Multimedia & Web Developer

Aimee Brown

A student project was the catalyst for a mid-career change for Lyndon Sharp. Sharp was working as a history teacher when, as part of a curriculum project, he developed a CD-ROM with some of his students.  The project ignited an interest in multimedia and, in 1992, he traded teaching for a post as manager of Information Services at the NSW Board of Studies (BOS).

Sharp is now responsible for creating and maintaining its site (boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au), including all interactive and downloadable components — CD-ROMs, podcasts, online practice exams, course guides and information booklets.

He says technology has changed significantly over the years. Originally, the majority of his work was print-based. His duties included producing and printing information brochures, documents relating to the NSW school curriculum and company magazines. The primary multimedia component of Sharp’s job involved transferring the print media on to CD-ROMs, which were distributed to schools along with the print versions.

When the BOS went online in 1995, his responsibilities shifted as the website became an increasingly important information resource for students and teachers.

“One of the biggest developments is in the dissemination of information. Back then, when you wanted to get information out to schools, it was a hard job getting everyone up to date,” Sharp says.  “Now you put it all on the web.”

He says his team at BOS is always on the lookout for ways to improve and update the website. “If there is something in the website which has become really popular for some reason, we work out ways of bringing it out to the top of the website, so it can be accessed more easily,” he says.

Sharp says student and teacher feedback is also important. “We get a great deal of feedback from students saying they are satisfied with the site. They’re very open with their emails on what they like and don’t like,” he says.

The volume of users who visit the site is also an indication of success. “We get between 60,000 and 100,000 page views on the website each day. People who view the website on average look at four to five pages each time. It’s the sixth largest NSW Government website.” And he says the positive feedback the website receives is the most rewarding part of the job.

“I love doing this because I feel like I am delivering to teachers and students stuff that they like to use,” he says. “That’s a great sense of satisfaction for me.”

Multimedia and web developer

You need to either complete a degree in multimedia studies or a diploma in information technology, specialising in multimedia. Contact the Australian Computer Society on 92993666 or at acs.org.au