Staff and students at Esk State School, Bremer State High School, Toogoolawah State High School and Toogoolawah State School in the West Moreton district, have been working with CQU lecturer John Hunt, to access resources that some schools only dream of.

Mr Hunt has been on leave from CQU, working with these schools from the Smart Classrooms: Computers for Teachers trial.

Together, they have been looking at how the resources and tools of scientific research can be brought to the classroom.

After a period of developmental work with Esk teacher Andrew Williams, a new way of working was unleashed.

On Tuesday, June 13, students participated in a workshop with scientist Dr Kim Sewell, who shared his research with students from these schools via the innovative CyberSTEM facilities at the University of Queensland’s Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis.

Schools accessed live images from an electron microscope, listened to Dr Sewell’s commentary and used a chat tool to ask questions about holothurians, diatoms and mineral samples.

This interaction was all delivered via the Internet to schools many kilometres from the researcher.

There were even a few ‘lurkers’ in the audience, believed to be from the US and Melbourne, all keen to see how this innovation can break barriers and create productive partnerships between researchers and tomorrow’s future scientists.

For those not aspiring to a career in science, a more engaged learning approach was established.

On Thursday June 15, another first occurred when students from these schools listened to an entomologist, learning about the impact of termites in Queensland communities.

The technologies that have permitted this step forward have been made available through the generous support of:.

 Momentum Technology Group (http://www.momentumgroup.com.au/), suppliers of m-View broadcast software and hardware; and.

 Telstra which provided hardware support and communication technology to create these learning opportunities for remote and rural students.

 Funding has also been made available from Education Queensland’s Smart Classrooms and Spotlight on Science projects.

These same technologies are now being explored in a different context with undergraduates at CQU Bundaberg, where Mr Hunt is working with third-year Bachelor of Learning Management (BLM) students to develop virtual access to locations such as Snakes Downunder and Underwater World.

One student even said he would arrange a virtual visit to a Government Minister’s office.

According to Mr Hunt, these opportunities create authentic experiences for tomorrow’s teachers, with students negotiating access to facilities and broadcast rights with real entities.

"At a recent intensive week for the BLM students, a virtual guest presentation was made from Momentum Technology Group’s Melbourne office, with CEO Adele Whish-Wilson challenging students to find new ways to engage learners in schools, while presenting vignettes of how this technology has been used in business environments," Mr Hunt said.

"For these Entrepreneurial Professional students, this is an authentic learning opportunity".

After 3 years of searching for a technology to scale what started as a small and personal research project, Mr Hunt has now found a solution to working in ways he could not have imagined.

Photo (above): CQU Bundaberg BLM students Kate McDonnell (left) and Leetice Evans prepare to participate in an M-View broadcast with Education Queensland, facilitated by John Hunt.

Photo (below): The eye of a Queensland fruit fly.