From the traditional classroom or a space shuttle to the top of Mars, a Sunshine Coast teacher is transforming how we teach our children with this new business idea.
Shane Fixter, a passionate school teacher, is transforming the standard classroom and handing out dividends to disconnected school students across Australia.
Mr Fixter was working in community support for cared for children in 2014, when he came up with the idea to start his own company, Teachers Australia.
“I wanted to help kids who didn’t attend school get back there, but I knew the traditional model didn’t work for them,” Fixter said.
What follows is a virtual platform of registered teachers offering an educational alternative to hundreds of students in an innovative online format.
Mr Fixter has even recently incorporated virtual reality into Teachers Australia’s offering.
“With virtual reality, you can learn wherever you want,” he said.
“Which can mean a virtual copy of the tradition classroom or a space shuttle on top of Mars.”
He said the platform was transforming the learning outcomes of students who, for whatever reason, did not attend general school or needed additional tutoring to support their main school trip.
“We are offering a fully aligned Australian curriculum learning to children who want to learn from the comfort of their own home and we offer the opportunity for qualified teachers to get out of the box as well,” he said.
“Here in Queensland, there are 100,000 registered teachers and a third are not employed.
“Teachers Australia is offering these teachers an option outside of the traditional classroom and there is now a great demand.”
Through an app and website, Teachers Australia allows teachers and students to register for free, as students pay for lessons through STRIPE and funds delivered to teachers once the lesson is over.
Parents, grandparents and friends can also give away hours of education to students to help them on their educational journey.
And being part of the Sunshine Coast business community has helped Mr. Fixter build his business from scratch.
“I was part of the Innovation Center at the University of the Costa del Sol which connected me with a team of successful entrepreneurs and mentors who share my passion and leadership,” he said.
“The Coast has been the perfect launch pad for Australian teachers and we are thrilled to continue to grow our business here.”