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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-07-06 Daily Xml
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SCHOOL TEACHING AND LEARNING PORTAL

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (16:12): My question is to the Minister for Education. Can the minister advise the house on how teaching and learning is being modernised in the public schooling sector?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Education, Minister for Early Childhood Development, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (16:12): I thank the honourable member for her question. The government is investing $7.8 million into a new web-based learning portal that will give every teacher, principal, preschool director and student their own personal homepage and log-in to access this new and revolutionary learning technology. Schools have been making the progression from blackboards and chalk to interactive whiteboards and laptops, replacing books. Frankly, the classrooms of today are almost unrecognisable to those of us who were at school not so long ago.

The school portal is an online learning tool that allows students and teachers to better connect. It allows students to log onto their own homepage, email teachers about their school work and submit assignments online, view YouTube videos about teachers demonstrating maths equations, keep track of their school calendar online, post and receive messages about schoolwork through online forums, and access information about other school activities and school sports, like training times and bulletins from the coach.

Teachers will be able to take the roll class by class so that student attendance can be monitored in real time, use Moodle (the online student management tool) to track student performance assignment by assignment, view their teaching schedules to track what class they have and the students in the class, and upload YouTube clips to complement their teaching.

Schools are in a unique position where teachers are instructing students who have grown up with this technology at their fingertips. The school portal embraces the way technology-literate students learn, and this technology is the next progressive step in the way students and teachers interact. Frankly, if we do not have this engaging online environment within school, we are competing with students who are doing this outside of school, and school will become an increasingly tired option in comparison so we have to have these offerings.

Teacher training is important and the new school portal replaces the ageing EdSuite Services and will be introduced into schools and preschools over the next 12 months, with the assistance of that training. Video tutorials and other resources will be uploaded online to help teachers use and get the most out of the school.

All indications show that teachers know how to use a web browser and, therefore, the transition to the new system should be quick and smooth. DECS will offer further support to teachers and principals online on how to best utilise the new system, as well as to facilitate an in-school mentoring system to link teachers who are well adapted to using the system, and helping those who might need a bit of extra help.

Student online safety is a key component of the school learning portal and teachers will be able to monitor the online forums, and schools and preschools will filter internet content that is not age appropriate. Our brand-new schools are fitted with Wi-Fi and computers throughout and have been built with future technology like the school portal in mind. The school portal is an exciting step forward in the way teachers teach and the way students interact. We have heard a lot about the perils of cyber safety, but the truth is there is also an enormous world of opportunity to revolutionise our schooling system, our education system, through online resources. It is something that our young people are literate in, and it is something that our system needs to respond effectively to.

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