SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Teachers, students and families in regional and remote Australia have taken part in a Sydney Opera House trial using broadband technology to put performing arts education and vocational learning within the reach of all. The two-year, $700,000 study, From Bennelong to the Nation, was funded by the Commonwealth Government as part of its Broadband Enabled Education and Skills Services (BEESS) program – the findings were presented at an Opera House forum yesterday which featured a keynote address by leading international online education expert Professor Stephen Heppell.
Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron AM said: “We are committed to inspiring the next generation through education and the liberating power of art and ideas and this study outlines how we can achieve this goal. The Opera House embeds education at the heart of its children’s programs and each year our digital education program reaches more than 7000 regional and remote students. From Bennelong to the Nation shows how high-speed broadband can help us reach many more.”
From Bennelong to the Nation delivered eight interactive digital programs in the areas of professional development for teachers, career planning in the arts for students and theatre workshops for teachers and students. A family engagement program included a digital performance for families in their homes. There were 1,177 participants during the course of the two year study.
Professor Stephen Heppell said: “The very best education systems are the ones that seduce their children into a lifelong passion and hunger for learning. This program supports the global trend towards digital learning and evolving beyond simple face-to-face teaching practices by offering rich virtual learning experiences or ‘incursions’. With ubiquitous access to fast broadband through the NBN and a nation of pretty special children, Australia has an opportunity to remove the tyranny of distance and take the lead in this global exchange of fresh ideas. These ‘third millennium learning’ practices have the potential to produce a generation as adept at working and communicating with the world online, as the previous generation was at exploring it with their backpacks.”
For more details, visit sydneyoperahouse.com/creative_learning