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Full
report and executive summary here
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Australia's Future Using Education Technology
The whole report is
3.7Mb and even the Executive
summary is 65Kb. Here are just a few points which seem relevant
particularly to the UK situation, but maybe more globally also.
The report notes
that "providing accessibility and flexibility for students and teachers for their own specific teaching and learning needs remain
key challenges." I feel "accessibility" and
"flexibility" are the two key words here: two factors which
senior management and government agencies fail to address in any
meaningful fashion here in the UK.
In addition, effective e-learning approaches can be used to help disadvantaged youth, those living in rural and regional Australia,
Indigenous Australians, older Australians and those who need special education.
This could and should translate into a UK context with only a little
modification to suit the UK context.
The report emphasizes five modes in which e-learning provides substantial gains in effectiveness, quality
and cost benefits:
- Classroom interactive learning between students and teachers and among students.
- Independent learning where students or teachers are learning and studying alone in a
variety of environments and modes including aspects of self directed lifelong learning.
- Networked learning through contact with groups, individuals and sources where quite
different influences and experiences are creating a qualitative difference to both standard
and blended teaching and learning.
- Organisational learning including learning communities, learning
precincts and learning cities.
- Managed learning where education technology is creating, through computer managed
communication and learning management systems, capability to enable teachers to
negotiate and provide individualised curricula and learning experiences for each student.
Recommendation 4 (c) of the report believes that developmental work be commenced in 2004 to create optimum conditions for networked
learning for all Australian students and teachers with the following essential elements or
conditions:
• national shared, online content and services which include a national knowledge network
• a national open-sourced web-based learning management system or a single web-based
management and reporting platform
• comprehensive availability of online student learning and teacher professional
development materials
• high-speed bandwidth in schools and online community centres at affordable cost and
reliable access – sufficient to provide digital access for all to the five modes of learning
• empowering parents to assist students. It is recommended that part of the proposed
national knowledge network and national shared online content and services proposal
include a parent support repository and web-services with materials, ideas and examples
for parents which will help them in home tutoring and mentoring their children where
professional help may not be readily accessible because of their location and situation.
Areas where assistance to parents is needed include special education, gifted and
talented, remedial literacy and numeracy and high stakes subjects (for example, year 11
and 12 mathematics). The service would include access to Australian publicly funded
open-sourced Australian material, international links and commercialised materials
produced by Australian business.
The full report
and Executive Summary may be accessed from:-
http://www.dest.gov.au/publications/afuet/default.htm
Useful further
links from the report include these:-
The Le@rning
Federation
http://www.thelearningfederation.edu.au/tlf/newcms/d2.asp
the Australian
Flexible Learning Framework
http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/
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