Interactive Distance Learning

The concept of distance learning is that participants are usually separated by distance and/or time.  There are two main types of distance learning concepts.

• Synchronous: This describes learning activities in which the students and teachers are separated by distance, but not by time.
• Asynchronous:  This describes learning activities in which the students and teachers participate at different times.

REACT is a synchronous e-Learning tool that permits teachers and students to attend a real-time virtual classroom irrespective of how geographically dispersed they may be.  REACT offers many features and tools which facilitate interaction and collaboration between all participants making the virtual classroom as close to the real thing as this innovative technology can provide.

The Importance of Interaction

The reason for emphasising interaction is its strong influence on knowledge retention.  The Cone of Learning (Dale) chart as shown, highlights the importance of giving students an active role in the learning process.  It is evident that having students actively involved, by participating in activities and discussions, their expected level of retention will increase from 50% (passive receiving) to 90% (active participation).

It is for these reasons that REACT has been specifically designed to incorporate rich, dynamic multimedia tools to not only allow but encourage enjoyable interaction during lessons.

"Singing Along" Lesson taught using a laptop at 
Maningrida Community School, NT Australia

Sense of Community

Educating people generally and children specifically in remote locations is very challenging for the children, their families and their teachers and has become an increasing focus for researchers.

It has often been noted that learning at a distance makes it difficult to form a 'Sense of Community' amongst participants so that they do not feel removed from the activities, their teachers and their classmates. 

REACT was designed to have the highest quality audio and video to enable teachers and students to actively participate as if in the real classroom.  Students have access to all the tools in the software to maximise their involvement and contribution.  Students are also provided with the option to personalise their attendance by creating their own 'profile' (image & name) in the class list which can be changed as often as desired.

Now it's up to the imagination!

REACT provides the tools to enable maximised interaction and collaboration and to permit the development of a 'Sense of Community' amongst teachers and students and between students themselves.  Through a range of dynamic capabilities now at their fingertips, teachers and students are provided with learning options limited only by their own imagination!

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*  Edgar Dale, Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching (3rd Ed), Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston 1969