The Sydney Opera House has launched a brand new initiative: Digital Education Program. The program will allow for students and teachers from all across New South Wales to have the same access to the cultural and tourist icon, without having to fork out for the expenses of travelling there themselves.
Different programs on offer range from an interactive behind-the-scenes tour of the Sydney Opera House called ‘Discover the House’ which is accompanied with classroom discussion with a guide of the Opera House, to ‘Discover the Stage,’ an active participation of students as they physically warm-up and conduct practical drama tasks alongside professional actors and experienced drama educators in Sydney.
Live streaming technology allows the students to access previously unavailable content from the venue’s resident companies. Such content is now accessible to students of different levels, be they from year three or year twelve. James Evans went live to stream Bell Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet on March 14th and even one-off master classes are up for grabs.
The Digital Education Program works by using the same technology as video conferencing. Up to four schools will be able to take part in the activities simultaneously as they are broadcast across the state. The Australian Government is currently investing over $2.4 billion in order to update and “support the effective integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in Australian schools” as stated on their website for the ‘Digital Education Revolution.’
The Acting CEO of Sydney Opera House, Jonathan Bielski, said “Sydney Opera House belongs to everyone and all communities should have access to experiences here regardless of where they live. The launch of our Digital Education Program means children in NSW who are unable to travel to Bennelong Point will no longer miss out on experiencing the world’s best creative minds and performing arts practitioners.”
The Sydney Opera House’s Digital Education Program can now be booked online or by telephone. Bielski is optimistic about the opportunities this heralds those in regional NSW: “The NSW Government’s rollout of Connected Classroom technology into State schools means we can bring the world’s greatest artists and thinkers in to the classrooms of Bourke, Batemans Bay and Bellingen, and deliver a truly engaging curriculum-linked experience for young people and their teachers.”
