Net package for NSW public schoolies - News - Business

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Net package for NSW public schoolies

By Rachel Lebihan, ZDNet Australia
February 25, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/Net-package-for-NSW-public-schoolies/0,139023166,120263666,00.htm

Internet access, e-mail accounts and personal Web pages will be progressively rolled out to 1.2 million NSW public school students by June 2003, in what is being touted as one of the largest projects of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

The -e-learning" accounts, which will hook up TAFE students and 30,000 school teachers, is part of a three-year, AU$33 million contract headed by Unisys that will see the first 400,000 users connected by the end of the year.

-It has taken a while...It's taken about a year to get to the phase where a tenderer was chosen but there's no apology about that," a spokesperson for NSW minister for education and training, John Watkins, told ZDNet Australia.

According to Watkins, once the e-learning accounts are established, the Department of Education and Training (DET) will be the largest provider in Australia.

-NSW will be the leading Australian State when it comes to using technology to promote learning," he said.

-This is a quantum leap for NSW education...These advances are the first step in changing our schools and TAFE colleges forever," Watkins added.

The Internet package includes:

Personalised e-mail accounts for teachers and students.
Filtered Internet access.
Web facilities for individuals, schools and colleges.
Student discussion groups.
Remote access from any location.
24-hour technical support.

A pilot program involving up to 5000 yet-to-be-chosen country and city students will be kicked off in the second half of the year to trial the e-learning packages, which will enable users to access learning materials and library resources from anywhere anytime; participate in collaborative work groups within their school, college or across the State; and enable parents to communicate by e-mail with teachers about matters such as their child's attendance and academic progress.

Internet and e-mail filters, and virus scanning and intrusion-detection packages will be used to protect participating students from -inappropriate content", according to DET, which will also operate a -black list" of excluded sites. E-mails can be monitored for inappropriate use and students under the age of 18 will need parental consent to hold an account, the department said.