USING SOCIAL COMPUTING TOOLS TO CONNECT REGIONAL AND REMOTE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Sue Trinidad · eSpace (Curtin University) · 2009
This paper describes the research undertaken in Western Australia that was part of the nationally funded Centre for Science, ICT, Mathematics education for Rural and Regional (SiMERR) research project investigating 'Social Computing Enhancing Learning in Remote Australia'.Social Computing driven by Web 2.0 technology, enable rich social experiences of groups via the Internet.An overview of two case studies using Social Computing is presented; describing how the project was established and run during 2007.Data collected and analysed demonstrate the outcomes that such projects have on student and teachers in regional and remote Western Australia.The findings indicate the potential for social computing to be an extremely powerful educational tool for learners and their teachers.Issues and challenges are also discussed as we attempt to connect geographically dispersed groups via technology in regional and remote areas.