Blended Learning at the Schools of Isolated and Distance Education SIDE Western Australia, Australia

In today’s “e-world”, distance is no barrier to successful learning. This is no more evident than at the Schools of Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE) in Western Australia. Founded in 1918, SIDE is the centre for distance learning within the Department of Education of Western Australia (DoE). The SIDE Leederville campus provides quality education for over 4000 students from Pre-primary to year 12 in isolated circumstances in Western Australia and beyond. SIDE provides education for students who, for various reasons, cannot attend classes in a regular school. All learning areas within the Western Australian curriculum are taught to students in all phases of learning, using a combination of synchronous (Centra web-conferencing & Video-conferencing), asynchronous (Moodle) and traditional delivery techniques (Print, CD, phone, email) in order to better engage and motivate students.
SIDE students can be:
• in rural or metropolitan areas
• travelling or living in Australia or overseas
• in need of remediation or extension
• young professionals
• facing medical or emotional challenges
• primary or secondary
In fact anyone can be a SIDE student.
At SIDE it is an expectation that all students will have the same educational opportunities as their peers in regular, face-to-face schools. SIDE is committed to the provision of learning programs that cater for all needs, providing students with a wide range of rich learning experiences, facilitated by the use of interactive technology. Online learning is not an add-on, nor is it a reward for SIDE students: it is just the way they learn.
This paper will examine the evolution of on-line delivery at SIDE, the strengths and challenges of such a programme and the directions SIDE is taking to embrace the concept of “u-learning” into the 21st century. It will also present strategies regular, face-to-face schools can use to embark on the online learning journey.

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