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School of the Air

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School of the Air´s studio in Alice Springs

School of the Air is a generic term for correspondence schools catering for the primary and early secondary education of children in remote and outback Australia.

History

The first School of the Air lessons were officially broadcast from the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Adelaide on 8 June 1951.[1] The service celebrated its 60th anniversary on 9 May 2011, ahead of the actual anniversary on 8 June.[2][3][4] Each state of Australia that utilises this means of education has well documented reviews and overviews of the service.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

School classes were conducted via shortwave radio from 1951 until 2003,[5] after which most schools switched to wireless internet technologies to deliver lessons that include live one-way video feeds and clear two-way audio.[6][7][8][9][10]

Each student has direct contact with a teacher in a major inland town such as Broken Hill, Alice Springs or Meekatharra. Each student typically spends one hour per day receiving group or individual lessons from the teacher, and the rest of the day working through the assigned materials with a parent, older sibling or a hired home-stay tutor.

Traditionally, the students received their course materials and returned their written work and projects to their hub centre using either the Royal Flying Doctor Service or infrequent and unreliable post office services. However the extension of Internet services into the outback now enables more rapid review of each child's homework.

As the children are in isolated situations, the School of the Air is frequently their first chance of socialization with children outside their immediate family. This is supplemented by 3 or 4 annual gatherings where the children travel to the school to spend one week with their teacher and classmates.

Studies have shown that such education has a parity with if not better standard than traditional methods of schooling [11]

Schools of the air

Mount Isa, Queensland [12][13][14][15]
Charters Towers, Queensland [16]
Longreach, Queensland [17]
Charleville, Queensland [18]
Cairns, Queensland [19]
Katherine, Northern Territory [20]
Alice Springs, Northern Territory [21][22]
Broken Hill, New South Wales [23][24][25]
Tibooburra, New South Wales [26]
Port Hedland, Western Australia [27]
Port Augusta, South Australia [28][29][30]
Kimberley, West Australia [31][32][33]
Carnarvon, West Australia [34]
Kalgoorlie, West Australia [35][36]
Meekatharra, West Australia [37][38][39]
Victoria [40]

See also

  • Our Rural Magazine for an example of an earlier pre-radio forms of distant education communication in Western Australia.

Notes

  1. ^ "World's First School Air Opened". The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954). Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia. 9 June 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  2. ^ Ashton, Jean (1978) School of the air . Adelaide : Rigby, 1978 Previously published as Out of the silence, Adelaide: Investigator Press, 1971. ISBN 0727009850
  3. ^ Western Australia. Education Dept & Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. Western Australian Section (1968). In The school of the air. Govt. Pr, [Perth
  4. ^ New South Wales. Dept. of Education. Public Relations Office (1969). In School of the Air. Govt. Pr, [Sydney
  5. ^ Some sources suggest later Students not to be taught through the Royal Flying Doctor Service. SatWeb introduced. re - the Kimberley School of the Air.Broome advertiser, 16 Dec. 2004, p.4
  6. ^ "New wings for schools of the air". The Age. Melbourne. 11 February 2003.
  7. ^ Bond, Donald S & Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (1978). In Satellite communications for the school of the air in Australia. Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd, Sydney ISBN 0908522096
  8. ^ Forster, M. F & Katherine School of the Air (1981). In Domestic satellite and the School of the Air. Katherine School of the Air, Katherine, N.T
  9. ^ Crump, Stephen & Twyford, Kylie & Anderson, Alan & Towers, Lorraine & Devlin, Brian et al. (2010). Australian Research Council Linkage project on Interactive Distance eLearning : 'Opening Our Eyes' : project report. In Interactive distance learning for isolated communities : ARCL project discussion papers 2008-2010.
  10. ^ Crump, Stephen & Twyford, Kylie & Littler, Margaret (2010). Interactive distance e-learning for isolated communities : the policy footprint. In Interactive distance learning for isolated communities : ARCL project discussion papers 2008-2010.
  11. ^ Imamura, E (1987). In Conventional and nonconventional schooling: a comparison of pupil performance in rural schools and schools of the air. University of Western Australia
  12. ^ http://www.mtisasde.eq.edu.au// School of the Air – Mount Isa
  13. ^ McKerrow, Helen & Mt. Isa School of the Air. P. & C. Association (1985). In Over to you : the first 25 years of the School-of-the-Air in North-West Queensland. Mt Isa School-of-the-Air P & C Association, [Mt Isa, Qld.]
  14. ^ Lacey, LloydDistance education by satellite: the experience of the trial use of Aussat at the School of the Air, Mt Isa. -Qld-. In New Horizons: Aussat '86: Conference & Exhibition 5 & 6 November 1986. 201-210.
  15. ^ http://www.mtisasde.eq.edu.au/touristInfo.html
  16. ^ http://www.chartowsde.qld.edu.au/
  17. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s140221.htm about Longreach
  18. ^ http://charlevisde.eq.edu.au/wcms/
  19. ^ King, Mark (1 August 2007). "Australia's school of the air". The Guardian. London.
  20. ^ Katherine School of the Air (1981). In School of the Air, Katherine, Northern Territory of Australia. Katherine School of the Air, Katherine, N.T
  21. ^ Alice Springs School of the Air (2001). In Alice Springs School of the Air. Alice Springs School of the Air, [Alice Springs, N.T
  22. ^ Alice Springs School of the Air (1991). In 40th birthday radio lesson booklet : week ending 8 June 1991. The School, [Alice Springs, N.T.]
  23. ^ Broken Hill School of the Air (1957). In Over to you : annual magazine of the School of the Air. The School, Broken Hill, N.S.W
  24. ^ Australia - the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the School of the Air [kit] /​ photographed by James H. Barr ; commentary spoken by Edmond Pegge ; notes by Winifred M. Barker and James H. Barr. St. Albans, Herts. (England) : Hugh Baddeley Productions, 1984. 34 slides, 1 sound cassette, 1 sheet ; in box 24 x 36 x 2 cm. re Broken Hill School of the Air.
  25. ^ Gibb, Phyllis (1986). In Classrooms a world apart : the story of the founding of the Broken Hill School of the Air. Spectrum, Melbourne. ISBN 0867861010 ISBN 0867861029 (pbk.)
  26. ^ http://www.tibooburra-d.schools.nsw.edu.au/
  27. ^ Lewis, Jo & Penfold, Chris & Port Hedland School of the Air (1989). In School of the Air : working together - apart : 1964-1989 : a silver anniversary project. Port Hedland School of the Air, [Port Hedland, W.A
  28. ^ Port Augusta School of the Air (1979). In Information booklet. School of the Air, Port Augusta, [Port Augusta, S. Aust
  29. ^ Lloyd, Patricia & Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (2003). In You can't say no. Royal Flying Doctor Service, [Adelaide]
  30. ^ Motley, Carrie & Starr, Bill (1990). In Bush tracks and radio waves : a history of Port Augusta School of the Air, 1958-1990. Tread Softly Pub, [Australia]
  31. ^ Kimberley School of the Air (2000). In School days on the airwaves : 40 years of Kimberley School of the Air. Kimberley School of the Air, [Derby, W.A.]
  32. ^ Kimberley School of the Air (1990). In Kimberley School of the Air, 1960-1990 : 30th anniversary magazine. The School, [Derby, W.A.?]
  33. ^ One of the world's largest classrooms. Details of 40th birthday celebrations.of the Kimberley School of the Air. Broome advertiser, 13 Dec. 2000, p.30-31
  34. ^ Fitzpatrick, Jim & Western Australia. Education Dept. Research Branch (1983). In The Carnarvon School of the Air : a study of the Parents and Citizens' Association and its interaction with the Education Department. Education Dept. of Western Australia, Research Branch, [Perth, W.A.]
  35. ^ http://www.emerge.net.au/~kalsota/
  36. ^ Looking around.Kalgoorlie [W.A.] : Kalgoorlie School of the Air, 1965-1976.Battye Library has part of the series only - see http://henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au/record=b1852139~S2
  37. ^ Aerial /​ Meekatharra School of the Air. Also Titled Wisdom by Wireless. Meekatharra, W.A. : The School, 1959-
  38. ^ Meekatharra School of the Air (1984). In Wisdom by wireless : twenty five years, 1959-1984. Reads Printing & Pub, [Perth, W.A.]
  39. ^ Hobson, Valerie.(1999) Shirley Forrester, elder of the bush. Outlines her own experiences in being educated as a student from rural WA and her contributions to rural education in Meekatharra including her establishment of the Meekatharra School of the Air, and her many achievements. in Network news for rural, remote and regional women, Summer, 1999, p. 14,
  40. ^ http://www.distance.vic.edu.au/index.html

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