Orange school students are set to plug into a faster digital future after the State Government announced funding to make internet access to schools four times quicker.
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Education Minister Adrian Piccoli was at Calare Public School on Monday to announce 50 Central West schools would be the first to benefit from a $46-million plan to improve internet access to regional schools.
Mr Piccoli said all classrooms would get internet access, teachers would undergo technology training and schools would become Wi-Fi hubs for the whole community after hours and on weekends.
“IT and internet spending are absolutely critical because students do more and more of their work online,” Mr Piccoli said.
Mr Piccoli said schools would have to apply for funding and show how they would use it effectively.
He said the funding would provide computer hardware and training for teachers.
“Hardware is only one-quarter of the battle, the other three-quarters is how you use it.”
Schools will access the Education Department’s own internet service which he said was faster than the National Broadband Network being rolled out to homes and businesses.
Nationals candidate for Orange Scott Barrett said, “country students deserve educational infrastructure that is as good as their city cousins.”
Calare Public School relieving principal Colleen Alchin said she hoped the new access would fix current digital problems in schools.
“It drops out, students can’t log on and they lose their work. It will enable all of the students to work online at the same time.”
Canowindra and Aurora College virtual selective high school student Chanse McLean said students relied on the internet.
“It’s vital, its absolutely the backbone for Aurora. It will help in almost every way,” Mr McLean said.