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Brisbane School of Distance Education
The Brisbane School of Distance Education (BSDE) is the largest virtual school located in Queensland, Australia.
BSDE is by far the largest distance education school in Queensland educating over 3800 students and with over 300 staff members (215 of whom are teachers). The Executive Principal also plays a leadership role with the other 6 schools of distance education, which are located across Queensland.
Its mission is creating quality educational experiences for our community of diverse learners.
The Brisbane School of Distance Education web site is at http://brisbanesde.eq.edu.au.
More Details
BSDE has recently moved into a purpose-built, Aus $30million, new facility - a brand new school comprising both junior and secondary schools with playgrounds and classrooms, family rooms and a library. What differentiates BSDE from traditional schools is the large ‘distribution centre’ which is required to manage the substantial amount of materials provided to support learners and their families.
The general requirement for enrolment in the Brisbane School of Distance Education is that the student seeking enrolment is a resident of Queensland with a Queensland address.
Most students study almost fully online but they, and family members, also attend the school at least once a term or attend workshops and activities held in Queensland regional centres. Parents are encouraged to become ‘home educators’ and are offered support to achieve a recognised vocational qualification as such. In common with other Australian states Queensland has a system of rotating staff around its schools and all teachers are appointed to schools by the state - so there is no ‘cherry-picking’ of staff by the school. BSDE has had to prioritise staff development and is now recognised for its expertise in this area.
No proprietary online materials are used by BSDE. All materials are OER and/or teacher-created. BSDE employs a Curriculum Development Team of specialists - graphic artists, developers etc. All online materials are then provided through the Queensland state learning platform ‘One School’. BSDE’s results match, and exceed, those of the best schools in Queensland and the school has evolved from “...the last point of call, to leading staff” across the entire state.
Queensland is at the forefront of the development and testing of the Australian national curriculum - and BSDE is leading the state through ‘wrapping’ the new curriculum and providing it for schools state-wide.
BSDE was the outright winner of the Excellence in the Senior Phase of Learning award at the Queensland 2011 Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools.
The school also offers vocational courses: http://brisbanesde.eq.edu.au/wcms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=386:vet-course-outlines&catid=77:course-outlines&Itemid=255.
Reference
- BSDE web page 'Home Based Learners', http://brisbanesde.eq.edu.au/wcms/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=87&Itemid=135