Di’s E-learning Experience

It sounds like a quote or saying that could be included on my thought(s) for the day page on e-learning, but no it is the school motto for the Broken Hill School of the Air.  My first five years of primary education was with Broken Hill School of the Air and Blackfriars Correspondence School, and I guess I was participating in a virtual classroom in one of its earliest forms.  Recently my mother visited Broken Hill and bought me back a DVD on the present day School of the Air. I found it very interesting to see the evolution of the School of the air program, though somewhat surprised that it was only in 2003 that the VHS radio system was replaced by a satellite system of delivery.

The students no longer rely on  a couple of radio broadcasts a day to supplement their weekly mail out of lessons.  This new technology open a whole new dimension to education for those students living in the remote areas of Australia.  All students have access to their own PC and are linked to the School’s intranet site.  Students are now able to see their teachers, share message site, work samples and photos.  Teachers are able to give students lessons, and they can in-turn watch and respond in real time.  It also gives the students access to experiencing the cultural aspects of a classroom environment.

This virtual classroom in the remote areas of Australia opens up a vast array of advantages  for school and vocational students that include:

• breaking down the communication barriers
• faster feedback for both students and teachers
• Teachers are able to observe student body language
• teachers/students can observe demonstrations
• gives students a sense of belonging, or being a member of a class
• students/teachers able to participate in group discussions and enable interactivity between class members and their teacher.
• makes lessons more interesting and highly motivating

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