NSW dodges schools sustainability issue

Beverley Head
Wednesday, 07 October 2009 03:50

IT People - Training

Victoria’s Bendigo Senior Secondary College has long been acknowledged as an educational technology leader. Unlike NSW, Victorian schools have greater autonomy over the mix of technology they acquire. But Principal Dale Pearce acknowledges that the longer term issue that schools will have to tackle is the sustainability of the Digital Education Revolution programme. “At the school level we have not got a clear picture of how this model can be sustained in three or four years. I think there is a question of sustainability and schools need more clarity.”

Taroona High School in Tasmania meanwhile has taken an approach which it believes will prove sustainable even if the DER funding dries up or there is a change of Government. Taroona is using DER funds to buy core technology such as wireless internet access, high end multimedia computers for specialised work, interactive whiteboards, digital projectors, specialised equipment such as probes for science, music editing suites, robotics and high end software for animation. Taroona students and their families meanwhile are encouraged to buy and use their own computers, supported by a pool of laptops bought by the school for students who cannot for various reasons use their own. According to the school’s manager of ICT Learning, Margaret Meijers: “This model is financially sustainable long term, even if the Federal government funding does not continue.

“Schools and governments do not supply mobile phones to students. As technology increasingly converges we are likely to see the sort of everyday computing power available in students’ pockets. Laptops are becoming and increasingly personalised device, much as a mobile phone is.

“Many of our students already own or have access to their own laptops at home. As prices continue to fall and with the Government’s education tax refund an increasing number of families will purchase laptops for students. As a school our aim is to take advantage of this.”

Taroona has not been prescriptive about the software that students use on their laptops, and has established a lunchtime ‘help desk’ run by senior computing students.

According to Meijers; “While this model for providing access to technology is not without challenges in its implementation, we believe that long term it is the only model that is sustainable.”