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.
