Media Release, 04 September 2014

Called the Delany Connective – the connected classroom brings together video conferencing, wireless mobile devices, interactive desks and cloud-based software applications. When combined these help enable teachers, students and parents to collaborate to deliver a personalised learning environment.

Traditional classrooms have been opened up and modernised to create a contemporary learning environment with technology-optimised furniture designed to facilitate small group collaboration. Learning will be personalised and the curriculum integrated to suit the individual needs of students in Years 7 and 8, moving away from a ‘one-size-fits-most’ approach to traditional curriculum delivery.

“In recent years, brought about by technology, we’ve seen changes in the way our students want to engage with teachers and with one another, which is challenging the traditional teacher-led instruction model that has lasted decades,” said Delany College principal, Peter Wade.

The Delany Connective is the result of a shared vision between Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta and Telstra. With literacy and numeracy levels falling below the OECD average and the need to ensure students learnt 21st century skills like creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking, education can benefit from partnerships with business to support relevant schooling to equip students with the skills they need to move into meaningful jobs in the future.

“Like many other sectors, education is not immune from the pace of change brought about by technology, so we have to evolve to meet the needs of today’s learners, life and work. To address this, we’ve been working very closely with Telstra to create a new environment that uses some of the latest technologies to fundamentally shift how we teach our students. Since going live in May, the experience has been very positive and it’s only just the beginning,” Executive Director of Schools at the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta, Greg Whitby.

Brendon Riley, Group Executive, Global Enterprise and Services, Telstra, said: “The Delany Connective can turn the traditional model of teaching on its head and shows what’s possible when the latest technologies are used to change how teachers, students and parents connect and collaborate.

“Activity-based working is a hot topic in the workplace and we are now starting to see this shift in our schools. The Delany Connective is a great example of what’s possible and Telstra is committed to helping other schools develop similar connected, automated and collaborative learning environments,” said Brendon.

Delany College is the first secondary school in Australia to commit to a full transformation of its learning environment for Year 7 and 8 students towards project based learning, with the new model encompassing an integrated curriculum focused on real-world outcomes.

Telstra’s rollout of Cisco collaboration solutions for Delany College and CEDP, such as TelePresence and Show and Share, will also help enable students to interact and engage with peer schools and outside experts from across the globe to better understand differences in views, perceptions and potentially solutions.