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Open High School
Introduction
Open High School is a New South Wales Department of Education and Training (DET) secondary distance education school offering courses in 13 languages to students in Years 9 - 12, and is located in the eastern Sydney suburb of Randwick.
Use of ICT
The Open High School Australia (OHS Australia) supports distance interactive e-learning and operates in a distance education mode with students completing the bulk of their learning in their home schools via a variety of strategies including: through the use of radio and audio cassettes, CD ROMs, DVDs, telephone lessons and fax, audio and video conferences, computers/internet and web assisted communication and blackboards - internet-based exercises delivered via the school's online Learning Management System, Moodle, face-to-face individual and group lessons.
The school also encourages students to attend face-to-face days which are usually held at Open High School once a term for students in Years 11 and 12 and once a semester for students in Years 9 and 10. These are valuable learning experiences where students meet their teachers and the other members of their class.
Student Achievement
Open High School has a history of outstanding HSC results. Students regularly top the state in examinations and approximately one third of each year’s cohort achieve marks which place them in Band 6 for 2 Unit subjects or Band 4 at Extension level, the highest bands that can be awarded. In the 2010 Higher School Certificate, Open High School students achieved first place in each of the following languages: German Continuers, Indonesian Background Speakers, Indonesian Continuers, Indonesian Extension, Japanese Background Speakers, Korean Continuers, Modern Greek Beginners, Russian Background Speakers, Spanish Continuers, Spanish Extension.
Open High School Australia believes that virtual schooling and distance education can in fact equip students with the skills and independence needed to become lifelong learners and teachers as well as producing excellent immediate results at national and international examinations. In 2011, Open High School initiated a project to consolidate the lifelong aspect of its holistic education.
More Details - Mission, Courses, Teaching Methods
Open High School provides learning opportunities for students with different options accross geographical barriers throughout the territory of North West. It ensures that options are maintained despite geographical and other individual circumstances. In 2011 there is a network of 19 distance education schools and centres throughout the state delivering education, via a variety of media, to country, metropolitan, interstate and overseas students who meet enrolment guidelines.
Open High School is the only LOTE (Languages Other Than English) specialist school in the network. It currently teaches 13 languages in over 70 courses, to nearly 2000 students from over 500 government and non-government schools. Open High School employs over 100 ful-time, part-time and casual teaching staff.
At Open High School, all students are part of a class even though their fellow students are from different schools spread across the state. A teacher interacts with students via written comments, CDs, phone lessons and conversations, fax, email, face-to-face lessons, school visits and study days. Students also have the opportunity to interact with the online learning system, known as Moodle.
Open High School offers courses for the following Board of Studies Stage 5 languages in Years 9 and 10: Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Modern Greek, Russian, Spanish.
Open High School offers Preliminary and High School Certificate (HSC) courses for the following Board of Studies Stage 6 languages in Years 11 and 12: Beginners (Preliminary and HSC), Continuers (Preliminary and HSC), Continuers and Extension (HSC only), Extension (HSC only), Background Speakers (Preliminary and HSC); and these are for all the 13 different languages.
Open High School follows the prescribed term and holiday dates for NSW government schools as required. Open High School is open from 9.00 am to 3.30 pm on weekdays (except school holidays and public holidays).
Moodle Users
Moodle is Open High School's e-learning site for part or all of very dedicated lessons. Each teacher gives lessons on how to complete studying using the Moodle as well as completing and sending homeworks. The Moodle site also displays all important dates and time tables relating to various courses. Students use the timetabled periods of their school only for work in an Open High School course. Work not completed during this time must be completed as homework. Students are required to take note of teacher's messages and comments as well as answer questions asked by their teachers.
Teachers are always available to answer questions that may arise, including difficulties with playing CD’s, accessing and using Moodle, missing lesson materials or a change in personal details.
The Internet offers exciting opportunities for enrichment of the learning experiences of students studying foreign languages by distance education. The distance education mode requires students to take extra responsibility for their own learning. It is therefore expected that students will behave in a responsible way in all Open High School learning activities involving Internet use, observing all the rules in the following Code of Behaviour.
Open High School caters for students in Years 9 to 12 who attend a Government or non-Government school which does not offer one of the 13 languages offered at OHS.
Location and Address
Open High School is located in Randwick, Sydney, and is part of the NSW Department of Education and Training's rural and distance education network. For more information on Open High School Australia, visit its website:
http://www.theopenhs-d.schools.nsw.edu.au (currently unavailable)