Revision sites

NCEA maths, English and science (physics, chemistry and human biology) students should find the award-winning Studyit website useful. Studyit:

• lists achievement standards accompanied by student-friendly explanations of each standard.
• offers plenty of study and exam advice for students juggling multiple NCEA assignments.
• contains seven subject-based forums where students can submit questions and draft work for review by expert teachers.

Studyit employs 30 teachers to answer a multitude of questions posted by teenagers working towards NCEA (there were 58,166 unique visitors in November 2008 alone). But other students also get an opportunity to answer questions on the forum.

The site contains previously asked (and answered) questions. Students can track down former discussions through an inbuilt search engine. (See "Studyit's higher calling" below for more on Studyit)

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority has a section dedicated to "learners". Here you'll find past external exams, assessments and unit standards for NCEA students. Practice for your big exam by doing past exams.

You'll also find "exemplars" - examples of work that earned "excellence" or "merit" or "achieved" - on the NZQA site.

BBC Schools is designed to help British students, but there's crossover between their curriculum and ours. Subjects from maths to music are covered for all ages.

BBC's "Bitesize" section is a useful revision tool. It provides simple step-by-step instructions for students struggling with common problems - brilliant if you still hate algebra.

Studyit's higher calling

Studyit project manager Ashley Blair left his job as principal of Porirua's Cannons Creek School seven years ago. He enrolled in an IT course at Massey University: "Back then I taught some students in Canada via internet and email - and soon realised that they were working on the assignments at night with their entire family."

The penny dropped. Maybe this was a way to encourage New Zealand students to study outside of school: "Online, students aren't restricted to a time or place of learning. They can study at their own pace wherever there's access to the net ... Studyit's most popular at 8pm."

Ashley's also proud that questions asked on Studyit's forums are above and beyond the curriculum: "That shows students are interested in the subject - not just cramming for an exam."

It's not all plain sailing. Studyit's 23,467 registered users are mostly students from high-decile schools (schools in wealthier socio-economic areas). AC Nielsen says that's probably because teachers from high-decile schools are more likely to recommend the site to their students.

Opportunities to expand the site further may be lost: the Ministry of Education isn't providing Studyit with the same level of funding in 2009. The Correspondence School has come to the rescue and is now the main funder of the site.