Teachers are critical to student learning. That is why teachers are being provided with significant ongoing support to improve student performance and ensure the Digital Education Revolution (DER) initiative is a success.
On 29 October 2010, the Hon Peter Garrett AM MP, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth announced that four projects worth more than $16 million would receive Australian Government Funding under the Information and Communication Technology Innovation Fund (ICTIF).
The ICTIF supports the implementation of the DER and the professional development of teachers and school leaders in the use of ICT. The four projects were selected by assessing funding applications against the aims of:
- Improving the capability of pre-service teachers;
- Enhancing the capacity of in-service teachers; and
- Driving innovation through leadership.
Further information, including assessment criteria, can be found in the ICTIF Guidelines.
The Projects
Four projects will help teachers and school leaders to better use ICT in the classroom:
Teaching Teachers for the Future will help embed ICT into everyday classroom learning by transforming the delivery of teacher education and supporting the development of progressive generations of teachers. Teachers who are expert in the use of ICT will assist universities to update teaching courses so that new teachers have the necessary skills to incorporate the use of ICT in classroom learning.
ICT in Everyday Learning: Online Teacher Toolkit will draw on the expertise of teacher professional associations. This project will involve the development and trialling of seven online teaching packages which will show teachers how they can incorporate the use of ICT in everyday learning, with a focus on Phase 1 of the Australian Curriculum.
This project will also bring together existing and new online teaching resources which represent the best strategies available to improve teachers’ skills and teaching approaches for engaging students through the use of technology in key areas of the Australian Curriculum.
Anywhere, Anytime Teacher Professional Learning will provide teachers and school leaders with access to a safe virtual environment to evaluate and build on their ICT skills. The project will ensure that teachers in rural and regional areas have access to the same ICT resources as teachers in urban areas.
Leading ICT in Learning will provide a single online portal through which principals and aspiring school leaders can access expert ICT advice and tools as well as network with other principals and aspiring school leaders. The portal will help principals to better plan the use of ICT in their school and the ICT professional development of their teachers.