The biggest educational transformation in NSW public schools has started with the installation of interactive classrooms in the first 200 schools to be finished by the end of the month.

Twenty schools in each of the 10 educational regions throughout the state will receive interactive whiteboards, lesson creation software and videoconferencing equipment as part of the first stage of the State Government’s $158 million, four-year Connected Classrooms Program.

The program includes increasing data bandwidth to link classrooms and by June 2011, all public schools will be technologically linked as the world’s largest collaborative learning community.

Schools will be able to take virtual excursions across the world, beam experts into classrooms and communicate with peers throughout the state.

The program involves three linked projects: interactive classrooms, learning tools and network enhancement.

Western NSW regional director Carole McDiarmid, business executive for the interactive classrooms project, said the plan represented “one of the most enormous inter-directorate initiatives the department has ever embarked upon”.

“We are on the precipice to provide an outstanding learning environment,” Ms McDiarmid said.

The interactive classrooms project will invest $66 million in the installation of interactive whiteboard and videoconferencing equipment into every NSW school.

Last month, the first 40 schools throughout the state received their interactive classrooms, which include interactive whiteboards, audio speakers, data projector, flat screen monitor and lockable equipment cabinet.

Ms McDiarmid said regional IT managers and school education directors were asked to identify schools in learning communities that were “technically and professionally ready”.

She said the chosen sites had pre-existing infrastructure that allowed a more simplified upgrade of bandwidth and “we were looking for schools where teachers and staff were professionally engaged in integrating technology into their lessons as well”.

Program officers have been in discussion with galleries, libraries and museums – including Questacon and the Historic Houses Trust – to widen the number of virtual excursions and experts on offer to students through videoconferencing.

Ms McDiarmid said external organisations had been quite excited by the potential of the program to revolutionise the way they do business.

“We will create unprecedented interest in their business [but] we want to make sure it’s educationally valid,” she said.

Professor Alistair McIlgorm, the director of the National Marine Science Centre at Coffs Harbour, said the initiative would ensure NSW public school students had “equity of access and equity of exposure” to educational and research facilities.

“It also gives us a great feeder system, particularly from high schools, towards our marine science programs and science programs generally,” Professor McIlgorm said.

The Minister for Education and Training, John Della Bosca, said the program would allow “teachers and students in every location around NSW to collaborate and interact in a real-time, multi-dimensional way”.

“The Connected Classrooms Program will transform the way education is delivered,” he said.