Last night, Drowning Prevention Auckland won the Aquatic Innovation Award for its eLearning platform which is a world first.

The prestigious award was given at the 2019 New Zealand Recreation Aotearoa Aquatic Awards, held in Queenstown.  The annual awards recognise outstanding achievements in the aquatics sector nationwide.

DPA Acting General Manager Sandie Gusscott says it is an honour to receive the award for a platform that takes users through a number of scenarios around water safety competence.

Ms Gusscott says although the modular eLearning platform was initially developed for DPA the organisation wants to collaborate with the whole aquatic sector to make water safety education accessible for all New Zealander’s.”

She says the development has been a team effort built on team expertise in conjunction  with Queenstown based media company 360NZ.

“The aim of our eLearning platform is to increase the understanding and knowledge of water safety, as well as assist in the development of practical skills, within the community, workplace and school settings.

“Participants can acquaint themselves with competencies before practising in a pool or open water and learners can complete a variety of tasks within each module,” she says.

The tasks have student activities, teaching points and videos that take the viewer through skills step by step. Developmentally appropriate teaching resources also sit alongside the platform to assist in the learning.

Ms Gusscott says it’s important to recognise support from Te Mangai Paho, Lion Foundation and Grassroots Trust because without them the platform would still be an idea.

Drowning Prevention Auckland are excited to get this amazing initiative started and look forward to working with Water Safety New Zealand and other organisations in the aquatic sector to share a collaborative approach to drowning prevention in New Zealand.

The eLearning platform can be found at: https://www.dpanz.org.nz/e-learning/

For further questions, please contact: [email protected]