27July 2015

A modern twist on Maori history on a mobile app

Auckland Transport’s gone high tech to help youngsters learn the Māori history of Tāmaki Makaurau.

As part of Māori Language Week, Auckland Transport, COMET (an Auckland Council educational department) and Kiwa Digital have produced a bilingual app that showcases historic Auckland. The App called “Whānau Fun Day on the Train” features the story of a family trip by train from Pukekohe to Eden Park for a day at the Dick Smith Auckland NRL Nines. Along the way the family shares stories about sites of significance such as maunga, traditional names for landmarks and some family history.

The original idea came from Tui Gilling,Senior Māori Policy and Engagement Advisor at Auckland Transport. The App was co-authored by Tui and Nikora Wharerau with illustrations by Moanaroa Te Whata. The interactive book is voiced story is acted by children from Te Raki o Pukekohe/Pukekohe North School. The children also helped develop the characters.

“As far as we know this is the first App to introduce Māori history in an interactive way,” says Tui Gilling. “You can choose English or Māori and then swipe to read, double tap to spell or just listen to get the correct pronunciation.”

Other interactive features let users record their own voice for the story, paint the pictures and learn more about the history of landmarks on the journey.

The App’s primary target is children aged 9 to 13 in rumaki reo or Kura Kaupapa Māori but it is also likely to appeal to a wider audience.

The book
· meet’s Auckland Plan Māori outcomes including: Te hau o te whenua, te hau o te tangata,

· a Māori identity that is Auckland’s point of difference in the world,

· promotes te reo Māori and good pronunciation,

· promotes speaking te reo Māori in public areas, making it a natural part of Tāmaki Makaurau’s cultural fabric,

· encourages the use of Auckland’s original Māori place names,

· and leads and celebrates Tāmaki Makaurau's Māori history.

Broader themes are

· Māori using public transport,

· fostering the development of relationships with rumaki reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori,

· Māori literacy and education,

· and appealing to all Aucklanders/New Zealanders in content and language.

The App covers the Māori cultural heritage of Tāmaki Makaurau in a general way, taken from published sources, books and treaty settlement material.

Tui Gilling says “We hope this book is the first in a series featuring the same characters and we want to tell the stories of other regions. We also want to use the characters to spread road safety messages to young people.”

The mobile App is available free for download to Android and IOS devices from Google Play Store and iTunes (search: whanau tereina).
See the video and download the app.

He takinga hōu o te Hītori Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau

Kua pikihia e Auckland Transport ngā tihi o te ao hangarau hei ako i te hunga taiohi ki ngā hītori Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau.

Hei toko ake i te Wiki o te Reo Maori, tērā a Auckland Transport, a COMET (he tari mātauranga o te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) me Kiwa Digital te waihanga tukunga reo-rua hei whakatairanga i te hītori o Tāmaki Makaurau. Ko taua tukunga kua tāpaea nei “Te Rā Ngahau mō te Whānau i runga Tereina,” e taki kōrero ana mō tētahi whānau nō Pukekohe e haere ana mā runga tereina mō te rā kia kite i ngā Dick Smith Auckland NRL Nines i Eden Park. I te ara haerenga atu ka ohaina mai e te whānau ētahi kōrero mō ngā wāhi hiranga pērā i ngā maunga, ngā ingoa taketake o ngā whenua-tohu me ētahi kōrero tuku iho ake a te whānau.

Ko te takenga mai o te whakaaro i pupū ake i te hinengaro o Tui Gilling, Kaitaunaki/Hautū Kaupapa Māori Matua i Auckland Transport. Nā Tui rāua ko Nikora Wharerau ngātahi i waituhi te tukunga nei, ko ngā pikitia nā Moanaroa Te Whata. Nā nga tamariki o te Kura o Te Raki o Pukekohe/Pukekohe North School te pukapuka tokonga wheranga ā-ringa nei i whakareo, i whakaahua mai, nā rātou hoki i whakatinana mai te hunga o roto.

“I tō mātou mōhio, ko te tukunga tuatahi tēnei e toko ake ana i ngā hītori Māori i roto i ēnei tikanga wheranga ā-ringa,” hei tā Tui Gilling. “Ka taea e koe te tohu i te reo Ingarihi, te reo Māori rānei ka ūkui ai, ka pānui. He rua patotanga kia huaina mai ngā pū o te kupu, e whakarongo noa rānei ki te rere tika o te reo.

Ko ētahi atu āhua wheranga ā-ringa, ka taea e te kaiwhakamahi ko te hopu i tōna ake reo hei taki i te pakiwaitara, te tāpeita i ngā pikitia me te ako i ētahi atu kōrero mō ngā whenua-tohu o runga i te haerenga nei.

Ko te aronga nui a te tukunga nei ko ngā tamariki he 9-13 ngā tau e pakeke, kei ngā Kurā Rūmaki Reo me ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori. Tērā anō hoki te aronuitia e te iwi whānui atu.

Kō tā te pukapuka

· He whakatutuki i ngā whāinga o te Mahere Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau mai i ‘te hau o te whenua, te hau o te tangata’, he tirohanga Māori e kitea ai te rerekē ake o Tāmaki Makaurau i te ao,

· He whakatairanga i te reo Māori me tōna whakahuahua pai,

· He whakapiki i te kōrerotia o te reo Māori i ngā wāhi tūmatanui, kia taketake anō ai tōna wāhi i raro i te korowai o ngā tikanga ā-iwi o Tāmaki Makaurau,

· He hautū i te whakamahia tonu o ngā ingoa taketake o ngā wāhi Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau,

· He arataki me te whakanui i ngā kōrero tuku iho o Tāmaki Makaurau.

Ko ētahi kaupapa whānui ake

· Te whakamahi a te Māori i ngā kawenga tāngata tūmatanui,

· Te whakawhanake i te tūhononga i waenga i ngā Kura Rūmaki Reo me ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori,

· Ngā mahi pānui me te mātauranga Māori.

Ko te tukunga nei he kawenga whānui noa i ngā taonga tuku iho Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau, i tangohia mai i ngā punanga kōrero kua oti kē te tā, pukapuka mai me ngā kōrero e pā ana ki ngā whakataunga nawe tiriti.

Hei tā Tui Gilling, “Ko tō mātou tūmanako he tuatahi noa tēnei pukapuka o te rārangi e riro ai mā ēnei hunga tonu e taki ētahi atu kōrero e hiahia ana mātou mō ētahi atu rohe. He aronga hoki nō mātou kia whakamahia te hunga nei hei kaihora i te noho haumaru a ngā taiohi i runga i ngā rori.

Ka taea hoki te tukunga nei te tiki kore utu atu: i te Google Play Store me iTunes, ka taea hoki te tango iho i te pae tukutuku ipurangi a Auckland Transport.

ends

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