Learning Network Queensland Uses Centra Online Collaboration to Connect Remote and Rural Communities in Australia with Education, Training and Legal Services
Centra is also being used to facilitate online meetings, planning sessions and training among the staff. “Centra is invaluable for connecting staff online to make day-to-day decisions, and get their help with the planning of courses, budgeting matters and for training around their own professional development,†said Anne Gooley, chief executive of Learning Network Queensland. “Centra provides a cost-effective, easy-to-use collaboration tool that enables us to connect rural and remote communities with the best services available through our network of educational and private learning providers.â€
Centra offers voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology to realize significant savings over traditional teleconferencing services, and incorporates video conferencing and other rich multimedia and tools to facilitate highly interactive group learning and collaboration over the Internet.
According to Gooley, using Centra enables LNQ to add value to its programs by bringing guest speakers online to host sessions on a range of topics delivered to the Learning Centers. One recent session offered participants practical advice on “how to choose your first personal computer.â€
One of the most successful programs using Centra is the result of LNQ’s partnership with Griffith University Law School and Caxton Legal Center. This partnership was formed to address the lack of access to legal services in Queensland rural communities. In the last 10 years, there has been a steady trend away from the “bush†for professionals such as lawyers, doctors and teachers. While governments have directed considerable resources toward encouraging medical practitioners to work in regional and remote Australia, this has not been true of the legal profession.
Senior law students at Griffith are now offering free legal advice to LNQ community centers through Centra. The students benefit from supervised, real-world experience in their final year of law school while the rural communities profit from receiving legal advice that would not have been available to them otherwise. Geographical remoteness, family isolation, the high cost of transport, and the scarcity of support and counseling services are all pervasive problems in many rural communities. Centra has become a key element to the success of this program, empowering LNQ to help these communities remain sustainable.
About Learning Network Queensland
Learning Network Queensland is recognized both nationally and internationally as a best practice example of education and training service delivery for regional, rural and remote communities. For more information, visit http://www.lnq.net.au
About Centra
Online business collaboration solutions from Centra create workforce efficiencies and enable organizations to share and exchange business-critical information with geographically distributed customers, partners, prospects and employees. Centra’s solutions integrate real-time collaboration and departmental business processes with specialized applications that increase sales effectiveness, improve collaborative learning and accelerate enterprise application rollouts and customer acquisition initiatives. Currently available in 12 languages, Centra solutions can be deployed as on-site software or through its ASP service and are supported by an active ecosystem of value-added partners, including Siebel, PeopleSoft, SAP and Deloitte Consulting. Organizations across every major industry and market sector choose Centra, including Wyndham International, Weyerhaeuser, Underwriters Laboratories, BMW, Stanford University, KPMG Australia, AXA NM, and Open Access College, South Australia. Headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, Centra serves a worldwide customer base throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. For more information, visit http://www.centra.com.
Centra is a registered trademark of Centra Software, Inc. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.
