Kaitiaki Tikanga: Kia ora, e te iwi. A korowai is a cloak of great prestige. It is a taonga, woven with skill and infused with the mauri of the weaver. It tells a story. It represents the mana and the whakapapa of the person who wears it. It is both a shield and a statement.
Kaitiaki Toi: And today, you are the weavers! We will design a digital korowai. This is a visual metaphor for your Taha Wairua—your identity and values online. What patterns will you use to represent your strengths? What colours will show your character? How will you design a cloak that protects your mauri and shows the world who you are? Let's begin this beautiful work.
Knowledge (Māramatanga)
- Understand the cultural significance of a korowai as a taonga representing mana and whakapapa.
- Recognise that symbols, colours, and patterns can be used to represent abstract ideas like values and strengths.
- Identify their own core values and how they relate to their online identity.
Skills (Pūkenga)
- Translate abstract personal values into a visual design.
- Use visual metaphors to communicate meaning.
- Write a concise artist's statement to explain their creative choices.
Values (Wairuatanga)
- Value their identity and personal values as a source of strength and mana.
- Appreciate the power of art and symbolism to express deep meaning.
- Develop a stronger sense of self-awareness and pride in their identity.
Media Anchor | Watch & Discuss (10 minutes)
Video Anchor: Māori Systems: Kaitiakitanga
Use this clip to inform protective design decisions for each student's digital korowai.
- Which layer of your digital korowai protects identity, and which protects attention?
- Where are the current weak points in your protection strategy?
Whakatūwhera | The Cloak of Stories (15 minutes)
Main Activity: Exploring the Korowai
- Visual Exploration (10 mins): The teacher shows the class high-quality images or videos of different korowai. (Examples can be found on the Te Papa museum website). The teacher, guided by Kaitiaki Tikanga, points out the intricate patterns (taniko) and the different materials, explaining that every part has a meaning and tells a story.
- Discussion (5 mins): "Why is a cloak a good symbol for our identity and values? What does a cloak do?" (e.g., it protects, it keeps you warm, it shows who you are, it can be a gift).
Main Learning | Weaving the Digital Korowai (35 minutes)
Main Activity: The Design Workshop
- Introducing the Handout (5 mins): The teacher introduces the 'My Digital Korowai Design' handout. They explain that students will be designing a korowai that represents their digital self.
- Step 1: Weaving the Threads (10 mins): Students complete the first part of the handout, brainstorming their "threads"—their key values, strengths, and the things they want to protect online.
- Step 2: Designing the Patterns (20 mins): Students begin designing their korowai. They must create patterns or symbols (taniko) to represent at least three of their chosen threads. They should think about colour, shape, and placement.
Consolidation | The Artist's Statement (20 minutes)
Main Activity: Explaining the Taonga
- Writing the Statement (15 mins): Students complete the final section of their handout: the artist's statement. This is where they explain the meaning of their design. "My korowai's main colour is blue because it represents calmness. The pattern on the border is a shield, which represents how I protect my friends."
- Pair-Share (5 mins): Students share their finished design and artist's statement with a partner.
Whakakapi | Wear Your Mana (5 minutes)
Main Activity: Final Reflection
- Kaitiaki Tikanga concludes: "You have each woven a beautiful and powerful taonga today. This korowai is a reminder of your mana, your values, and your strength. When you go online, imagine you are wearing it. Let it guide your actions and protect your mauri. In our next lesson, we will learn how to take this inner strength and use it to lead."
Curriculum alignment
- Text Studies — Knowledge: Text specifications — Text forms and range: - In each year, students must engage meaningfully with at least one novel, a selection of poetry³, and a selection of non-fiction t…
- Language Studies — Knowledge: Text specifications — Text forms and range: - In each year, students must engage meaningfully with at least one novel, a selection of poetry³, and a selection of non-fiction t…
- Text Studies — Knowledge: In each year, students must engage meaningfully with:at least one novela selection of poetry3a selection of non-fiction texts.4Teachers may also choose from a range of other t…
- Language Studies — Knowledge: In each year, students must engage meaningfully with:at least one novela selection of poetry3a selection of non-fiction texts.4Teachers may also choose from a range of other t…
- Relationships — Practices: Practising strategies like clear communication, identifying pressure, and challenging disrespectful behaviour to protect relationships and emotional safety
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to explore digital kaitiakitanga — applying tikanga Māori principles of guardianship, manaakitanga, and whanaungatanga to their digital lives, spaces, and technologies.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain how kaitiakitanga applies to digital environments and online communities.
- ✅ Students can connect tikanga Māori values to ethical decision-making in digital contexts.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide sentence starters and visual frameworks to scaffold access at the entry level. Offer extension tasks that deepen ethical analysis — for example, comparing digital tikanga principles to international AI ethics frameworks.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key kupu (kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, tikanga) with bilingual glossaries. Allow students to express ideas in their home language first before translating to English.
Inclusion: Chunk tasks and provide clear visual instructions. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured choice in how they demonstrate understanding (e.g., verbal, written, or visual). Affirm diverse digital experiences as valid starting points.
Mātauranga Māori lens: Digital kaitiakitanga frames technology through Te Ao Māori — our digital spaces are extensions of our marae, our data is part of our whakapapa, and our online behaviour reflects our mana. Tikanga Māori provides a powerful ethical compass for navigating the digital world.
Prior knowledge: No specialist digital technology knowledge required for entry-level engagement. Best used after introductory lessons on tikanga Māori or as part of a digital technologies unit.
Curriculum alignment
- Te Mātaiaho (2025) · Technology · Phase 4 (Years 9–10) · Design, Make, and Innovate (Knowledge): “Digital content and data must be created, stored, and shared ethically and legally, respecting privacy, attribution, intellectual property, and local cultural considerations.”
- NZC (2007) · Technology · Level 4: “Understand how different forms of functional modelling are used to explore possibilities and to justify decision making and how prototyping can be used to justify refinement of technological outcomes.”