, symbols and texts in an interactive, web-based ICT environment.

Processes and Strategies
Using Live-wire, students are given opportunities to develop knowledge, skills and understanding related to the learning areas of English, mathematics and statistics, science and the social sciences. These include:
  - learning the specialist vocabulary associated with that area
  - how to read and understand its texts
  - how to read and communicate knowledge and ideas in appropraite ways

Differentiated Learning
Because students work at different levels of readiness and employ different styles of learning, it is important to provide a variety of approaches that neither bores nor frustrates students but provides appropriate levels of challenge and reward. Within each subject Live-wire Learning incorporates a wide range of material, pitched at different levels of difficulty so that the less able and the more able can work independently and in a rewarding way. 

Accelerated Learning Principles
Live-wire enables teachers to use the principles of accelerated learning which include:
   1. Immediacy of Feedback. Live-wire Learning (LWL) marks instantly whereas teachers often take work home to mark and bring it back to students the next day. Thus there is a 5 minute learning cycle vs. a 24 hour one. LWL therefore has the ability to have multiple learning cycles in one period.
   2. Individualised and specific feedback. Even if you have 20 students in a computer suite the feedback is specific to the student and to the content. This can never be achieved by a classroom teacher unless immediacy is sacrificed.
   3. Immediate reinforcement of appropriate cognitive strategy. The green (correct) answers immediately reinforce correct thinking strategies.
“In addition there is the ability for the teacher to rotate around the room to track progress and discuss learning at a higher metacognitive level. For example: What strategy did you use on this problem? You got it wrong why did you change it? Did the change work? What other strategies could you use?”
-  Wayne Duncan, DP at Northern Southland College