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Case Study

Australia

Open Access College

Prepared by: Marg Beagley

Brief description of the programme

The Open Access College (oac) opened in January 1991, replacing the former South Australian Correspondence School. The college’s vision is to ‘recognise, value, and celebrate its uniqueness and the diversity of its people. It is an organisation whose business is teaching and learning … and as its very title suggests, all of its operations will be founded on the core values of access and openness’.

The teaching and learning programme involves interaction with students using a range of technologies, including high-frequency radio, telephone, facsimile, and electronic classroom techniques, as well as through a visiting programme, mini-schools, camps, and school experience weeks.

The college has the responsibility of redressing the educational disadvantage for children which arises from remoteness and isolation. It provides opportunities for students in metropolitan, rural, and remote areas of South Australia to gain access to a broader curriculum.

What is the Open Access College?

The establishment of the Open Access College was a key strategy in the management and co-ordination of the increased demand for distance education in South Australia. The college is a multi-campus organisation consisting of:

Three Schools of Distance Education

reception to year 10 (Marden site, metropolitan Adelaide),

senior secondary (Marden), and reception to year 12

(Port Augusta site, 300 kilometres by road from the Marden site);

Open Access Materials Unit

responsible for refinement, development, and production of open access course materials;

Outreach Education Services

providing educational support for a range of cultural and scientific institutions, for example, the State Zoo, Museum, Botanical Gardens.

Student profile

Students for whom services are provided by the schools of distance education come from the following groups:

students in government schools and non-government schools;

remote and isolated students, including some South Australians

who are resident or travelling interstate or overseas;

post-secondary age students, including prisoners, adult re-entry students,

and students in full-time vocational courses; and

special needs students, including medical-based and

student behaviour management

enrolments.

Problems encountered

Planning and managing distance education

Although close liaison between course developers and teachers is needed,

it is at times difficult due to different tenure of employment.

Teaching through course packages is supplemented by telephone, radio lessons,

or both; teleconferencing; and visits.

The range of clients at any given year level is very wide,

with a high turnover of students, particularly in the reception to year 10 levels.

Continuity and short-term enrolments can present difficulties:

in the management of learning activities.

Implementing quality assurance

Quality checks are built in at the course development level writers are selected on

merit; reference groups provide feedback at all stages of course development.

Feedback and liaison between teachers and course developers

are vital parts of the writing process.

Quality checks are built into the materials production process.

Using and integrating media in distance education

The use of media varies widely:

audio and video are considered integral components of course development.

The use of other media is optional where possible ;video conferencing,

and teleconferencing, facsimile, Electronic Classrooms,

as facilities for students permit.

Internet resources are being developed as an option for,

those students with access.

Instructional design and production for distance education

Principles for course development include teaching and learning methodologies,

course structure, and presentation elements.

Course structure, design, and layout are based on 12 learning principles

developed by the Open Access College.

Course materials are developed on-site at the Open Access College

in the Materials Unit; artists, keyboarders, electronic media studio, printing, and

distribution facilities are utilised.

Learner support system

Learners are provided with high-quality course materials for distance education,

supported by teacher contact, and electronic learning strategies.

Itinerant teachers visit primary students in remote areas.

Counselling and resource centre services are available from the Marden site

to support students in enrolment, personal concerns, and future option decisions.

Supervisors work with school- and home-based students,

particularly primary students and those in remote areas.

The most important issue: Using and integrating media in distance education

While the print medium is central to the delivery of courses through distance education from reception to year 12 levels, the use of other media is rapidly becoming an integrated part of all course development.

It is expected that aural and visual media will be used in all courses so that different styles of learning can be addressed.

Students are provided with audio and video cassettes to provide stimuli,

for the work that they do alone or with the assistance of a supervisor.

Teachers and students have print material from which to work,

and this is augmented by aural and oral contact with the teacher

through high-frequency radio, telephone links, or

both, varying from daily to weekly lessons.

The most basic form of electronic media is the teleconference

in which several students may be linked with the teacher by telephone

for their weekly lesson. Interaction between students and teacher is possible,

although the group dynamic takes time to establish this type of communication.

Where students have access, videoconferencing is possible giving the visual

as well as the audio contact;

it is generally not available as a multi-point medium but enables closer

contact between teacher and student.

The Electronic Classroomä allows interactive learning to occur through the use of

electronic whiteboard, video, and audio. Using this medium, the teacher and

the student are able to exchange work and

produce diagrams, maps, and written work in much the same way

as they would face to face.

Depending on the availability of student access, each of these electronic media are used daily by teachers in their delivery of lessons to isolated students.

Current developments include the use of the Internet to provide stimulus not previously possible through distance education. The Open Access College has allocated considerable time and resources to the development of its Web site and specific subject pages, enabling course writers to provide Internet options for students who have access to this technology.

The range of subjects utilising this medium at present includes the arts, legal studies, social studies, biology, environmental studies, geology, and home economics, as well as languages other than English.

In particular, the languages other than English (French, German, Indonesian, and Spanish) have used this medium to great advantage. Students can be given a selection of Web sites chosen for specific research, or the teacher is able to introduce new learning materials. For example, a student of Spanish is able to view an exhibition of etchings by Francisco Goya, produced co-operatively with the Art Gallery of South Australia. The student can also search for specific resources on aspects of culture — food, dance, and music; researched by the developer, and included in the subject page. The subject can incorporate a more holistic approach to learning for its student clients and allow them to access current, stimulating events to enhance their learning.

Information on each of the Outreach Education Services provided by the Open Access College as well as on cultural events and activities is also available through the home page.

The inclusion of the Internet resource must be an option at present as many students (particularly those in remote areas) do not have access to the Internet or even, in some case, to telephone communication. Nevertheless, it is a growing area, and one that is providing an exciting and stimulating aspect to distance education in South Australia.

Please visit our home page at http://www.saschools.edu.au/open_acc/open_acc