A recent OECD report revealed that inequity in education remains an ongoing issue. In part, this is due to a disparity in academic performance between students from inner-city communities with greater access to resources, and those living in rural or remote communities or with socio-economic disadvantages.
Students in these circumstances can miss out on educational opportunities such as class excursions, outdoor learning, and experiential learning. While teachers, schools and educational support staff miss out on opportunities to enrich the school curriculum, and more effectively engage and encourage students to take a greater interest in their academic pursuits.
THE LINK BETWEEN DIVERSITY AND DIGITALISATION
In the last few years, an uptake in remote learning has seen rapid advancements in educational technology and online learning programs that have made education more accessible across the country. But the question remains: Could digital educational tools be the key to facilitating greater diversity, equity, and accessibility for Australian students?
The team at Distance And Rural Technologies (DART) Learning believe that digital learning can greatly assist in creating a more fair and equitable education for all students.
For nearly two decades, DART Learning has been collaborating with content providers – including museums, galleries, research institutes, scientists, writers, athletes, artists, educational organisations, musicians, zoos, and more – to offer teachers, parents and students incredible educational virtual excursions. Over the past 12 years, the organisation has listed more than 15,500 excursions.
“At DART Learning, we believe every student deserves access to the rich array of virtual excursions found in museums, zoos, science centres and other institutions around the world, igniting a lifelong passion for learning.” – The DART Learning team
BRINGING THE WORLD TO YOUR CLASSROOM
The aim of DART Learning is to provide all teachers, students, and parents with engaging virtual excursions to enrich the school curriculum. With an extensive collection of over 3,800 virtual excursions from 150 content providers, all conveniently accessible through a single website, DART Learning delivers a seamless and time- saving search experience.
Through the DART Learning website, schools gain access to many expert educational content providers, with new virtual excursions being added regularly. Content can be viewed live, on-demand or tailored to the specific time preferences and needs of schools and students.
Teachers receive a tailored experience that aligns with their individual preferences when they log in to DART Learning. This personalised approach ensures that the excursions displayed cater to their specific needs. Additionally, teachers have the ability to refine their search by selecting criteria such as years and stage, key learning areas, subject, strand and sub-strand.
Alternatively, they can search via the School Calendar of Events, which provides a comprehensive list of activities categorised by school terms and dates, enabling teachers to effectively plan for the entire year! Teachers can also explore DART Learning’s Special Filters which includes free virtual excursions, teacher professional development, student careers, and wellbeing.
DART Learning is an inclusive platform that fosters collaboration among content providers, as well as enabling them to connect students and teachers from all schools. The platform not only offers a free booking system but also allows the flexibility for content providers to use their own system if preferred.
In addition, DART Learning provides a team of in-house experts who are ready to assist with digital online production, marketing, data analytics, and ensure quality assurance for all virtual excursion listings.
THE DART LEARNING WEBSITE
Key features and benefits:
- A free service to all teachers, schools and students
- Over 3,800 virtual excursions from more than 150 content providers & experts
- Tailored searches showing relevant virtual excursions to each user based on their preferences
- A user-friendly website designed with one uniform online interface
- Accessible content that can be linked to the curriculum
- Allows for collaboration between multiple content providers for more diverse and interesting content options
- Includes an easy-to-use integrated booking system and school calendar for scheduling virtual excursions
To learn more or register for DART Learning, visit: https://dartlearning.org.au
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