Developing distance education courses P-12 now and for the future

Darrell Reid, Danuta Baran-Tait, Fiona Webster, Matthew Aston, Nikki Smith and Carol Ford
Course Development Management Team, Distance Education Centre, Victoria

The Distance Education Centre, Victoria (DECV) is a P-12 school providing flexible educational services for people who, for varying reasons, require tuition via distance education. The school currently caters for approximately 1000 full-time students and 1800 part-time students. For the full-time students, the DECV is the sole educational provider. Enrolments have increased 20% for each of the last two years. The DECV operates within a rapidly changing educational world. The School takes account of its changing client needs and integrates new Information and Communication Technologies (I&CT) into its teaching programs. It provides services to students and schools in the context of key Government policies, initiatives and directions. The School maintains strong Pastoral Care Programs for all its students. In 2001 a new Course Development Management Team (CDMT) was formed to refine and oversee the course development process. In this session DECV CDMT members will discuss a range issues arising from developing courses in a range of formats, from full online to paper based technologies, for a very diverse P-12 client base.