Australia
Radio schools
Since Australia is such a vast continent, for some children living in
isolated areas, and in the outback, it’s not possible for them
to actually get in to school. In order to ensure they don’t miss
out on their education, they rely on an interesting alternative – a
teacher over the radio. School of the Air was the idea of Adelaide
Miethke, an Adelaide schoolteacher. She suggested using the Royal Flying
Doctor Service’s radio network for education purposes. The first
lesson was broadcast in 1950, and the service has continued to expand
to 12 Schools of the Air.
Distance learning
The teachers use HF (high frequency) radio to provide lessons. This accompanies
correspondence lessons that the teachers send to their students through
the mail, which the students work on at home for 5 to 6 hours a day.
Group lessons on the radio last for about half an hour a day, with
groups tending to be around 8 to 18 students. In many ways, it works
just like a ‘normal’ classroom – the teacher explains
a point, asks questions, and different students give their responses.
But in this ‘classroom’, each participant could be several
thousand kilometres apart!
Outback advantage
The students have both advantages and disadvantages over their town-dwelling
peers. Whilst they don’t get much face-to-face interaction with
other young people, they grow up with access to far more space and
freedom than other youngsters. They learn all about the techniques
for surviving in a potentially hostile environment, important farming
and animal husbandry techniques, and many also learn Aboriginal lore
and tradition. The School of the Air adds to this broader education,
ensuring that young people living in the Outback are able to relate
to the outside world on an equal footing.
Into the future…
The first School of the Air was that in Alice Springs, which now covers
an area of over 1 million square kilometres, overlapping the borders
of Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Nowadays, as
well as using the radio, students are also able to access information
and communication via newer technologies such as email, computer links,
video and the Internet. This will doubtless mean that the Schools of
the Air continue to develop in order to ensure that potentially isolated
young people are included within the school community of Australia.
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