the 'Digital Education Revolution'

Chris Bennie's little boy is typical of children with enlightened and well informed parents, but sadly, not of the whole population. The results of the recently published national ict skills assessment suggest that while a lot of students are skilled, an awful lot are not. I have written a little report on this assessment in my blog.

Educators have a long and sad tradition of resisting change under the name of protecting traditional standards, but I think it is frequently just inertia.  

I want this to work....I really do.  I don't want to be a na-sayer, negative or anti-government.  So I am looking for the positives.  The fact that this has thrust ICT back into the political spotlight is a HUGE bonus - something which seems to have not occured over the last few years at both a state and federal level.  ICT had become 'taken for granted' and therefore not a political vote winner.  Whether (I) we agree with this new plan, the fact that it's out there and opens up debate is a bonus.  Hopefully it will have a flow on effect at the state level.  Hopefully it will also have a flow on at the chalkface and make some more reticent Principal's/school think a bit more carefully about how ICT is implemented and addressed in their sites.

I like the fact that it is centred around laptops - sure I worry about the complexities that laptops bring or more to the point - that these complexities won't be addressed/allowed for by the politicians and potentialy schools - henceforth setting this up for failure before it begins.  I worry where this will leave schools in 5 years time when these laptops will need to be rolled over and the funds have (possibly) dried up.  And of course I worry that thin boxes of plastic, LCD and logic boards will be put into sites with no infrastructure, PD, just in time support etc.

History tells us that merely dumping machines in sites does not work - but all of us who are reading this discussion already know this.......

My son - at the age of three, can now turn on our home computer, load Safari, click on the Thomas the Tank Engine website and manouver around the site...without ANY help what-so-ever - and we're starting the revolution in Year 9?

But I'm looking for the positives in this Revolution.....

Well, it's gunna happen, one way or the other. A commitment to 'put a computer on every student's desk'. When the subsidy for home computers is added, it is realistic to forsee a dramatic increase in student access to computers over the next few years. That fact of itself will have a big impact. Virtually every white-collar worker in Australia now uses a computer as a basic work tool. It is passing strange that students who'se main activity is the getting and processing of information generally have access to a computer for maybe two hours a week at school. The same students probably average four or five times as much computer access at home.

John T 

They say that the deal includes 'fibre to the premises' (where this is possible I presume, not remote areas) so I guess this takes care of the bandwidth issue.

You're right Peter that it is not in itself a revolution: that depends on the chalkies and the chalkie-leaders.  

Does the home computer subsidy mean that he digital-divide will end or at least shrink significantly? 

There are a number of levels that one could respond to this.

Infrastructure and logistics - it seems obvious that the way to go would be notebook size machines with wireless networking.  The powerpoints problem alone creates issues.  I wonder if the money allocated will actually provide for what they are hoping for because the additional strain of the network and also the pipe to the internet will also have to be taken into consideration.

Revolution - schools are huge organisations that are slow in reaction time and difficult to change direction.  Their industrial era culture is embedded so strongly.  I have posted several blog entries about this issue but particularly like the ideas of  Geetha Narayanan. 

 This proposal does not fit my criteria for being called revolution.  A step in the right direction maybe.

Good point Chris Bennie about primary schools, but a partial answer might be in the Part 2 I have added tonight, the subsidy for home computers by parents. This will go a considerable way to make computers and internet access more affordable to families with children. Interesting that this initiative costs more than twice as much as the $1b for secondary computers.

John T 

From Merri James

I think this is a huge step in the right direction but it doesn't go far enough. The digital natives are also sitting in our primary schools and they need access to computers and other ICTs as well! This also has enormous implications for school infrastructures, the very least of which is classroom size, design and layout. The numbers of children in our classes is also a big issue, especially when we consider that students are demanding immediate feedback (which they currently get from a computer screen or video game). I like the fact that the Labor party are initiating the Education Revolution but in its present form I feel that it is too simplistic. Hopefully, now that they have won the election, we'll be able to influence the way in which ICTs are incorporated into our schools.

OK - I'll bite.......Where's the Digital Education Revolution for the Primary Level?   

This policy represents a momentous opportunity for students and the profession. Every teacher must be provided with a laptop and opportunity to acquire the requisite skills. Input is needed of the provision of teacher training in ICT because that is the really hard bit. I believe teachers learn best from teachers and in school contexts and the success of the LTI program in DECS is testament to that. It would be great if CEGSA were able to offer some of this training across the sectors. What do others think?

Graham Taylor; CEGSA PD Convenor 

I am amazed that this policy did not get more attention, but maybe it got buried under the truckloads of money and policies. Anyway, it looks to me like an initiative that will have a major impact on secondary schools, and because of this, on primary too. If access to a computer becomes the norm rather than an occasional event at school, then teachers surely will use them much more in their teaching. Not all the teaching will necessarily be creative or reformist, but will surely have an impact. Even greater use of humble word processing will have a significant impact.

John T