What is the Ultranet?  It’s been in the news; teachers are talking about it; students are talking about it…  But what is it and what does it mean for students at Forest Hill College today?

Put simply, the Ultranet is an online, collaborative community that allows students and teachers to connect with each other.  The Ultranet takes advantage of developments in interactive technologies and applies them to a learning environment.  The internet is a powerful learning tool and the Ultranet offers students and teachers the chance to harness that power and utilise it effectively.

What are the benefits?

With the Ultranet in place, students are now able to collaborate with each other and with their teachers in new and exciting ways.  They are able to use wikis and blogs to complement their learning.  Now, more than ever, College students have the power to use internet technologies to support their learning and to equip them for life in a constantly changing future.

The Ultranet even allows students to interact with other students from across the state.  It also gives teachers the opportunity to share their knowledge and to learn from their counterparts in schools far beyond their traditional local networks.

Yes, but what is it?

The Ultranet is essentially a huge, state-wide network of websites.  Every student and teacher has a website of their own – something like an educational version of a blog or Facebook – and they are all connected.

Your child will have a profile page and even a place where they can store assignments and research material.  When your child logs in to the Ultranet, they will be able to update a wiki as part of their homework or look for resources on Moodle or even the College library catalogue.

What does it look like?

The Ultranet is divided into spaces, such Home, Community, Learner Profile, etc.  These spaces provide students with places to record their achievements or to connect with teachers, even when at home.  Students can store their work online and even create their own spaces in the form of blogs or messageboards.  Other spaces, such as the Community space, will provide an opportunity for the College to communicate with parents, as well as giving College clubs and groups their own spaces.

You can have a glimpse of what the Ultranet looks like by clicking here.

What about parents?

In late September 2010, parents and guardians will be given the opportunity to access the Ultranet and to view information about their child.  This will include such details as:

• attendance data
• their child's "Learner Profile"
  
• their child's timetable
• their child's progress in various subjects
• and much, much more
  

The Ultranet will also allow parents to receive notices from the school and to keep in contact with their child's teachers, enabling them to become an even more integral part of their child's education.

But wait, there's more!

It's simply not possible to discuss all of the aspects of the Ultranet in a few sentences.  To learn more about the Ultranet and its possibilities, please visit the DEECD's Ultranet website.


You can also read and comment on this article on our blog here.