Australian Government Funding for Regional Study Hubs

One of the new measures in the Australian Government Budget for 2017/2018 is expanded funding for Regional Study Hubs. These are community-owned facilities where students studying by distance education can meet with tutors and other students. As a distance education student myself I felt a need to meet other students face to face. This was noticed decades ago shortly after the Open University UK started correspondence courses: students sought out each other and booked rooms at the nearest educational institution.

The budget has funded  500 sub‑bachelor and 500 bachelor students. It is good to see the inclusion of sub-degree programs, as these are very useful for distance education students, who tend to take longer and drop out more frequently. The regional study hubs have some similarities to the government programs supporting regional tele-centers of the 1990s.

In 2000 I visited the University of WA Albany centre, where as well as the usual STEM subjects, there was a groups of students having a poetry reading via teleconference.

Review into Regional Education Recommends VET/University Associate Degrees

The Australian Government today released the final report of an "Independent Review into Regional, Rural and Remote Education" by Dr John Halsey of Flinders University. The most interesting of eleven recommendation is: "Expand the availability, affordability and accessibility of high quality work experience placements, VET, dual VET/university options and two year associate degree programs for RRR students.". The Senate Committee on the Future of Work and Workers could usefully look at this.

Professor Halsey identified nine themes:

1. Curriculum and assessment
2. Teachers and teaching
3. Leaders and leadership
4. School and community
5. Information and Communication Technology
6. Entrepreneurship and schools
7. Improving access—enrolments, clusters, distance education, boarding
8. Diversity
9. Transitioning beyond school

Professor Halsey made eleven recommendations:

1. Establish and/or refine processes for ensuring the relevance of the Australian Curriculum and state/territory assessment processes for RRR students and communities.
2. Ensure RRR contexts, challenges and opportunities are explicitly included in the selection and pre-service education of teachers, initial appointment processes and their on-going professional support.
3. Ensure RRR contexts, challenges and opportunities are explicitly included in the selection, preparation, appointment and on-going professional support of educational leaders.
4. Ensure RRR children start school with a strong foundation for learning.
5. Expand the availability, affordability and accessibility of high quality work experience placements, VET, dual VET/university options and two year associate degree programs for RRR students.
6. Support RRR students to make successful transitions from school to university, training, employment and combinations of them.
7. Encourage the philanthropic sector to play a greater role in raising achievements and improving opportunities for RRR students.
8. Improve opportunities for RRR schools to implement entrepreneurship in education through curriculum, teaching, system and cultural changes and building on good practice.
9. Improve the availability, accessibility and affordability of ICT for RRR schools, teachers, students, parents and communities.
10. Support RRR communities to implement innovative approaches to education delivery designed to improve education access and outcomes for students living in remote communities.
11. Establish a national focus for RRR education, training and research to enhance access, outcomes and opportunities in regional Australia.

The report is dated January 2018, but was only released to the public in mid April. No explanation has been provided by any of the four ministers who commented on the report as to why they delayed its released for two months. The ministers have only committed to "consider" the report, although they have already had it for two months.

How Much Internet Does an On-line Student Need?

Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas has expressed concern about the adequacy of the NBN ISS (Australian National Broadband Network Interim Satellite Service). Providing broadband in remote areas could be a boon for education. But what speed, latency and amount of data is needed by a student and does the NBN ISS provide this?

This is a sensitive political issue because the NBN ISS is intended to provide broadband Internet access to remote areas. These are areas which have limited educational facilities and so one obvious use of the NBN is to provide education. Also there are indigenous communities in remote areas and the adequacy of provision of services to these areas is in question.

Is the NBN ISS capable of providing an adequate service for remote students? In particular is this adequate for remote indigenous students, including teacher training?

If not managed well, the introduction of the NBN may increase disadvantage for those outside the cities. If city students have access to large amounts of high speed, low latency broadband, then educators are likely to design their on-line courses for this service. These courses may then not work on limited regional networks. In contrast, if the courses are designed for the limitations of the remote service they will still work in the city.

Rural and Remote Education in Australia

The Australian Human Rights Commission publishes an "Annotated and Select Bibliography on Rural and Remote Education in Australia", with sections on distance education and indigenous education. It is not clear when this was last updated (the page says 2 December 2001), but it is still useful. Also the NSW Department of Education and Communities published a "Rural and remote education: Literature review", (August 2013). As part of some postgraduate studies in distance education I was looking for details of the use of technology for indigenous remote education.