Edalive Educational Softwear
Page: 19089
Mr RICHARD TORBAY (Northern Tablelands) [5.55 p.m.]: It is always interesting to track the way successful businesses start from humble beginnings, particularly in regional areas where some of the challenges are more significant. I note the interest of the Parliamentary Secretary, who is at the table. In Armidale last week I called in to congratulate a world leader in educational software, EdAlive, on winning a major national award for yet another innovative program. This business, led by Graham and Barbara East, literally grew from a small venture run from the sitting room of their home to the multi-million dollar venture it is today, employing 23 full-time staff, up to 12 casual workers and a team from the local Challenge Foundation.
Graham East was a primary school teacher in Adelaide who recognised very early the potential of computers in education. When he started looking for suitable material for the children he taught he found that there was very little available—he shared this frustration with other teachers. He began sourcing the best he could find on the world market and became an expert in the field. Fellow teachers began to rely on his advice and this prompted him to start up his business part time, with his wife and children providing the work force. The family moved to Armidale in 1989 to operate the new business they named New Horizons to source and sell educational software to schools around Australia. From that time until 2000 the company was the largest operation of its kind in Australia, supplying the bulk of educational software to approximately half the schools in Australia. In the years leading up to 2000 the company published a number of small educational titles that were designed to supplement the imported material that the Australian schools were purchasing. The most successful was the Down Under Collection, which the company continues to sell today. It also created a range of Australian graphics and photographic titles.
Using his experience as a teacher, Mr East and his team began to develop a line of products designed to meet the needs of parents, children and schools. The principles were that learning should be as much fun as possible, products should be rich in content and based on sound educational principles tied to valid educational outcomes, and they should be great value for money. The formula has been extremely successful and titles such as "Words Rock", "Spelling Force Baggin' the Dragon", "Volcanic Panic", "Ultimate Maths Invaders"—I am sure the Parliamentary Secretary plays that in his office—and "Typing Tournament", which I am sure would be useful to all of us, have been judged the best in their field in national awards for teaching numeracy, literacy and typing skills. The company has been a finalist for many more awards. "Typing Tournament" just picked up the Best Instructional/Training Award at the Australian Teachers of Media, Film, Television and Multimedia awards in Melbourne. That is a significant award. The program teaches students to conquer the keyboard through a mix of mediaeval jousting and other challenges and adds an historical flavour to typing tuition.
The company employs a graphic artist, animator, a curriculum development manager, technical support and marketing staff, which adds to the skill base in Armidale. It also believes strongly in working from a regional centre because it can gain access to great long-term stable staff and a ready supply of capable staff in the university student body. The Easts also cite the closeness of the community, lower costs for accommodation and running the business, and the strong academic quality of the Armidale community as good reasons to base their business in Armidale in regional New South Wales. EdAlive's community software plan is an original creative approach to marketing to parents through schools and is currently operating in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and is commencing in the United States of America.
The plan breaks into new markets by producing culturally appropriate versions of its titles for each education environment and ensuring appropriate cultural content. Although the company has a presence with its community software plan in a good number of New South Wales schools there are many more that would benefit from these innovative programs, as the quality of the content can make a big difference to educational outcomes. I invite the Minister for Education and Training to receive a delegation from EdAlive to discuss this issue further and to see for herself the quality of the educational software being produced by this excellent and innovative regional company.
Mr PAUL McLEAY (Heathcote—Parliamentary Secretary) [6.00 p.m.]: I commend the honourable member for bringing to the attention of the House EdAlive's innovation and creation in the region. He is a passionate advocate for his region and I am yet to take up his offer to visit his electorate, particularly Armidale. The honourable member spoke passionately about Mr and Mrs East's computer and education business, EdAlive, no doubt because of his own connection with education. He is a firm believer in young people making the most of their lives. He was a former warden of the union at the University of New England and continues to be associated with and promote that institution. This is not the first time the honourable member has spoken in this House about creative businesses in his electorate. On several occasions he has promoted local innovative businesses, particularly those that creatively broaden their horizons both domestically and internationally. I congratulate the honourable member, Mr and Mrs East and their business, EdAlive.