Remote Student Access to Education via Satellite Delivery

For many years, the New South Wales Department of Education and Training has been using radio technology to deliver lessons to children in remote rural areas. Due to the expense and inherent unreliability of radio, the Department commenced looking for a replacement amongst emerging communication technologies in 1997. This paper reports on a Trial which was conducted by the Open Training, and Education Network - Distance Education section of the Department of Education and Training using satellite technology developed by Gilat of Israel, delivered and managed by Telstra. The 'virtual classroom' enabled distance education teachers atBroken Hill School of the Air to deliver interactive lessons to primary students at remote sites across western New South Wales. This paper provides an overview of the technology, and outlines the processes proposed for evaluation of the teaching and learning supported by this satellite based system.