“That ICPA Qld lobbies the relevant bodies to ensure that the Department of Education (DoE) continues to develop, create and provide access to both digital and print format Independent Learning Materials (ILMs) for all subjects within the Version 9 Australian Curriculum to ensure equitable educational materials are provided for Distance Education students.”
IIndependent Learning Materials are an important resource in the Distance Education classroom for many rural, remote and travelling students. They provide the teaching resource and learning materials that align to the Australian curriculum. The recent decision by the DoE to no longer fund the development of these ILMs, and transition to Curriculum Support Materials (CSMs) is already having repercussions within the classroom, as LSODE primary students no longer having access to ILMs for English.
Without paper based (or printable digital) materials at home to work from, a student’s ability to learn the content for English is dependent on attending online lessons (or recordings directly after), and the provision of lesson materials directly from the teacher. In instances where there are connectivity / technology issues, the teacher is away with or the family may not be online due to work and travel arrangements, there is an obvious issue presented to the Home Tutor and student. The CSMs that are being developed are currently only available for Unit 2 of English, Prep-Yr 2. That is leaving a very large gap for other year levels and a lack of material support. The CSMs are still in early stages of development and are not sufficiently tested.
In today’s Distance Ed classroom, the learning content is primarily delivered through online lessons or accessing Eduventure/ eTeach units. For older primary students this can be 4.5 hrs+/day. This assumes that the family has access reliable internet, and that they have a functioning computer – when these fail, students are left in the lurch. Connectivity issues and lack of access to technology support are rife throughout regional and rural parts of Australia (especially after turning off the 3G network). The option to complete work “offline” is essential for geographical and travelling families; access to paper (or printable digital) materials also enables flexibility in work and travel considerations in the DE schoolroom.
Distance Education was created for children who cannot access “mainstream” school. For geographical enrolments in our SDEs it is supposed to enable access to an equitable standard of education to their mainstream peers, that can fit in with the lives, work commitments and connectivity access of our rural and remote families. Removing access to ILMs is removing our families’ choices and the rights of our kids to access to a quality education.
