An Internet resource conceived and initiated by Charles Sturt University (CSU) for Years 11 and 12 students studying for the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) has recorded its highest-ever traffic for the months of April, May and June.

 

Use of NSW HSC Online has grown steadily since it began 11 years ago, according to Mr Bob Dengate, CSU Project Director and lecturer in the School of Teacher Education.

 

“In June around one and a half million page were delivered from the CSU server alone, an all-time record,” Mr Dengate said. “This does not include access by students from within NSW public high schools, so the true figure would be closer to two million ‘hits’. As the NSW Board of Studies research confirms, NSW HSC Online really is performing ‘at the top of the class’.”

 

NSW HSC Online is designed to be a one-stop-shop for Years 11 and 12 students as they approach their NSW HSC exams, and was developed in collaboration with the NSW Department of Education and Training (NSW DET) and is supported by the NSW Board of Studies. These partners ensure quality and authorise all content on the web site, which is also an invaluable source of information for teachers and parents.

 

The popularity of NSW HSC Online as a reference web site can be seen in the increase in pages viewed over the past decade. “When the project began in July 1997, around 857 000 pages were viewed on the site annually; last year alone, more than 16 million pages were delivered from the CSU server,” Mr Dengate said.

“The NSW HSC Online site is kept up-to-date in all curriculum areas. It mirrors the syllabus of each subject and enables students to be interactive with their study. Students can access subject discussion forums where they can more formally engage with topics for the HSC.The forums use the same architecture used to support CSU subjects. It is a state-of-the-art Internet resource, in a world where children are very digitally literate and Internet savvy.”