Four OECD Scenarios for Schooling

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)  released "Back to the Future of Education: Four OECD Scenarios for Schooling" in September 2020. While addressing primary and secondary schools, similar possibilities exist for vocational and university education.

The four OECD scenarios are:

1. Schooling extended: an intensification of the current front-end, massive schooling model
2. Education outsourced: an outsourcing of schooling and resulting surge of learning markets
3. Schools as learning hubs: a re-purposing of schooling and transformation of schools
4. Learn-as-you-go: the end of school-based learning and demise of schooling.

We are likely to see a little of all of these and a lot of some. Campuses and education serve many different purposes for the students, their parents and the community. I suggest that school campuses will remain much as they are for younger students, while those for older students will become more like learning hubs. An example of the latter is Gungarlin's public library, which incorporates a vocational education center, school library, community meeting rooms and classrooms. Curriculum materials may be provided online, while classrooms and teachers remain.

Children’s Book on Engineering for Qatar

Greetings from Yogyakarta, at the IEEE TALE 2019 engineering education conference, where Ghada Salama from Texas A&M University at Qatar is speaking on  "Engineering Education: A Children’s Book to Support STEM Outreach in Qatar". A&M have produced very attractive children's books for introducing children to engineering topics. I suggested they produce an e-book version as well.

"Abstract — In recent years, increased attention has been
placed on improving STEM curricula to promote lifelong
learning to children at a young age. Integrating STEM
topics in children’s literature is an effective way to convey
knowledge as it combines creativity, motivation and
inquisitiveness. Due to the lack of children’s literature on engineering in the Middle East region, stories that young children can relate to – in terms of their traditions, culture,
and region – and at the same time introduces them to the
field of engineering would be of great value to the educational system. With that in mind, a model program was initiated at Texas A&M University at Qatar where undergraduate engineering students worked on a yearlong project to create an illustrated storybook about how drinkable water is produced in a desert nation where fresh water is scarce using engineering. This paper discusses the process of how this project came to fruition."

Does Attendance Matter for Student Achievement?

A report from the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) is entitled "Attendance matters". However, the have failed to address the useful role which online education can play, particularly for older students.

The report notes a strong correlation between attendance and student achievement. However, as they teach you in research 101, a correlation does not prove a causal relationship. The report discusses factors influencing
attendance, such as being the victim of bullying, parents who do not value education, poverty, geographical isolation, lack of affordable transport and limited school options. However, all of these could directly negatively effect both a student's academic achievements and their ability to attend school. Non-attendance may be just a symptom of the problems the student has, and addressing that in isolation may not be a solution, or even be detrimental.

Addressing these factors will likely improve both attendance and academic results, but there may be better ways to invest limited resources. Also some ways to address attendance may have negative social effects. As an example, one way to improve attendance for remote students is with boarding schools, but these can have negative effects, especially for indigenous students taken out of their community.

I suggest that it is likely the older the student, the less attendance matters. As an extreme case, I never saw the campuses of the last two universities I "attended". One university was 1,000 km away, the other 13,000 km away on the other side of the planet. Despite this, I received a very good education.

Students who are unable to "attend" school can have at least some studies undertaken remotely online. This may be preferable to removing them from their community for extended periods, or where they are unable, or unwilling to be in a conventional school environment.

STEM Industry-School Partnerships Proposed

A 103 page report on  Optimising STEM Industry-School Partnerships: Inspiring Australia's Next Generation has been  released by the Australian Education Council. The Forum recommended a national online toolkit on STEM partnerships. Also a dashboard of STEM educational performance. Minimum national requirements are propped for teacher professional learning for primary and secondary teachers, along with VET in schools. What is not covered in the report is how much all this will cost, or who will pay for it.

Contents

Note from the Chair     5
Executive Summary     9
Recommendations    13
Snapshot of Recommendations     17
Definitions and how we use them in this report     19
Introduction    21
Chapter 1. National and International Trends     23
Chapter 2. Teacher Professional Learning     37
Chapter 3. Solving Real World Problems     47
Chapter 4. Optimising Industry-School Partnerships     59
Chapter 5. Outcomes and Impact     69
Conclusion    77

Appendix 1 – List of Forum members    80
Appendix 2 – Existing guides and resources     81
Appendix 3 – Blueprint for a National STEM Resources Toolkit     82
Appendix 4 – STEM Education Data Dashboard metrics    83
Appendix 5 – List of Submissions     95
Appendix 6 – Acknowledgements     97

 

WA Government Reversed Decision to Close Schools of the Air

The Western Australia government has announced a planned closure of the WA Schools of the Air (SOTA) will not not take place. It had been planned to transfer students to the School of Isolated Distance Education (SIDE) in 2019. There was no mention of if six "camp school sites" which were also to be closed will be retained. The minister for education had characterized the closures of the SOTA as eliminating duplication. It is not clear if under the new plan there will be any integration of the regional SOTA with the metropolitan SIDE.

WA Government Closing Schools of the Air

The Western Australia Minister for Education and Training, Sue Ellery, has announced the closing of the WA Schools of the Air (SOTA) in 2019, with students transferred to the School of Isolated Distance Education (SIDE). Also six "camp school sites" are to be closed. The minister characterizes the closures of the SOTA as eliminating duplication and the camp school sites as "not the core business of education". While on-line learning can be beneficial, particularly for older students (Worthington, 2017), I suggest the removal of teachers from regional WA and cancellation of face-to-face student activities may have adverse educational outcomes.

Schools of the air originally provided courses via correspondence and radio. The Internet is now used for distance education (SIDE uses Moodle, developed in WA by Martin Dougiamas), however one unappreciated aspect of remote education are face-to-face camps where students can meet each other in person and meet their teacher. Rivalland, Rohl and Smith (2017) point out that in addition to synchronous electronic communication between the teacher and students, there are home visits by teachers, camps and seminars. Seven "Camp Schools" provide this socialization function for regional WA students: Broome, Bridgetown, Pemberton, Pilbara, Point Peron, Geraldton and Goldfields.

The five SOTA, are in regional WA: Port Hedland, Kimberley, Carnarvon, Kalgoorlie and Meekatharra. In contrast SIDE has one location in the capital city, Perth. The closures will result in teachers being 1,500 km from some of their students. While they will be milliseconds away via the Internet, there will be a cultural gap, with the city based teachers having little opportunity to understand the experience of their remote students. The WA Education Department's Institute for Professional Learning is collocated with SIDE, but does not list any courses for distance education teachers, only for classroom teaching.

There is a risk in younger students being education purely on-line and not developing social skills. The Minister's assertion that this is not the core business of education is questionable. If that were the case, then the WA Education Department could close down metropolitan Perth school campuses and only provide on-line education. Parents wanting their children to experience group activities and to be looked after during the day would then be required to pay for this a "non-core business".

The WA Government's move to rationalize regional school education may be followed in higher education. Australia's Regional Universities Network (RUN) has six members: CQ University, Southern Cross University, Federation University Australia, University of New England, University of Southern Queensland and University of the Sunshine Coast. Each institution has to have its own  administration and governance structures. While each grew out of a particular regional area of Australia, they now all offer courses to students across Australia, and in some case, via city based offices.

A model for closer cooperation by universities is Open Universities Australia (OUA), a consortium of city based universities: Curtin, Griffith, Macquarie, Monash, RMIT, Swinburne, and South Australia. It is important to note that OUA is "universities" plural. Students can undertake on-line courses at any of the consortium members, but then graduate with a degree from one (not from OUA).

References

Rivalland, J., Rohl, M., & Smith, P. (2017). Supporting students with learning difficulties in a school of the air. URL http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks/7282/

Worthington, Tom (2017). Digital teaching in higher education : designing e-learning for international students of technology, innovation and the environment. Belconnen, A.C.T. TomW Communications Pty Ltd URL

http://www.tomw.net.au/digital_teaching/

Future of School Education in Canberra

The ACT Government, which looks after Canberra's schools (both public and private) has issued a discussion paper and invited comment on The Future of Education. There is an invitation to join the conversation through social media #EducationforthenextGeneration on Twitter and Facebook, plus and the ACT Government own Your Say Platform.

These discussion questions were provided to start the conversation:

• "What works, or could be improved in our education system?
• How do we make sure the way we teach suits how every child and young person learns?
• What does success look like? How can we help our children be successful in a way that suits them?
• How should schools; their communities and the community sector better connect to support learning?
• How can we increase access to affordable quality early childhood education and care (childcare), particularly prior to preschool?
• How do we make sure all vulnerable children and young people have high quality education and care?"

Here are some thoughts on what could be improved:

"The ACT Government could provide training for new teachers so they are ready for the transition from campus/classroom based to primarily on-line education. While school campuses are likely to continue to be provided, especially for younger students, most of the education for older students is moving on-line and off-campus. The ACT Government already has some excellent initiative for this, such as the Canberra Institute of Technology having facilities integrated into the Gungahlin
public library and collocated with Gungahlin College.

Demolition of Manning
Clark Centre (ANU 2017)

However, teachers need to be trained to teach using technology and also how to teach in teams for the smaller, but still important part of learning, which will take place on campus.

Australia's universities are phasing out obsolete lecture theaters, replacing them with blended, flipped and work integrated learning. The ANU Manning Clark Center lecture theater complex was demolished a few weeks ago, to be replaced with flexible spaces.

The best way to prepare teachers to teach in new ways is to train them using the same techniques. Canberra's teachers need to be comfortable and familiar with learning on-line and teaching in a team with other teachers.

I have explored some of these topics in my book on Digital Teaching.

Social Networks Reducing Student Achievement?

Posso (2016) in a study of Australian adolescent school students concludes that online social
networks reduce their maths results, whereas online games increases results. However, I suggest this may be a correlation, not a causal relationship. Students who are better at maths may prefer games to social media.

References

Posso, A. (2016). Internet Usage and Educational Outcomes Among 15-Year Old Australian Students. International Journal of Communication, 10, 26. Retrieved from http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/download/5586/1742

Teachers Without Tech a Scandalous Waste

Dr John Vallance, Headmaster of Sydney Grammar School, has been reported as saying that money spent on computers in Australian schools was a “scandalous waste of money’’ ("Computers in class ‘a scandalous waste’: Sydney Grammar head", Natasha Bita, March 26, 2016, The Australian). Dr. Vallance is in good company, with educators as far back as Plato and Socrates expressing concern about the use of communications technology. In the ancient academy it was the use of a wax tablet and today it is an electronic tablet. However, as Plato (thought Socrates) suggested, we need to use the new technology alongside traditional teaching, not reject it outright.

Computers remain a relatively small part of the cost of education, compared to salaries and buildings. What I suggest we need to do is focus on how computers can help teachers teach, so they can then help the students.

Dr Vallance is quoted as saying “We find that having laptops or iPads in the classroom inhibit conversation — it’s distracting.", which is true, but is missing the point. Computers can be used before and after the discussion in the classroom, in "flipped" mode. Students can study via the computer so they are better prepared for group discussion in the classroom. Also tablets, video screens and interactive white-boards are very useful for bringing a group together, if the teacher has been trained in how to use them.


Dr Vallance suggests that he would hire another teacher, rather than "filling a classroom with laptops". However, a classroom full of laptops only costs about $10,000 per year, whereas a teacher costs about ten times as much. Eliminating computers would not significantly reduce the cost of education. Computers can reduce the cost of education, not by directly replacing teachers, but by freeing them from administrative and routine tasks.

As well as improving learning, teachers can be trained to use computer to reduce the administrative tasks which take up their time and lead to frustration. As an example, small routine quizzes can be automated, so they don't have to be manually marked and large assignments can be submitted on-line by students. The routine communications with students, about what is needed when and what has changed, can be done on-line.

The key to using computers for education is ensuring the communication is well designed and the students will pay attention to it. This is not something which comes naturally to teachers, they need to learn to do it and to practice to do it well.

Before the invention of the printing press, students had to transcribe texts from the blackboard, as they did not have their own textbooks. No doubt some teachers though the textbook took away from learning, just as some now think the computer does. But used well, the computer, like the textbook, frees th4e student and the teacher from some of the drudgery of education in a cost-effective way.

ps: In his Headmaster's Introduction, Dr John Vallance mentions the teaching of Sanskrit. This has been successfully taught on-line from Australia to students in India.

Teachers Need to Set a New Direction for Australian Education

The book "How To Pass a Test: Is this the direction of Australian education today?" by Lynne Edwards was launched by Narelle Hargreaves OAM at Paperchain Bookstore in Canberra this-evening. This is a small volume of 133 pages, on a large topic: where is Australian school education headed and where should it go instead?

The book argues that national NAPLAN testing is having a detrimental effect on the quality of education in Australian schools, with teachers being forced to teach to the test. Lynne argues that teachers are undervalued, underpaid and overworked. She looks to the Finnish system for possible solutions.

This is a book which students contemplating a career in teaching should read, along with parents and politicians dabbling with education policy. There are no easy answers, but I suggest that teachers should look at how nurses have improved their professional status (and pay). Perhaps rather than all that unpaid overtime teachers do, marking work and preparing lessons, teachers should enroll in part-time postgraduate studies and demand better pay (or leave the profession for a job where they will be better paid).

Learning to Improve

Greetings from the the University of Technology Sydney, where Professor Anthony Bryk, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, speaking on "Learning to Improve: Sustainable Improvements in Learning Systems". He started by talking about the provision of a public water supply in New York City, claiming that "nothing like this had ever been done before" (which seems an exaggeration as the Romans had a public water supply thousands of years ago). This was used as an analogy for education, saying that that needs a similar large scale public effort. Professor Bryk suggests looking to manufacturing, services design, health-care for inspiration to improve education. Given the problems being experienced in US manufacturing and health-care, these would be the last places I would look to for good examples.

Australia has a state based, nationally funded, school system. It seemed to me that Professor Bryk should be giving this talk in the USA, where they do not have a coordinated education system, not in Australia where we do. I suggest Professor Bryk should first look to the education systems of other countries not manufacturing or health care in the USA.

In contrast Australia needs to look at the US education system to work out what not to do.  One example is the problems with student loans in the USA, a problem which now occurring in Australia with VET diplomas.

Scalable Learning Systems

Professor Anthony Bryk, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, will speak on "Learning to Improve: Sustainable Improvements in Learning Systems" at the University of Technology Sydney, 4.30 pm, 4 November 2015.

Equipping Teachers with Digital Skills

In "Equipping kids with digital skills key to future success" (The Australian, 15 April 2015),  Brenda Aynsley OAM FACS, President of the Australian Computer Society,  points out that free on-line courses are now available for teachers, to help them with the new Digital Technologies component of the Australia curriculum.

The course are run by the Computer Science Education Research Group (CSER), at the University of Adelaide. The next CSER Digital Technologies Course starts 1 May 2015, for those teaching years 7 and 8 (but others are encouraged to take part).

As I am a student of education, I have registered to take part. One of the most useful aspects I have found of such courses is to remind me (as a teacher) of how hard it is to be a student. Also it is useful for teachers to familiarize themselves with how on-line courses are run, as this will be the way they will teach their students in the future.

Review of the Australian School Curriculum Misses Importance of e-Learning

The Australian Government has released the Final Report of a  "Review of the Australian Curriculum" by Professor Ken Wiltshire AO and Dr Kevin Donnelly.  Available are:

1. Final Report of the Review of the Australian Curriculum: (PDF 3.27 MB or DOCX 11.82 MB)
2. Initial Australian Government Response Review of the Australian Curriculum
3. Supplementary Material for the Review of the Australian Curriculum
4. Fact Sheet on the Review of the Australian Curriculum
5. Frequently Asked Questions on the Review of the Australian Curriculum

One concern I have is that sufficient weight is not being given to the way the Internet is changing how education is provided. The report mentions "Internet" only twice in 294 pages (on  Page 147).

In the first reference the authors comment that just having information via the Internet is not sufficient for understanding. However this fails to mention decades of research and practical experience showing it is possible to provide quality education on-line:

"The argument that the disciplines are changing so rapidly that it is impossible to identify them with any certainty or precision and, as a result, that all students need to do is to access the internet when wanting information, is misleading. Information is not knowledge and understanding is not wisdom. Education, while dealing with information and understanding, is primarily concerned with knowledge and wisdom that while evolving and open to debate has stood the test of time."

The second mention of the Internet claims that  "many" complained about a lack of hard copy of the curriculum materials. It is not clear how these many complaints were received, given that the review used an an online submission process (those who sent a submission must have had Internet access). Also, as the authors state, not all households have Internet access, but the ABS says 83% do. There are more than one million householders without Internet access, if many of had complained (in this context "many" would be tens of thousands of people).

"The bulk of parents seem to have been unhappy about the token involvement of parents in development of the curriculum, and report frustration in being able to gain independent access to curriculum documents. Many complain about the lack of hard copy, pointing out that not all households have internet access (265); nor are all parents computer literate. As in so many other aspects of government service delivery in Australia, purely web-based delivery is not adequate."

The technologies curriculum, that is teaching ICT is better covered in the report, than the use of ICT for teaching:

"There is also strong support for its inclusion in
the Australian Curriculum – particularly from professional bodies associated with computers and technologies – and a belief that it appropriately captured the critical elements of the learning area and provided a sound curriculum foundation which could accommodate future instances of digital technology. The Australian Computer Society (ACS) says:

The ACS strongly endorses the creation of the digital technologies subject and notes the
important distinction of this subject from the role of ICT as a general capability. Both aspects
are critically important in the education of students, but the distinction between them is vital
for individual students and for Australia as a nation.414" Page 208

Recommendation 15 of the report is likely to be most contriversial and with which I have most difficulty with:

"ACARA revise the Australian Curriculum to place more emphasis on morals, values and spirituality as outlined in the Melbourne Declaration, and to better recognise the contribution of Western civilisation, our Judeo-Christian heritage, the role of economic development and industry and the
democratic underpinning of the British system of government to Australia’s development." Page 246

It is not clear to me why the many Australian citizens who do not have a British Judeo-Christian heritage should have their taxes spent indoctoranating their children in someone else's values. Discussion of "Western civilisation" belongs in history courses, but alongside the other civilisations which have contributed to today's Australia.

An emphasis on morals and values would be appropriate for schools, along the lines of the  Primary Ethics, program developed by St James Ethics Centre for NSW primary schools. However, this should discuss Judeo-Christian concepts alongside other religions and moral systems of Australians.

Technology for Australian School Teachers

Jill Andrew, from the Future Learning Team, talked on "Integrating Technology into the Australian School Curriculum" at the ACS e-Learning Special Interest Group in Canberra, 8 October 2014. Topics discussed by the group include:

1. Future Learning Team
2. Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition Model
3. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (TPACK) 
4. Digital citizenship
5. Google Custom Search
6. Google Search by Reading Level 
7. Pacific Northwest tree octopus (show students everything on the Internet is not true) 
8. Google Video Search by Duration (find video to fit class time)
9. Creative Commons Search (fine content free to reuse)
10. URL Shortening 
11. Implementing the Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Technologies
12. Code generation: Kids who program before they can read, Niall Firth, 04 September 2014, New Scientist
13. Scratch Programming Language
14. Scientists in Schools
15. INSPIRE Centre, University of Canberra
16. Digital Technologies, F-10 Curriculum
17. OpenACR School, Sri Lanka

STEM Teaching Needs More Innovative Approach Than Chief Scientist Proposes

Professor Ian Chubb, the Chief Scientist, has released "Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Australia’s Future" (2014). I did not find it a very innovative document. In particular it proposes developing science literacy in schools by: "... ensuring every primary school has at least one teacher
with specialist STEM skills". This is unlikely to be adopted due to the resources it would require and is not a good way to teach. I suggest instead providing online resources for teachers and students, plus team teaching specialist assistance to in-classroom teachers. This is the approach used for remote area teaching in Queensland and NT, but should be adopted as normal practice across Australian schools.

Integrating Technology into the Australian School Curriculum

Jill Andrew, from the Future Learning Team, will speak on "Integrating Technology into the Australian School Curriculum" at the ACS e-Learning Special Interest Group in Canberra, 8 October 2014. Jill will be in Canberra to conduct a free Canberra Future Learning Event on integration of technology in the Australian School Curriculum for NSW and ACT teachers, 9 and 10 October 2014. This includes Flipped Classroom, Creating and publishing digital portfolios and e-learning spaces, implementing a BYOD policy in schools, Digital Citizenship, Google Tools, Social Media for Educators, Creative Commons. 

Alignment of School Curriculum in Technologies with Vocational Education

Recently I took part in a discussion of how to introduce young people to a career in IT. One point made was that this does not need to be via the academic path of high school to university. There is the alternative path of Vocational Education. But does the new School Curriculum in Technologies, align with the Vocational Certificates in technology, such as Certificate II in Information, Digital Media and Technology (the CA20111), run by TAFEs and  Registered Training Organisations (RTOs)?

A few weeks ago I took part in a two day workshop to help implement the new technologies curriculum in Canberra schools. But there was no mention of alignment with vocational education, even though the Canberra Institute of Technology has facilities co-located with  one of Canberra's school campuses. The current school curriculum in technologies is for up to year 10 and it would make sense if the student could then undertake vocation training in years 11 and 12, either in the school or at a separate organisation.

First Year Student Expectations and Experiences

Greetings from the Australian National University in Canberra, where researchers are reporting on "First Year Student Expectations and Experiences". This was to address a problem where students have difficulty adjusting from school to university. Surveys were conducted of students at universities in South Australia. There is a detailed 77 page final report and other reports.

One of the questions the researchers asked students was if school prepared them for university. The responses were mixed on this, but there were students concerned that school did not prepare them for independent study. In my view it is not a very useful question to ask if schools prepare students for university. The question is do universities adequately cater for the students they get, whatever those student's background.

If school leavers are not ready for university, then one alternative is vocational Higher Education, at TAFEs and commercial Registered Training Organisations. These provide a more structured form of Higher Education, more like school, and  so can provide a transition to university. Interesting 4% of the survey respondents entered university from TAFE, but the researchers have not yet carried out analysis to see if these students coped better with university.

Currently I am a student of education research methods and it was interesting to hear the researchers say they were the qualitative ones and different members of the team did the quantitative analysis. Also it is good to hear terms such as "social constructivist approach to learning" used. ;-)

At the presentation we were handed a "Factsheet for New University Students" and "Factsheet for First Year University Teaching Staff", apparently produced as part of the project. I could not find these documents online and on paper they are of limited value. The Office of Learning and Teaching might like to put the documents online in an accessible format, so that they are widely available ans also so as to conform with Australian law.

The student fact sheet says students have an unrealistic expectation of the amount of work they have to do. However, perhaps this indicates an unrealistic expectation of the university teachers of the amount of work students will do. The fact sheet does not really seem to be much help, for example by saying students can expect to study 40 hours a week (they are already told this by the universities).

One comment at the workshop (I am not sure who said it) was that students could cope with 15 hours of working at a job in addition to their studies. This suggests a workload of 55 hours per week. This sounds excessive to me, being about a nine hour day, six days a week. International students are permitted to work up to 40 hours per fortnight, making a work week of 60 hours.


Under Australia law the maximum weekly hours for work are 38 and in the UK the maximum is 48. This suggest the study hours expected of a student, especially one also working, are unreasonable (and if this was a job they would be unlawful). I suggest it is time universities accept that there are very few real "full time" students, that is students who have no other commitments. Programs should be redesigned around a smaller, realistic number of hours per week. A reasonable number might be 30 hours study per week.

The teacher sheet is not a lot more useful, telling teachers that talking to university staff is important for students and that providing support to students who are struggling is important. This will already be known to any competent teacher (and is something they are told in teacher training). But these recommendations do not appear to be supported by the OLT research. Just by surveying first year students on their views will not show what effect teacher interaction has on retention.

The workshop participants were asked what a student needs to be successful at university. In my view students need study skills and literacy. We should require all students to enrol in a course to ensure they can read, write and plan work. In this we should require students to do group work, so they learn some skills and have a peer group to help them later.

One problem found was that many students had not made even on friend at university in their first year. A routine part of online courses is for students to introduce themselves. This is done due to the isolation online students can feel.  Perhaps the same needs to be done for face-to-face students.

While this research does not tell us much unexpected, it is useful to have the issue of how we can help first year students discussed more by university staff.

Australian Virtual Schooling

Grattan Institute's report , "Turning around schools: it can be done", suggests schools can learning from each other and teachers observe each other's classrooms. This is not new or radical, it is a standard part of what teachers do. I suggest we need some more radical measures to improve Australia education, which can come from the existing practices of one sector of Australian education: Distance Education.

The NT and Queensland education departments have centres which support remote students. This is not so radical as it is a modern Internet version of the School of the Air. However, in addition to supporting individual distance education students at home, they also supports teachers in Community Schools in remote areas and students in larger regional schools which can't have a teacher for each specialist subject. The centres provide online materials and remote teaching to support to the local classroom teachers. This blended mode of education provides the student with a local teacher and a class, plus remote specialist support. I suggest this approach could be applied more generally, to support both the students and the teachers. We should get away from the idea of an isolated classroom with one teacher.

Kapitzke and  Pendergast (2005) report positively on the early trials of the Queensland Education Department's Virtual Schooling Service, which provides both distance education to students in the home and support for students in the classroom in remote schools. While they argue that new pedagogy is needed, there does not appear to have been a development of this, with the Virtual Schooling continuing to be run as first envisaged.

Australia’s Northern Territory Open Education Centre (NTOEC, 2014) provides distance education to students at home. NTOEC also supports teachers in Community Schools in remote areas. This mode of education provides the student with a local teacher and a class for cultural awareness and group activities, as well as remote teaching for specialist subjects.

Reference

Kapitzke, C., & Pendergast, D. (2005). Virtual Schooling Service: Productive Pedagogies or Pedagogical Possibilities?. Teachers College Record, 107(8), 1626-1651.Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/8153/1/8153_2.pdf

NTOEC, (2014). 2014 Subject and Enrolment Handbook. Darwin, Northern Territory: Northern Territory Open Education Centre. Retrieved from http://www.ntoec.nt.edu.au/site/attachments/Curriculum/subjecthandbook.pdf#page=3