MEDIACOM-RELEASE-SHANDWICK-INTERNATIONAL
Nationwide 'Whole School Solutions' Seminars show teachers how to integrate technology in the classroom
MELBOURNE, 19 JULY, 2000/MediaNet International-AsiaNet/-- Melbourne-based online education group, ISIS Communications,
will next week tour New Zealand to present a series of seminars designed to help teachers integrate technology into the
classroom.
The seminars, which will be held in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland, mark the New Zealand launch of ISIS' XSIQ, an
Internet delivered e-learning tool designed to meet the curriculum needs of New Zealand secondary schools.
Tony Carrucan, Vice President of Marketing and Sales for XSIQ, said the seminars had been developed to satisfy a growing
demand from Australian and New Zealand teachers for instruction on using technology to enhance teaching and learning.
"Australasia is on the cusp of an e-learning revolution and our teachers are eagerly seeking skills to help facilitate
the accompanying changes in the classroom", Mr Carrucan said
"Australasia has one of the highest per capita usages of the Internet anywhere in the world with more than four million
people online. Not surprisingly this heightened use of the Internet is drastically changing the way we teach and learn."
"But e-learning doesn't mean replacing teachers and classrooms with computers. It means using technology and the
Internet to create a better learning environment for students. This is where teachers are actively seeking additional
skills to help them achieve this."
Mr Carrucan said the seminars, which would be led by key note speaker Mr Ron Lake, Principal of Bendigo Senior Secondary
College (BSSC) would provide teachers with real world examples of using technology to enhance the learning process.
"BSSC is nationally and internationally respected for its integration of information technologies into teaching and
learning. In the last four years the school has had 10,000 visitors from Australia and abroad and has conducted off-site
presentations to the same number, on its innovative approach to learning through the use of technology," he said.
Earlier this year ISIS announced a co-development alliance with Bendigo Senior Secondary College, one of the foremost
Information Technology Navigator Schools in Australia.
Under the agreement, ISIS and BSSC will create a series of e- learning solutions for Australian secondary school
teachers and students. These will include: * New XSIQ Internet-delivered VCE subject content for students * An XSIQ
assessment and monitoring module for teachers * An innovative Intranet-based e-learning model for Australian schools to
provide students with 24 x 7 remote access to school curriculum * A professional development program to assist
Australian teachers with the integration of technology to enhance learning.
Mr Lake will explain how similar models could be developed for New Zealand schools.
About XSI
qXSIQ is an Internet-delivered educational service, which offers comprehensive secondary school subject content that is
specifically created to complement the Year 11 and 12 core curriculum in Australia and New Zealand. XSIQ's interactive
content is designed to improve learning rates and increase the learning experience.
XSIQ subject content is developed by senior teaching professionals who prepare materials according to guidelines
provided by the Boards of Study in those areas.
It combines on-line Internet access with dedicated subject CD-ROMs, to create a multi-media, multi-sensory lesson
tutorial that students can access 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
By logging on to the XSIQ education portal (www.xsiq.com http://www.xsiq.com ) students, teachers and parents can access
educational resource materials, which have been specifically developed to support each subject in the year 11 and 12
curriculum.
Seventeen individual subjects including biology, physics, economics, physical education, legal studies, chemistry and
geography will be available for New Zealand students and ISIS Communications will also look at developing specific
courses for New Zealand students in the near future.
"Students can work through the subjects on the computer like a text book, but the programs offer a number of advantages
over text books as they are interactive and are regularly updated by our academic staff," Mr Carrucan said.
Students can use CDs or dial in to the school network from home for instruction texts and the material can also be used
by teachers in the classroom. The multi-media presentations include 3D modelling, videos, sound files and evaluation
tasks.
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