Australia

School of the Air is a generic term for correspondence schools catering for the primary and early secondary education of children in remote Australia.
The school celebrated its 50th birthday on the 8th of June in 2000.
School classes were conducted via shortwave radio from 1951 through 2002, after which most schools switched to wireless internet technologies to deliver lessons that include live one-way video feeds and clear two-way audio. Each student has direct contact with a teacher in a major inland town such as Broken Hill, Alice Springs or Meekatharra. Each student typically spends one hour per day receiving group or individual lessons from the teacher, and the rest of the day working through the assigned materials with a parent, older sibling or a hired home-stay tutor.



Traditionally the students received their course materials and returned their written work and projects to their hub centre using either the Royal Flying Doctor Service or infrequent and unreliable post office services. However the extension of Internet services into the outback now enables more rapid review of each child's homework.
The Alice Springs School of the Air currently has 120 primary school students spread over an area of 1,000,000 square kilometres. Aboriginal children represent approximately 15 percent of the enrollment.



As the children are in isolated situations, the School of the Air is frequently their first attempt at socialisation with children outside their immediate family. This is supplemented by annual gatherings where the children travel to the school to spend one week with their teacher and classmates.
Tourists can visit their facility in Alice Springs. Most of the live broadcasting takes place in the morning, and there are weekly assemblies on Friday, attended, on occasion, by students from the Outback who happen to be in Alice Springs.



Be prepared
Whether in desert or bush, arm yourself with up-to-date, preferably detailed maps showing water sources and nearest communities, have a compass or global positioning system, and emergency position indicator radio beacon (EPIRB).


Always inform someone where you are going, what route you plan to take and when you expect to reach your destination.
If you are traveling by road and expect to travel great distances, have your vehicle undergo comprehensive service before you leave.
On long journeys, have two complete spare wheels, extra petrol, engine oil, fan belts, spare keys. Carry water in several containers.
If your vehicle suffers a breakdown or gets bogged, the advice is to remain close to the vehicle as your vehicle would be easier to spot from the air in case of a search. Don't set out for help unless you definitely know where you're going and you know you can get there.
Don't rely on mobile phones to call for help. They may not receive a signal where you are.
Getting lost in the bush


Unless you are well-skilled in finding your way, particularly with compass or global positioning system, keep to properly-marked tracks.
If you are unfamiliar with the area, keep a safe distance from cliff edges.
Be alert to danger from animals. For instance, in the northern parts of Australia, there may be danger from saltwater crocodiles.
Call for help. If you are not in too remote an area, you may be heard and rescued.


In Australia's north you need to be aware of the Australian saltwater crocodiles. Their name is misleading. They live very happily in freshwater many hundred kilometres away from the coast.
Saltwater Crocodiles are cunning animals that stalk their prey and hide just below the surface. They are fast as lightning when they do attack and they are a lot more dangerous when you don't see them than when you do!
Stay away from the edge of rivers and any deep and still waters, and take any warning signs seriously.



Snakes? They are not dangerous to you if you use some common sense and follow the guidelines spelled out on the Australian snakes page. Snakes will not attack like crocodiles do, they only pose a danger when provoked.

Then there are the oh so dangerous centipedes and scorpions. Some stings can apparently be excruciatingly painful, but that's where the common sense comes into it. Wear sturdy shoes when bushwalking, don't pick up a scorpion to see what it looks like from underneath, and shake out your sleeping bag if you left it lying on the ground all day .

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