edna.edu.au

I'm a bit late to the discussion, but I can talk about the NSW DET Connected Classrooms Project if anyone wants to know anything specific.

INVITATION You?re invited to participate in an open conversation about collaboration in teaching and learning (CTL), online from 3 October 2008 to 14 November 2008 at http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/course/view.php?id=2010 The Collaboration in Teaching and Learning Tankette is being conducted by education.au (www.educationau.edu.au) as part of the Strategic ICT Advisory Service it is providing to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). To participate, you will need to register at edna groups at http://groups.edna.edu.au/ and use the group invitation key CTL2010. WHY PARTICIPATE? The CTL Tankette (a small think tank), and the associated supporting materials, will provide DEEWR with information to feed into their policy making process.

John Travers asked for a summary of the NSW CCP. I'm still curious if any other school systems are doing this on the same scale? 1) schools receive an installed video conference classroom, ultra short throw projector, iwb, computer, ancilliaries and software. 2200 schools at $20000 each install. 2) bandwidth upgrade 3) TaLe/Share/DET Interactive Tools and resources. The NSW DET portal has comprehensive information as does NSW Teaching and Learning Exchange(TaLe)

I am curious, are any other Australian states contemplating the NSW Connected Classroom Program? https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/strat_direction/schools/ccp/aboutccp/index.htm

Two snippets of news in The Australian today: NSW government schools getting computers under the NSSCP will have to get laptops. And NSW 1.5 million students are going to get a special version of Gmail as their mail service.

My blog post says this in a bit more detail, but isn't there a lack of appreciation that this initiative by the federal government a very good thing? (see links) Lack of computers has been a really major factor in not getting the benefits that the digital revolution promised for the last 15 years. It would be nice if we could focus more on the opportunities rather than the barriers.

The first round of schools has been approach to apply under the National Secondary Schools Computer Fund NSSCF by April 4th. The funds are only for computers (until the school reaches the 1:2 ratio) and schools or systems are responsible for networking, ISP, furniture, etc etc. So there will be substantial demands on school funds. Schools need a Strategic Plan and details of what is planned by April 4. What are the options, best approaches? One significant system has decreed that no desktop computers can be purchased under the scheme!

The Julia Gillard interview [links] is interesting from a couple of points of view. 1, that the media are picking up on the notion of "your promised a computer for every kid" and 2. that she seems to be saying "yes, but the specifics of how it happens is up to the school"

I've just put up a blog post where I've pointed people to the Digital revolution website and talked about what I see as some of the issues. http://url.edna.edu.au/j4Vt I think there are elements, in school infrastucture for example, that the funding round won't address. You might like to add comments to my blog.

Did you know that the Education Tax Rebate for school students (for computers) will cost more than double the $1bil allocated for secondary school computers? This is the dark horse of the new government plans, providing a 50% rebate for computer related expenses and text books. This will make a home computer or an additional one for students very affordable. A family with one secondary and one primary child will get up to $1,125 a year. It is a rebate, not tax deductible, which means that low income families get the same benefit as high income ones. Presumably this will mean that a high proportion of students will have a home computer in a year or two. (Families will get their refund from July 2009)