Upgrading of long-distance education facilities

24/2/94

Nearly 10,000 country students in Western Australia, including those in rural and remote communities, will benefit from a $2 million upgrading of facilities for long-distance education.

The upgrading includes new consoles for the five Schools of the Air, and telematics equipment for an extra 25 district high schools across the State.

Education Minister Norman Moore said today the upgrading would significantly improve the delivery of education to country students, including the 2,500 students involved in distance education.

Mr Moore said the expansion was part of a $9.8 million strategic plan, focused on locating Distance Education at Leederville in Perth, in a specialised education precinct.

New communication facilities would be installed at the five Schools of the Air at Derby, Port Hedland, Meekatharra, Carnarvon and Kalgoorlie.

The consoles would replace the existing 28-year-old long range radio equipment, would be included in ergonomic furniture and would enable the more than 300 children involved (at outback stations and homesteads) to hear each other respond to the teacher as a matter of course.

"This will make distance education much more like being in a standard classroom and will help restore this State's previous reputation for its distance education facilities," the Minister said.

"It marks a new era of hi-tech communications facilities for distance education."

Telematics equipment, which enables computer and voice interaction between teachers and students hundreds of kilometres apart, would be provided to 25 extra country high schools. Currently, about 34 regional high schools involving about 10,000 students use the equipment, but the expansion would broaden this to another 7,000 students.

Mr Moore said the telematics equipment would mean greater access for country students to specialist courses such as languages, and would enable expert teachers to reach students in remote areas.

Media contact:  Ross Storey 321 1444 or 222 9595