After a motel style continental breakfast ( cereal, fruit juice, toast and tea) we were picked up at 08.45 to go on a tour of the Longreach School Of Distance Education (LSODE). I didn't know what to expect but it was very interesting.
The LSODE covers an area twice the size of Victoria here in Australia. It teaches from Prep Grade to Grade 10. Students, in groups of six have personal audio/visual contact with their grade teacher for 45 minutes each school day. They also have a local tutor, normally Mum or a a Nanny. The children all live on remote stations, some up to 500Km away. They receive their course materiel by mail every few weeks and are expected to complete assignments by e-mail or mail.
Once or twice a year a teacher visits the students for assessment and consultation. Note this can be a three day trip for a one day visit.
The students have a camp every year and a sports day. They actually rehearsed a play and put it on in Longreach. They also have an art contest which all the family can contribute to. My favourite was a little horse welded up on her own by a Grade 5 girl whose welds would put mine to shame.
We watched a prep group work. Audio/Visual contact is by phone to minimize the communication delays associated with satellite communication. The teacher works in sound proof studios and appears in the students vision and the teacher gets a large view of a single student and all can see small views of the other students in the group. There is even a Japanese lady who teaches, you guessed it, Japanese as a second language.
We then went to the QANTAS Founders Museum. I always thought that this was QANTAS funded bur apparently the locals had a replica of the first QANTAS aircraft for the Stockman's' Hall of Fame which I visit tomorrow. It was too big so the locals built their own museum containing memorabilia and replicas. Then QANTAS gave them a 947 and the locals got a 707 and a Catalina flying boat. It was an interesting trip and we spent 4 hours there.
Three of us finished it off with a helicopter flight over Longreach. I had vowed never to fly in a helicopter but have to say that I enjoyed it.
We are going to the local RSL for dinner.
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