Technology :
The classroom, the challenges
and the future
Peter Lasscock
Department of Education
Victoria, Australia
“The focus of the Department of Education’s
communication and multimedia strategy is to realise
the potential of technology to enhance the quality of
all aspects of education, especially student learning.
To compete and be successful in an information rich,
technologically-enhanced and rapidly changing
environment, students need to be highly skills and
flexible in their ability to use technology in all its
forms.”
(Learning Technologies in Victorian Schools 1998-2001:8)
Key findings of navigator schools
1. effective planning: all aspects of the school’s
operations
2. computer networks: information,communication
and collaboration
3. Internet: a powerful learning tool
4. Intranet: a private network
5. expanding role of library
6. learning technologies has challenged teachers
7. integration of learning technologies: a whole
school process
8. collegiate culture
9. changed classroom practice
10. electronic links between home and school
Statewide Vision
• All schools developed information and
communication technology plans by the end of
1998
• All principals have implementing these plans as
part of their performance review
• All teachers must improve their skills
• Financial support to schools
Computers in schools:
Improve the computers to students ratio to 1:5
by June 2000.
 Government to provide AUS$26 million over 4 years
for 63,000 new multimedia capable computers.
 Government to provide AUS$9 million over two
years for improved access to technologies by
teachers.
Notebooks for teachers:
Notebook computers to be provided to 36,700
principals and teachers over a period of five
years.
• 40 hours of professional development.
VicOne
Re-engineering delivery of education at both
curriculum and administration levels
• wide area network - Min 64 Kb link
• 1,900 sites including:
Schools
TAFE colleges
Department administration
CASES 21
Whole school approach to
re-engineering school’s administration process
• system administration
• student/academic administration
• asset register
• student absence and accident register
• finance and payroll
• curriculum and assessment
SINA
SCHOOLSNET INTERNET NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR
mailbox manager
access manager
web manager
An example from one school:
Bendigo Senior Secondary
College
http://www.bssc.edu.au
Background
• 1993 - Steering committee established,
Spending put on hold for 2 years
• 1993/94 - Staff visit state, interstate and
overseas
• 1994 - Whole college plan developed
SOSE example
Background
• 1995 - Learning area plans developed, network
rolled out
• Dec 1995 - Laptops for all staff
• Jan/Feb 1996 - Classroom machines
• 1996 - Learning are plans updated, coaching
team established
• 1997 - Timetabled professional development
Background
• 1730 Students in year 11 and 12 in 1999
• Every classroom has between 2 and 6
computers - all networked and connected to the
internet
• 600 families connected from home via 60 dial in
lines
• Staff connected from home
Any Student
All Staff Rooms
Any Teacher
All Classrooms
Any Computer
The Network
The Internet
Digital
Resource
Centre
Library
The Home
curriculum driven network
not
network driven curriculum
Evolution
• The power of letting go
• The physical space
• Professional development
Letting go
Teachers need to:
• Understand the potential of what students can do with
computers
• Implement structures to facilitate this happening
• Build their own skills but not be scared that they don’t
know how to do it themselves
• 89% of staff at BSSC are happy that students know more
about computers and software than themselves.
LOTE example
Evolution of the classroom
• What will the classroom become?
• Laboratories to classroom machines
• Distinct information technology classes to
appropriate integration into all subject areas
• One place and time to many places and times
• Technology in control to learner in control
Triple science example
Software Pyramid
High expectations of
the teacher - Broad
learning outcomes
Graeme Oswin 1997
User has control
HyperStudio, Microworlds, PowerPoint,
Clarisworks, Kid Pix, Office, Web
Publishing Software,Email
SimCity etc
Drill and practice eg Math Blaster and
many CD ROMs
Technology has control
Low expectations of the teacher Narrow learning outcomes
Professional development
• Skills in context
– Make the main focus what you can do in the
classroom - this gives a need to learn the skills
• Share & celebrate
– develop teams with expectations of outcomes
– share - students and staff
– create support structures
English discussion forum
Support for staff
• Emotional
• Pedagogical
• Technical
Art - teacher
Art - student
Support for Staff
• Teaching and learning
– 4 teaching and learning coaches
– PD based around teaching and learning, in teams
• Technical
–
–
–
–
Technology development manager
2 full time technicians
2 full time web support
15 students part time
Support for Staff
The future
• What future do our students face?
• What skills will they need?
• What skills will a teacher need to equip our
students for the future?
• What outcomes are possible?
Website
IRC
PhotoShop
80% of the children currently in Years 6 & 7
will enter careers which don’t exist now.
90% of the technology to be used in the year
2000 has not been invented or is not available
yet.
Graduates will have been exposed to more
information in a year than their grandparents
in a lifetime.
(Commission for the Future/Finn Meyer Report, 1992)
mailbox manager
• Manage email accounts from school
through a web browser
• Secure administrator logon
• filter mail
• batch accounts for students
access manager
•
•
•
•
View all sites visited
View all searches made by students
Control and breakdown of costs
Snapshot toll allows administrator to
see what sites all active users are on
web manager
• Allows creation of school, teacher and
student web pages through a browser
interface
• CGI tools - counters, chat etc
• Access statistics
• Filters and control tools through
censorman.