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The School of the Air and remote learning
Australia is a huge continent and is home to some of the most geographically isolated and remote communities in the world. How do children living in these communities go to school? The answer is Community Government schooling and the School of the Air.
School of the Air is one of the means by which children in remote communities can access schools.Alternatively, community schools provide an opportunity for children to attend schools and to grow up in their communities. Teaching and learning in both types of schools has benefited greatly from radio communication and more recently, electronic facilities.
History of remote schooling

A student of Katherine School of the Air in the early 1960s. Image courtesy ofKatherine School of the Air.The Reverend John Flynn had established the Royal Flying Doctor Service after recognising that there was an urgent need for medical and health care to people living in remote communities. In response to this need the RFDS, under the guidance of Flynn, had established a radio network across the vast centre of the country. This network was powered by another great Australian innovation – AlfredTraeger's pedal-powered radio.
In 1946, Miss Adelaide Miethke was the vice-president of the South Australian wing of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) and a former inspector of girl's schools. The idea for the School of the Air was born when she noticed how outback children were all taught to use the RFDS radio service. She saw that there were other ways this network could be used.
Until the 1950s,children living in remote communities would either have to attend a boarding school, or complete their lessons by mail. This meant that students were either separated from their families or they had no interaction with their teacher and other students. Due to the delays in mail delivery, it also meant that many of these students would fall behind in their lessons. Something had to be done, butwhat?
In 1948, the Alice Springs RFDS base, was used to broadcast the first school lessons to outback children. Just a few years later, the School of the Air (SOA) was officially established. In 1956, the SOA program spread to New South Wales with other states and territories following soon after. In the late 1960s, the SOA gained international fame when featured on the popular Australian televisionprogram Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.
In 2005, there were more than sixteen schools of the air located around Australia, a network covering more than 1.5 million square kilometres.

How does the SOA work?

The mailroom at the Alice Springs School of the Air. Image courtesy of Alice Springs School of the Air.
Luckily, today's SOA students no longer have to use the old pedal-powered radios.Instead, they use high frequency (HF) radio transceivers to receive their lessons. A transceiver is a special type of radio that allows the user to both send and receive messages. This means that students can talk to each other as well as the teacher during classes.
SOA teachers also try to visit as many students as possible at least once a year. In fact, many schools of the air also try to organise anannual sports carnival and activity so students and their families can get together and participate in activities.
A SOA covers all the same curriculum as any other school in the state, so SOA students are not disadvantaged. In fact, teachers try to tailor each package to the individual needs of the student so gifted students or those with learning difficulties are specially catered for andgiven individual learning programs.
How is technology changing the SOA?

Students watching their lessons via computer at home. Image courtesy ofBroken Hill School of the Air.
Just like HF radios replaced pedal radios, new technology is constantly being incorporated into the schools of the air. The Optus Interactive Distance eLearning Initiative had brought the SOA into the digital age. This...