TECHNOLOGIES

The use of correspondence materials has been the basis for delivery of learning to the remote students of Katherine School of the Air since it began in 1966 and still continues as the back-bone of course delivery to this day. Technologies have been used to enhance the delivery of lessons. In most cases power is essential to run technical equipment and most remote families have power but some don't or have limited power provided by a generator which is turned on for only a few hours each day. It is not always 100% reliable and repairs and maintenance are a concern but the use technology to deliver lessons brings another dimension to distance learning.

Radio (1966 -

High Frequency (HF) Radio was in use when Katherine School of the Air began and is still being used today. The teacher delivers a lesson at a set time from a studio to a class using HF Radio. Students can hear their teacher and can respond, they are able to participate in a class situation. The radios are run off batteries which must be charged and an antenna must be positioned to received and transmit sound. Radios are loaned to families by the school. The school is fortunate to have a full time technician who has been here for many years to maintain the radios. The term "School of the Air" refers to the use of HF radio "air waves" to deliver lessons.

Telephone (1966 -

One of our main forms of communication is the telephone. Teachers spend a hours on the telephone each day liaising with Home Tutors and teaching students individually. The phone is useful for the teachers to listen too and assess a students reading and comprehension abiliy.

Television and Video (1986 - 1997)

Although our remote students did not have television reception, the introduction of the VCR enabled the taping of educational television programs and the production of our own programs at the school. The school had a bank of VCRs that could mass copy tapes which were then mailed to students who played them on a televisions and VCRs loaned to them by the school. The school phased out the television and VCR loan scheme when most families purchased their own equipment and satellite television became available to remote users.

Computers (1993 -

When the personal computer (PC) came into use in homes and schools, the challenge of access for our students arose. The school purchased a number of Apple MacIntosh computers and printers which were loaned to students with Hypercard and ClarisWorks Office software installed on them. An educational software bank with software related to curriculum areas such as spelling, maths, science, etc. was set up at the school so that teachers could send them to Home Tutors and students for loan. Operating the computer is not taught as a separate subject, their use is integrated with the teaching of curriculum areas. A computer co-ordinator/technician loads, packs and tests computers for loan. Home Tutors and students are inserviced on how to use their computer by their teacher. Technical difficulties with software and hardware are first reported to the teacher then passed onto the computer co-ordinator/technician. The school is at present phasing out the loan of Apple computers to students as many families now have their own computer, and the IDL project has brought with it a Windows PC package for loan to students participating in the IDL trial.

The Internet (1997 -

The Internet began to make itself known to Katherine School of the Air in 1996, by this time it was well entrenched in the cities of Australia and was filtering its way into rural areas. The school could see the huge potential of being able to connect to the Internet for it's students, they would have access to a world of information and could communicate instantly with each other people all over the world. There were a great deal of teething problems in trying to provide Internet access to remote locations in the Top End. Our overseas and travelling students faired better when it came to Internet connection as they often lived in areas close to towns and cities where the telephone line infrastructure could cope with data transmission. In the bush the telephone infrastructure was built to transmit voice only some lines could only transmit data at 2400bps, when a modem was connected data transmission was very slow and the connection often failed making internet usage very frustrating. Add to this the task of teaching and supporting remote Home Tutors and students as well as teachers who had little knowledge of how the internet operates. Katherine School of the Air loaned computers and modems already set up for families to connect to the Internet. Their service provider was initially located at Katherine High School operating as a secondary provider to a local supplier. Internet connection was provided free of charge to our families. Katherine High School ceased is service provision in 1999 and Katherine School of the Air took over the task of service provider and continued until 2001. In 2001 Telstra offered a two-way satellite Internet connection package to remote sites at no cost except for a monthly service charge. Many remote families took up this offer and purchased their own computer to take advantage of the roll-out of the two-way satellite connection which gave them an extremely fast broadband connection. In 2003 as part of the IDL project Optus rolled out its two-way satellite dishes to families participating in the IDL trial giving them a broadband Internet connection as well.

Elearning (2002 -

Elearning involves the creation of an on-line learning environment using web browser technology. Courses are written and organised using an Australian developed software package called 'Janison Solution' which was chosen and is supported by DEET . The courses are easily accessible at anytime from a PC connected to the Internet using a browser. To be able to log on to a course the participant must be given permission by the school and must enter a user name and password to access the course. In this secure environment students have access to courses written by teachers of Katherine School of the Air which can include information, links to other sites on the Internet and interactive features such as chat rooms, forums, tests, quizzes, email and instant messages, files can also be uploaded for others to see. The introduction of broadband Internet access to the bush and the roll-out of new computers to families as part of IDL has accelerated the use and number of students able to access elearning. Teachers involved in developing courses for elearning are learning and expanding their skills to accommodate this new mode of delivery.

Interactive Distance Learning (IDL) 2003 -

The IDL trial commenced in 2003 and will run for three years. IDL uses Internet technologies to transmit video and audio from a teacher in a studio to the students who hear and see their teacher on a PC in their home classroom. It is a little like radio in that a group of students tune in at a set time to participate in a lesson delivered by a teacher in the studio. The difference is that the student can see as well as hear the teacher clearly and the teacher has the ability to use an interactive white board with the student or share a word processing document. A presentation program is used as an aid and interactive quizzes can be inserted into the presentation. The teacher can call on students to hear their questions and answers but the teacher is unable to see the student. With the IDL project came two-way satellite dishes for Internet connection and PC workstations rolled out to the 42 Katherine School of the Air families participating in the trial, this roll-out supports not only IDL lessons but has increased the accessibility of students to the Internet for research, email, communication and elearning purposes.