Happy 5th Anniversary Distance Learning

National DL Sydney team in 2016

Welcome to the 5th Anniversary of Navitas DL. In July 2011 a small group of 8 teachers began teaching DL nationally. Today Navitas DL has grown to over 100 teachers based in Sydney and Perth, teaching students in NSW, Qld, SA, ACT and WA. Our original teachers reflected on how DL has quickly grown and changed. Here are some thoughts from three original teachers.

National DL Sydney team in 2016

Ross, what do you remember of your first days in DL?

Well the first few days were really interesting! We did very little teaching as we were sorting through all the paperwork. There were lots of cardboard boxes, so we occasionally found ourselves teaching sitting on boxes. We taught students by telephone but we used to get a sore arm after one hour. Also we had books and cassette tapes called "It's Over To You".

National DL Sydney team in 2011

Nadia, how did students do assessments in the old days? 

We used to play listening tapes on an old cassette recorder which we held up to the telephone. It was a bit tricky! Also we made lots of photocopies, sent assessment tasks to students by post and students posted them back. It took so long. Each student had a paper folder but after a while it became so thick.

Ross, when did you start using the Internet and Skype?
We started using Skype a few months later and I do remember saying to my manager "and what is Skype?" At first our computers were slow and didn't have a camera. I also remember the manager saying "here's a new resource called "Your Call" and it is available online.

Anthony, now students use online resources and other technologies. How do you think this helps students to learn? 
In many ways technology has improved what students get out of their lessons. In the past we used to mail the homework out. Now students can send back their work by email which allows for instant feedback from their teacher. Also by using Skype students can do special things they couldn't before, like by using the Skype chat feature teachers can send students extra website links, type words or even send audio files. We can actually use other features such as Skype share screen and Titan Pad so the student and teacher can see the same screen. It's great!

So in 5 years technology in Distance Learning has come such along way. 

• Imagine, what new technology you would like to use in an online English lesson in the future?
• How might you be learning English in 2021?

Please post your comments below; we really would like to read your ideas.