i-support Engaging and broadening horizons for at risk students Presented by Marilyn Pemberton and Zoe Wilkins 28 September 2005

Design Brief i-support seeks to use ICTs and excellence and innovation in learning and teaching to engage and broaden the horizons for at risk students and/or students in rural and remote locations. i-support does not replace existing services, rather it offers additional opportunities and resources for schools seeking to support students most at risk of disengaging from learning and not completing 12 years of schooling. i-support hopes to promote ‘capacity building’ in schools and to promote the use of ICTs for education service delivery.

STRUCTURAL FOUNDATIONS The two current components of i-support are: Ollie Up for middle schooling students targeting literacy, numeracy and social skills Stepping Stones for secondary students targeting careers education and school-to- work transition.

Exemplary and innovative use of technology Teacher Student Study coach Learning Synchronous lessons Blackboard™ Voice conference Data conference Video conference Other supporting tools and materials (Chat and forum facilities, collaborative online project tools, blogs, web cams, digital cameras, multimedia packages etc) Asynchronous lessons Blackboard™ and other tools mentioned Work submitted via , online digital drop box, ftp site etc

Ollie-Up Schools choose students and the ‘at risk factor’ (majority selected are boys with behaviour problems). The ‘norm’ has not worked for these students. Students work in small online groups. Focus on self esteem building and putting the ‘fun’ back into learning. Units developed out of student interest. Students used as peer tutors in their own classrooms.

Stepping Stones Units of competency have been developed to allow students to gain a nationally accredited Certificate l in Work Education. The core units of competency for the Certificate 1 in Work Education cover the following topics: Developing a personal plan Self esteem Occupational Health and Safety Industrial and Workplace Relations Job search and interview skills Structured workplace learning Enterprise education

This innovative arts-based project enables students to tell stories about life in their town, to other students in the form of media presentations, costume design, dance, music and song. Students work and collaborate in online groups to produce an arts performance. The culminating activity for this project includes a physical as well as an online event. Groups and schools involved in this project include: Dance (VSS students from Heatley and Gayndah) Music (The Band Thing program students from Glenala) Multimedia backdrop (Ollie Up students from Clermont and Baralaba) DVD group (Ollie Up students from Emerald and Springsure) Event management (Stepping Stones students from Bowen) Each group has specific responsibilities particular to their role in the project.

Nurturing the i-support community Monthly newsletter sent to all schools. discussion list for facilitators. Fortnightly teleconference with facilitators. Facilitator’s Blackboard™ space to share resources. Facilitator’s conference. Community website ( for communication, information and resource sharing. Use of Wink and similar software to create how to demos for schools setting up etc. Online and face to face workshops for teachers Travel buddy for students

The outcomes Proactive way to re-engage students. Increase in ICT skills for all involved in the program- student, student's class peers and teacher, study coach and facilitators. Provides community study coaches with ICT accreditation for being in the program. Provides others in the school with rich and innovative examples of how to integrate ICTs into the curriculum. Mode of delivery ideal for rural and remote schools. Provides itinerate specialist staff with an example of a mode of delivery to maximize time spent with students and minimize travelling time. All materials produced are shared through the curriculum exchange and therefore available to all teaching professionals. Future direction of the program guided by data gathered through action research.

For more information Visit our website Or contact Marilyn Pemberton Zoe Wilkins