Teachers are all individuals, and no one should understate the importance of teacher pupil contact in a real life setting. However, there are certain aspects of teaching which are repetitive, and which could be carried out with the aid of technology.
I have a PhD in education and my research focused applications of technology in the classroom. My research began in 1995 and I graduated in 2000. Technology has improved exponentially since then, but the school classroom is still pretty much the same. Even the School for Isolated and Distance Education, although delivered on a screen, has the same classroom structure, with a teacher at the front delivering the same content at the same speed to all the pupils in the class.
We can do better than that, and the State Government needs to lead the change.
For too long the State Government has set the curriculum but shrugged their shoulders on delivery methods.
There are many self paced learning tools available, and the government needs to take a more proactive role researching, reviewing, and making recommendations to schools.
I personally use Khan Academy to check for gaps in the knowledge of my own children. I have worked as volunteer tutor with the Khan Academy sister organisation Schoolhouse World. The group is well funded, highly regarded in the US, and I can tell you first hand, it includes some very smart people. Yet I sense a reticence on the part of Australian teachers to use the free content they provide.
The State Government needs to, develop a knowledge base on not for profit organizations such as Khan Academy, form partnerships where appropriate, and offer firm guidelines to schools on best usage of the available content.
