Frequently asked questions
Can more than 30 students join the session?
How many classes can be run simultaneously?
Are other schools going to be involved during my booked session?
Can a different presentation be organised for my students?
Can Skype be used instead of a Polycom, Tandberg or Lifesize unit?
What are the data requirements for the presentation?
Will we need to know technical information prior to the video conference?
Will any teacher notes on lesson content be sent prior to the video conference?
Can the students ask questions or perform experiments during the video conference?
Does the lesson content cover syllabus/curriculum outcomes?
How are the child protection or other contentious issues addressed?
Can schools outside of Australia make a booking?
What is the cost of a video session?
How is payment arranged?
Is there a cancellation fee?
Can more than 30 students join the session?
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Yes, however the students need to be able to see the screen and perform any experiments as requested. In general, most of the video conferences are highly interactive therefore adding more than 30 students will be to the detriment of all students attending. Should your school have more than one video conferencing unit it is highly recommended that you utilise these resources.
How many classes can be run simultaneously?
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NSW Public schools:
You will have access to the NSW DART Connections programme (Distance and Rural Technologies). This programme can handle up to 50 classes simultaneously. Such schools can book into the scheduled conferences we have with DART or alternatively can arrange a separate session through us directly (up to three simultaneous video sites per session). Sessions are generally limited to 8 schools so as not to impact on interactivity however we have run conferences for up to 15 schools successfully.
Please contact DART directly to discuss the booking options on the following:
p: +61 2 6884 0241
f: +61 2 6884 0243
e: enquiries@dartconnections.org.au
Other schools:
Our software bridge can handle three video sites at the same time.
Please contact us for more information.
Are other schools going to be involved during my booked session?
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NSW Public Schools:
During DART Connections events your school is almost certainly going to be involved with other schools. Should you organise your own session with us this you will then have the opportunity for exclusive access to the presentation..
Other schools:
Possibly. If your school books all three places on the conference your school will be the only recipient of the video conference. In other cases we will leave the spare places open for other schools to book Our software bridge can handle up to three video sites at the same time.
Can a different presentation be organised for my students?
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Get in contact with us to discuss options with one of our science educators. We are well experienced in devloping new resources for schools.
Can Skype be used instead of a Polycom, Tandberg or Lifesize unit?
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No. The sheer amount of data required does not allow Skype to be used with professional video conferencing facilities. We will however be launching a website with live web streaming this year which will be announced through our email newsletter. This will enable us to run shows for schools with access to the internet and who don't have video conferencing facilities. To keep in touch simply subscribe to our free email newsletter below:
What are the data requirements for the presentation?
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We broadcast our video conference in high definition.
Your school needs to have internet access with internet speeds of at least 1024kbps / 1024kbps to experience the video conference correctly. This speed implies your system can receive data at 1024kbps both in and out of your school - slower speeds will have a lag period with voice and may have poor picture quality. Should your school have slower internet our hardware will automatically 'downspeed' the data however your experience will not be perfect. Most video conferences require at least 10Gb of data during the presentation.
Will we need to know technical information prior to the video conference?
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Yes. You need to know how to use your equipment properly. It is your responsibility to have your hardware functional and integrated with our system by the time the video conference occurs.
Sorry, we cannot provide training on how to use your video conference hardware.
Your school's IT specialist will be able to help in this regard or contact your original equipment supplier.
If you are a NSW Public school the following links will be of use to you:
We will give you the 'dial in' numbers upon booking.
Will teacher notes on lesson content be sent prior to the video conference?
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Yes. It is important that you use any information sent by us as not only do we provide background information but we also give you a schedule at to what will occur. This information also details when there are chances to interact with us during the conference.
Can the students ask questions or perform experiments during a conference?
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Yes. Most of our video conferences have been designed so that they are not passive presentations; your students are required to interact with us and in-class materials. Should your school be involved in an open event (more than 10 schools or classes simultaneously) we will present the concepts as a show rather than a workshop. Full details on the conference content is detailed in the teacher notes sent out to you upon booking.
Does the lesson content cover syllabus/curriculum outcomes?
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Definitely. Our workshops have been aligned with the NSW Syllabus Outcomes and are specifically addressed both in the teacher notes and on the information presented for each workshop in the school section of our website. Schools outside of NSW will need to read the conference content and align their outcomes to their own syllabus accordingly.
How are child protection and other contentious issues addressed?
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Treat video conferencing like any other school excursion.
All of our presenters have had Australian Federal Police checks as part of the "working with children check" required under NSW State legislation.
Your students will be filmed/photographed by your own equipment and therefore written permission must be given to the school from the children's parents to be involved. Provisions can be made for students who have not given permission to be filmed/photographed so that can still be in the room but off camera. This must be arranged by yourself as the classroom teacher.
Other contentious issues such as the Big Bang Theory, Evolution Theory and others are addressed in the teacher notes and on our school section of our website. We are aware of the issues that can occur and have structured our lessons to accommodate different belief structures.
Can schools outside of Australia make a booking?
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Yes. By arrangement with our office. Please contact us for more information.
Please be aware of issues that occur with time zones. We schedule our conferences around Australian Eastern Standard time and NSW Eastern Summer Time (daylight saving). Additional costs may apply.
What is the cost of a video conference?
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The cost for each 30 student place on a video conference is $110 inc. GST. This is in Australian dollars.
For NSW Public schools the cost for each place during a DART connections conference depends on the number of schools attending.
How is payment arranged?
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Full payment is required 1 week prior to the conference. This is to both secure your place in the conference as well as to allow us to organise the data required for your conference.
Payment is arranged directly with our office and can be done via direct deposit or credit card only.
Is there a cancellation fee?
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Payments will not be refunded for bookings cancelled less than 1 week prior to the conference.
This includes 'no shows', whereby a future booking will incur the full cost of another video conference.
