After more than one million views, and 48 episodes featuring more than 70 of Australia’s foremost educators, artists, athletes and industry experts, the hugely popular EducationLive web series came to an end on Friday.

The NSW Department of Education initiative was initially launched during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown and restarted on 13 July to provide an inspirational kickstart to the day for students learning from home.

The EducationLIVE series included topics such as music by Guy Sebastian, the basics of Auslan with Emma Wiggle, astronomy with a NASA astrophysicist, and classes from The Sydney Theatre Company, the Art Gallery of NSW, Olympians, a mathematician and several celebrity chefs.

Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell said the daily broadcasts on NSW Education’s website and Facebook page struck a chord with parents and children during learning from home.

“We’re delighted with just how much families have engaged with the series and made it part of their daily routine,” Ms Mitchell said.

“Given how complex it can be to balance home learning with work and home life, we were looking to ease some of the burden for parents and the viewing numbers suggest it has been a great success.

“I’d like to thank all of the artists, educators, athletes, creatives and industry experts who donated their time to the project. Their willingness to put their hand up and film a segment, often at home while in lockdown themselves, added a real sense of community spirit to the series.

“Students, parents and teachers will still be able to access all episodes through a new on demand platform launching for Term 4.”

A highlight for viewers of the EducationLive series was the ‘Animal of the Day’ feature that involved collaborations with 11 zoos and wildlife parks.

Other popular episodes included a motivational talk by athlete Turia Pitt, a behind-the-scenes tour of ERTH Workshop and its lifelike dinosaur puppets, Eddie Woo’s maths tricks and home gardening with Gardening Australia personality Costa Georgiadis.

The series ended with an end-of-term disco dance party with the much-loved Woy Woy South Public School teacher Mark Young at 10am on Friday.

However, the project’s impact will continue beyond the last episode with artist Ken Done auctioning the painting he did on the show to benefit indigenous education and musicians Gina Jeffreys and Max Jackson releasing a song from their episode to NSW schools and music streaming services.