The Use of Information and Communications Technologies in the Australian Context by Professor Nicola Yelland

Introduction
Australia is a country with a population just under 20 million (ABS. 2002).  There are 6 states and two territories.  Within the federated system, each state and territory has an education authority that is responsible for the provision of public education in the compulsory years of schooling.  The Commonwealth Government provides National policy leadership and collaborates with the States and Territories to support the government’s objectives for quality education for all Australians.  Each state employs teachers, creates their various teaching and learning policies and sets the curriculum agenda. As such strategies around the curricula use of ICT are generally created by the State or Territory while the Commonwealth government supports national initiatives as well as provides resources for States and Territories via a number of mechanisms (e.g. www.nqsf.edu.au). 

The use of ICT by teachers in Australia
The Commonwealth Department of Education and Training (DEST) has commissioned a number of reports in recent times that have aimed to elucidate the extent, nature and use of ICT for learning in Australian schools. (e.g. Making better connections, 2001, Learning in an online world, 2000). These have highlighted the importance of using ICT in the information age and set out a number of recommendations which include the integration of ICT into all aspects of teaching and learning, as well as noting that effective professional development is required. It has been suggested (Making better connections, 2001) for example, that systemic continuing professional development programmes need to focus around issues pertaining to:

• Focusing and measuring capability (i.e. the use of ICT to support learning outcomes in diverse ways)
• Developing capability (i.e. more coherence and alignment of strategies for professional development that are connected to teacher’s work and the  process of change)
• The provision and mechanisms to support incentives around the embedded use of ICT (i.e. National funding and support for curriculum reform)
  

Each State also has specific initiatives related to the use of ICT in teaching and learning contexts.  In fact the use of ICT seems to be a priority in many of the cases.  For example, Victoria has recently released an eLearning statement which defines the concept as referring to “… the effective integration of a range of technologies across all areas of schooling – to support student learning… eLearning creates engaging learning opportunities and, when effectively implemented, act as a catalyst for authentic, meaningful learning experiences.”
(DE&T,Victoria www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/It/pguide/vision/visusing.htm) The Victorian government is committed to creating eLearning environments for all Victorians regardless of location and in their Statement on ICT Skills (p.13) note that skills x knowledge = growth.

Similarly in their 2010 vision, Education Queensland have not only reconceptualized curriculum and pedagogy with their new basics curriculum and productive pedagogies approach but also realised the importance of the role of ICT for effective teaching and learning in the information age. Their learning technology statement stipulates:

Queensland State Education 2010 identifies explosive growth in communication and information technologies …In schools, learning will be transformed…Teachers need mastery of and access to information technology to manage the learning of their students…Key principles underlying the effective use of computers in learning include curriculum integration, continuity of learning, empowerment, equitable access and participation, supportive environment, teacher education (pre-service and in-service) and resource management.

(www.education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/learning/technology/)

They state that these principles are supported by:

• Resources included funding for hardware and software, online curriculum materials and policy/ guidelines.
• Professional Development including learning scaffolds for teachers, and Centres of Excellence (Technology)
   (www.education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/learning/technology/)

At the National level, EdNa (www.edna.edu.au) acts as a repository for a wide range of educational resources and opportunities to view policies and curriculum content related to the use of ICT in educational contexts. These also include online workshops to enhance expertise in ICT as well as opportunities to participate in on line networks/discussion groups. Additional opportunities are also available to teachers in each State, for example the Oz Teacher Net forum (http://rite.ed.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet/)

The DEST sponsored project Making better connections - Models of teacher professional development for the integration of ICT into classroom practice made three recommendations for pre-service teacher education, mentioned above, related to focusing and measuring capability, developing capability and mechanisms and incentives. In outlining these features it was apparent that a number of initiatives around each was needed. These included:

(Focusing and measuring capability)

• The formulation of a set of “standards” for the use of ICT in education that identified the types of skills that beginning teachers could demonstrate to be effective in the use of ICT in an integrated curriculum.
• A set of institutional and programme capabilities to ensure that ICT was embedded in teacher education programmes for accreditation purposes.
  

(Developing capability)

• Encouragement for Deans and Heads of Schools to assist with the implementation of ICT and to put into place enabling mechanisms
• Increasing the knowledge and skills base of teacher educators about ICT in education
• Providing information and opportunities for pre-service teachers to engage in ICT for learning
• Creating partnerships between Universities, school and community groups to promote the authentic use of ICT
• Designing online learning environments that not only facilitate learning but create opportunities to engage in critical discussion, support professional experience programmes and enable learning about content in new, dynamic and integrated ways.
  

(Mechanisms and incentives)

• National funding for research and development around pedagogy and ICT pertaining to:

-Standards

-Effective strategies for teaching and learning with ICT

-The staging of a National Forum for teacher educators and policy  makers

-Creating partnerships to improve the quality of teacher education programmes and continuing professional development opportunities.

The report also identified a number of initiatives that should be implemented at the systemic continuing professional development level which centre around creating a coherent agenda for the integration of ICT in schooling.  They felt these would lead to a more effective system for continuing professional development and use of ICT which could be grounded in inquiry, reflection and experimentation, be collaborative and involve sharing of knowledge and skills, connected to and derived from teachers’ work with their students, sustained, ongoing and intensive and connected to all other aspects of school change. (pp 81 – 82)

Another report, (Learning in an online world, 2000) stipulated that five features should be considered as critical for effective integration of ICT in schools. These are:

• People
• Infrastructure
• Content and services
• Supportive policies
• Enabling regulation
  

Although not explicitly stated, but implied in infrastructure and content, no integration is possible without significant rethinking about curricula.  For effective integration the use of ICT has to be embedded in curriculum that are relevant to the 21st century.  However, in most instances the process of curriculum renewal has been a case of mapping new technologies onto old curriculum rather than embracing a reconceptualist philosophy.  Certainly there is a great deal of scope to consider curriculum and assessment reform.  It has been noted (e.g. Tinker, 2000; Yelland, 1999; Yelland, 2002) that we have a great deal of information about the ways in which new technologies are able to transform learning yet curriculum in schools remains much as it was last century.  Pre-service teachers and those teachers currently working in Australian schools cite the main barriers to the use of ICT as lack of professional development, as well as more basic issues around adequate support for technology infrastructure.  However, while outcomes are still mainly measured by tests that do not incorporate the use of ICT, curriculum remains grounded in the 19th century, with much of the knowledge and skills being tested outdated and outmoded.

Increasingly, governments want to know if their investments in ICT are showing benefits in improved educational outcomes.  But until those outcomes include a description of the use ICT the question remains inappropriate.  It is artificial to only consider one component of the educational environment in measuring such outcomes.  The extent to which investments in curricula, other resources (e.g. texts and library materials) and measures to improve teacher quality also need to be considered.  As with many human endeavours isolating specific causes and effects is impossible and we would do well to divert our efforts and funding to empirical studies of “what works”.  As we are living in the 21st century where the use of new technologies permeates everything we do, it would be naïve to suggest that they have no role to play in the education of students in our schools. Those who question the expenditure and use of new technologies, in particular computers, in schools, strive to isolate schools from the real world and in so doing, alienate another generation of children who increasingly view schooling as an archaic process.

Innovative approaches to the use of ICT in teacher education – case studies

a)  RMIT University – Reconceptualised Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and Graduate Diplomas of Education (early childhood, primary and secondary). (Grad Dip. Ed).

In reconceptualsing the suite of undergraduate programmes that prepare teachers for the 21st century, the RMIT University accreditation documentation (RMIT University, 2003) is based on the recognition that a new type of teacher education is needed. Such teachers will be the knowledge workers of the 21st century. The structure and content of the B.Ed is based on the understanding that the emergence of the knowledge economy has particular significance for those preparing young people to take their place in the adult world.  It has become evident that schools are feeling the strain of societal change and are attempting to change their structures and processes to ensure that teaching and learning environments have relevance. Similarly, teachers are being required to acquire new skills and to rethink their roles. 

To a significant extent the teacher has become a knowledge facilitator who assists students to  identify, appropriate and analyse knowledge. This description of the teaching role recognises that teachers are working in a world in which knowledge is constantly increasing, changing and contested. It also recognises that educational settings must be able to provide students with access to the knowledge, skills and attributes required to be active citizens. 

As we learn more about the changing nature of work and the changing nature of communities what becomes apparent is that whilst many schooling practices are designed to give our young people the kinds of learning experiences that will best equip them for these changes, many are not.  It has been suggested that to function effectively in the information society schooling should provide young people with the capacity and motivation to be:

• Community-builders, with strong social competencies and resilience, a positive valuing of self, and a conscious personal and social values base;
• Team workers, with skills in co-operation, communication and negotiation;
• Able to find, select, structure and evaluate information; to be intellectually curious and able to find problems;
• Problem-solvers, complex thinkers, original/creative thinkers, critical thinkers, intellectual risk-takers, and decision-makers;
• Independent of mind, responsible, persevering, self-regulating, reflective, self-evaluating and self-correcting;
• Flexible and be able to adapt to change, through knowing how to learn and wanting to continue to learn throughout life.

These requirements place new demands on the role of the teacher, and as the role of the teacher must change, so must the role of teacher educators. Teachers will require deep knowledge of how teaching and learning occurs and the necessary skills to implement this knowledge. Whilst there has been considerable debate about the nature and extent of this knowledge there is agreement about the importance of knowing how to learn.

Whilst pre-service teachers will need to understand the debates in the education context and the nature of curriculum they will also need the knowledge, understanding and skills to:

• relate learning content to real world contexts
• present learning as problem based with a problem solving approach
• recognise and draw upon students’ prior learning and experiences
• assist students to be producers of new knowledge and to increasingly assume responsibility for their own learning
• establish learning environments that are inclusive and responsive to learning and cultural differences
• support students to be teachers as well as learners
• apply information and communication technologies to support learning across the curriculum
• promote high levels of intellectual engagement and set high expectations for learning.

Within the documentation it is recognized that information and communication technologies (ICTs) have changed ways in which information is accessed, the nature of learning, the relationship between the teacher and student and the organisation of the classroom.

Teachers, as knowledge workers, need to be multi-skilled, more flexible and able to undertake a range of tasks. Pre-service teachers have to acquire the knowledge and skills to incorporate the use of ICT in teaching programmes and promote the use of ICT for accessing, building, interpreting, reshaping and sharing information.

It is also believed that graduates require a sound knowledge of educational theory and practice, including emerging new learning theories and approaches to assessment. They need a broad and current knowledge of curriculum and the skills to support students to engage fully in challenging learning pursuits. They need to understand the influence of cultural and other contextual factors on students’ learning and have acquired skills to manage and engage students.

The reconceptualised B.Ed. and Grad. Dip. Ed. programs are based on the premise that graduates will require the skills to design coherent learning programmes appropriate to student needs and interests. They will need the ability to create and maintain intellectually challenging, emotionally supportive and physically safe learning environments. In addition, graduates will need to be competent and confident teachers who are reflective, committed to improvement and active members of their profession. They will also need to value working collegially within their school and wider community.

• In summary, graduates should have:
• problem solving and critically reflective skills
• communication skills
• a capacity to adapt to changed circumstances
• an ability to work in teams
• networking skills
• the ability to use and apply communication technologies
• awareness of diverse learning needs
• awareness of the changing environment and of their role in equipping young people to operate effectively within this environment.

The renewed Bachelor of Education and Graduate Diplomas of Education have been designed to address the contextual factors described.  They are centred around the belief that whilst pre service teachers will need to understand the debates in the education context and the nature of curriculum they will also need the knowledge, understanding and skills in order to:

• relate learning content to real world contexts
• present learning as problem based with a problem solving approach
• recognise and draw upon students’ prior learning and experiences
• assist students to be producers of new knowledge and to increasingly assume responsibility for their own learning
• establish learning environments that are inclusive and responsive to learning and cultural differences
• support students to be teachers as well as learners
• apply information and communication technologies to support learning across the curriculum
• promote high levels of intellectual engagement and set high expectations for learning.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have changed ways in which information is accessed, the nature of learning, the relationship between the teacher and student and the organisation of the classroom.  The design of the B.Ed is premised on the belief that new learning provides a framework that will prepare the teachers of the 21st century to work in new and dynamic ways.  In this way traditional disciplines are recognized in specific courses but the content and skills inherent to each are also embedded in other courses and the connections between them in both theoretical and practical ways are emphasized.  New learners utilise new technologies across traditional subject boundaries and are engaged in rich tasks that are authentic and meaningful for them.

The basic architecture for the renewed Bachelor of Education and Graduate Diplomas of Education are provided in Appendix 1 and 2 respectively.  The B.Ed. has been constructed around four components.  However, the Graduate Diplomas (Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary) are constructed around the first three component areas (applied learning and professional practice, theoretical frames, learning areas) since electives are not possible within a one year program for teacher education.  A schematic diagram showing the conceptual links between the areas is provided in Appendix 3.

1. Applied Learning and Professional Practice

The courses in this component include Professional Practice as well as university based sessions. The focus of this component is thus practical and experiential. The courses have been designed to support, reinforce and enrich professional practice experiences. In each course links are made to the courses of the other component areas which are described in the following sections.

The courses in this component aim to:

• link theoretical and practical aspects of teaching and learning
• develop communication, organisational and management skills
• build upon and maintain partnerships between teachers and the university including shared delivery of courses
• develop high levels of expertise for pre service teachers through working with mentors
• develop skills in research, critical thinking, problem solving and reflection
• develop an understanding of curriculum theory and philosophy
• provide links between theory and applied learning through university and site experiences
• provide links between other curriculum based courses and their application in professional practice
• emphasise the role and use of ICT in teaching and learning programs
• include the use of the learning hub as an integral aspect of communication and information access between pre service teachers, mentors and university staff.

2. Theoretical Frames for Education.

This component provides pre service teachers with knowledge and understandings of the historical, theoretical and philosophical debates that underpin decision making and drive change in education.

• The courses focus on ‘critical issues’ in education including:
• education history, philosophy, thinkers, ideas, trends and key debates
• economic, social and political influences in education
• learning stages, cognitive development, learning styles, diversity, multiliteracies, special needs
• technology, globalisation, popular culture, social literacy, educating for citizenship

3. Learning Areas

This component provides pre service teachers with essential pedagogy and content knowledge for:

• Literacy/English,
• Numeracy/Mathematics
• Science
• Health and Physical Education
• The Arts
• Studies of Society and Environment
• Technology

Course content is again linked to those in the other components and the use of ICT is embedded in all courses.  At the current time the curriculum in Australian schools is organised around 8 Key Learning Areas, namely, Mathematics, English, Science, Technology, Studies of Society and the Environment, The Arts, Health and Physical Education and Languages other than English.  The syllabus documents in each of the States and Territories rarely encourage teachers and students to use ICT as an integrated part of their learning.  However, we have attempted to rethink the nature of learning in each of these learning areas, look for integrative opportunities and create learning scenarios in which the children can choose the resources that they need to investigate and communicate their ideas and learning.  In doing so we have recognised that new pedagogies and modes of learning are being created which enable new and dynamics ways of thinking and knowing for both teachers and children.

4.  Student electives and electives for expertise

Within this model students have a new range of opportunities to develop expertise in an area (or more than one) as well as being able to select 4 electives from other portfolio areas within RMIT University

The areas of expertise that are offered within the B.Ed. will be:

• Early childhood
• Middle years learners
• ICT, The Arts, and Health and Physical Education, Special Education
• Adult learners

Summary

We are living in liminal times (Turner, 1969) in which the old structures are breaking down and the new ones are not yet in place - a time of ‘betwixt and between’.  This approach to teacher education recognises the strengths of the current teaching profession within the Australian and global context but seeks to build a new program that views teachers as knowledge workers of the 21st century and recognises that the use of ICT needs to be integrated into learning and that pedagogies and new curriculum need to be generated in order to facilitate this process.  ICT has been the impetus for change but not the driver.  Changing societal needs and contemporary times have demanded a new education for all,   one which is characterised by equity and social justice and the recognition of difference. 

b)       pockets of innovation in existing pre service programs that promote the integrated use of ICT.  E.g. QUT - Using technology in the curriculum (MDB383)

This course ( https://olt.qut.edu.au/edu/MDB383) recognises that ICT play a significant role in contemporary society and as a consequence, pre service teachers need to have skills related to their use in the educational context.  The course is offered in a flexible mode so that students are able to choose to what extent they want to attend classes and mix this with online activity.  All resources are available on line including the powerpoint presentation for on campus lectures and workshop notes.  Online communities were also created in order to facilitate collaborative problem solving and discussion around significant educational issues.  It is in this context that the course aims to provide pre service teachers with the skills and understandings for using ICT in the 21st century.

Over a period of 11 weeks students engage in a program of study that is broad and inclusive, and includes the following topics:

• Using Information & communication technology (ICT) in the curriculum: Meeting the challenge
• Information & communication technology: Initiatives and Influences
• Using software effectively in LOTE & SOSE
• Multimedia: Products and productions
• Using the web effectively in the classroom
• Working with Data
• Managing computers in the classroom: Make IT happen
• Information and communication technologies and literacies
• ICT to facilitate thinking and problem-solving
• Meeting the needs of learners
• Maintaining the momentum

In this way students are able to look at curriculum applications but are also required to extend their thinking to consider the wider societal influences.  It also enables them to create specific resources that they can use when they go out into schools for their practicum experience.  They are encouraged to discuss the topic with their supervising teacher and given feedback from both the University Lecturer and their peers.

For students studying on campus and those who are located in remote areas and unable to attend classes, there are structured activities each week that were designed to guide them through the specific topic and application that is being investigated.  For example:

• Introduction to the unit: materials and assessment
• ICTs for Learning and Minimum Standards for learning
• Choosing a theme, concept mapping and planning
• Designing and storyboarding a multimedia shell
• Getting online - web publishing
• Working with data
• Managing ICT activities and developing teacher notes
• Publishing for children: Designing student materials
• What is Logo?
• Computers as Mindtools
• Problem-solving: Cycles and strategies
• Evaluating a computer application
• Reflection and exam preparation

In this way students are able to reflect on the topic of the week and discuss issues in their tutorial groups. They are also give time and scaffolding to support their major assessment item – to create a learning resource using ICT.

In creating units like this one within the structure of a traditional B.Ed. program students are given opportunities to experience the use of ICT across the curriculum.  Some examples may be provided within the various method courses taught, but generally there is a traditional approach to teaching and learning which follows the State syllabus documents.  Thus the unit facilitates the use of ICT within structured curriculum contexts and enables students, teachers and children in schools to explore the ways in which ICT can be incorporated into learning experiences to make them more relevant to an investigative approach and for knowledge building.

Conclusions
This concept paper has explored the issues around the use of ICT in schools and higher education contexts in Australia.  In doing so it has highlighted some challenges and used two case studies to show the ways in which the use of ICT are integrated into teacher education programs.  The first case study has highlighted that a reconceptualisation of teacher education and curriculum is possible even within the confines of traditional accreditation requirements.  The case study set out the basic premise that ICT should be an integral part of all aspects of education and embedded in all courses.  The second example illustrates the ways in which pockets of innovation with ICT can exist within traditional programs.  It reveals that it is necessary for students to have a skill base related to the use of ICT across the curriculum and this together with enabling them to engage in critical discussion around curriculum decision making will provide them with information about the ways in which they can use ICT to engage learners in new and dynamic ways that were not possible without the technology.

ICT permeate nearly every aspect of our lives and they should be integrated into our educational experiences.  The examples provided here illustrate two ways that this may be achieved but there are a myriad of other ways.  We have to rise to the challenge of incorporating ICT for learning in new ways and this will involve a radical rethink of pedagogy and curriculum in the information age.  If we are not successful in meeting this challenge schools and higher education institutions will become an anachronism and potential students will seek alternative ways of acquiring the knowledge and skills that they need for life in the 21st century.

References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2003).  Year Book Australia 2002. www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/ABS@.nsf/

Department of Education Science and Training.(2000) Learning in an online world – School Education Action Plan for the Information Economy. Canberra: DETYA.

Department of Education Science and Training. (2001) Making better connections. Models of teacher professional development for the integration of ICT into classroom practice.  Canberra: Angel Ink.

Department of Education Science and Training.(2002) National Quality Schools Framework.  (www.nsqf.edu.au).

RMIT University (2003) Accreditation documentation for the Renewed Bachelor of Education, Graduate Diplomas of Education (early childhood, primary and secondary).

Tinker, R. (1999) New technology bumps in to an old curriculum. Concord Consortium. Newsletter. (www.concord.org/newsletter/1999winter/newtechnology.html )

Turner, V. (1969). The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure. Chicago:Aldine.

Yelland, N.J. (2002). Asdf;lkj: Challenges to early childhood curriculum and pedagogy in the information age. In Loveless & Dore (Eds.). Information and communication technologies in the primary school: Changes and Challenges. (pp. 85 - 101 ) Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press.

Yelland, N. J. (1999). Reconceptualising schooling with technology for the 21st. century: images and reflections. D.D. Shade (Ed). Information Technology in Childhood Education Annual.(pp 39 – 59). Virginia: AACE.