In 2003 the school embarked on a major project involving the use of two way satellite equipment. The project, subsequent implementation of the technology, and development of teaching material and strategies is referred to simply as IDL (Interactive Distance Learning). The broad aim of the project is to establish a shared broadband Interactive Distance Learning communication infrastructure for families, to enhance the quality of the learning experience.

The initial project was part of a joint Northern Territory (NT), New South Wales (NSW) venture. The basic technical concept of the project was to have a studio transmitting to remote sites equipped with a satellite, computer and relevant software. Any number of students can ‘logon’ to any session being transmitted.

The technology itself is not new, it is the next stage along from one way video conferencing that has been in operation in different contexts for over a decade. The challenge for the school is not in getting the technology to work but to make it effective in enhancing the learning experience of its students.

This technology has been commonly used in the ‘stand and deliver’ methodology for a number of years. In such a model a teacher/trainer/lecturer can broadcast a lesson to a limitless number of students. This is the traditional lecture approach of imparting specific facts on a defined topic in a predetermined amount of time. This is not what Alice Springs School of the Air is about.

As educators of young children the school acknowledges the need to teach certain content, skills and processes and ensure that NT curriculum is covered, but more importantly the school is about providing a grounding in the love of learning. IDL is but one link in the chain to achieve this.

It has been said that IDL will place the most isolated and the most disadvantaged at the forefront of telecommunications services with access to rapidly evolving distance learning pedagogy. The school will chart its own way in developing effective pedagogy as nothing has been done with such technology and this age of student. The school is both captain and navigator on this voyage.

Three IDL studios have been established, one here at the Alice Springs School of the Air (ASSOA), one in Katherine at Katherine School of the Air (KSA), and one in Darwin at the Northern Territory Open Education Centre (NTOEC). NTOEC offer distance education to secondary age students throughout the Northern Territory and operates on a very different model to ASSOA for their normal delivery as well as their use of IDL. All three schools are now part of the Northern Territory Distance Learning Service.

At ASSOA each student site has a satellite dish and associated computer equipment that allows the reception of data, audio and visual feeds from the studio and the transmission of audio and data back to the studio. This allows the students to see and hear their teachers in real time as well as being able to speak and be heard by other students in the class.

Students are able to re-size their video image of the teacher, allowing them to work simultaneously on their computer, sharing learning materials between teacher and student and student and student. IDL also allows lessons where the teacher can demonstrate skills or learning processes, including, but certainly not limited to; music, singing, science demonstrations, physical education skills, drama, poetry, modelled reading and art. In addition to this, it allows for the integration of other video inputs such as DVDs, VHS and CDs.

The teacher cannot see the students but having the students see the teacher is a huge improvement on HF radio. Teachers are in the process of working through different strategies and ways of using IDL. On one hand staff are looking at those parts of the curriculum that are difficult to teach via traditional correspondence or radio and looking at whether IDL can offer a solution. In addition, staff are looking at what they want to achieve in terms of higher order thinking skills and looking at how IDL may be able to enhance and improve the development of such skills. The possibilities are boundless and staff are keen to think outside the box to ensure that students get the maximum benefit possible from the technology.

It is important that IDL not be seen in isolation. It is one part of a complete solution that incorporates a range of things including email, web access and design, game play and a plethora of other technologies and approaches. Beyond the technology it is a means of communication as is the telephone, fax and regular mail services.

At the end of the day the measure of success will come from the overall impact on students. In part, this will be how well it enables certain outcomes of the curriculum to be met, in part by the teaching opportunities it presents, and above all, by the level of motivation and opportunity it provides for the students, teachers and families.