The Better Practice Guide has been developed to help schools with their decisions about the deployment of information and communications technology (ICT) under the National Secondary School Computer Fund (NSSCF). 

The Guide complements and links to advice from the various government and non-government school systems and sectors.

The Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) acknowledges and thanks the state and territory education departments and the Catholic and Independent schools associations for their assistance in the development of this Guide.

The Digital Education Revolution initiative is a major part of the Australian Government Education Revolution. The initiative recognises that Australian students need greater access to, and more sophisticated use of, ICT. They need the best hardware, high-speed broadband connections, quality digital content and well-trained teachers to integrate technology into teaching and learning.

Every school providing senior and secondary education may benefit from the NSSCF. The total funding available to each school is dependent on student enrolment numbers and the identified needs of the school in relation to its existing ICT capacity.

Each secondary school may apply for funding in future funding rounds. Eligible schools may receive up to $1 million over the life of the fund (2008–12), including funding to update existing technology every three years.

The first priority for funding under the program is to ensure that the computer-to-student ratio for Year 9–12 students is 1:2. 

The Australian Government will provide the NSSCF funds through funding agreements with state and territory education departments on behalf of government schools and with block grant authorities on behalf of the non-government sector. Education authorities and schools have been encouraged to take advantage of bulk purchasing and, where economies of scale can be achieved, NSSCF funding can be used for the effective deployment of the computers. This might include contributions to on-costs; for example, power, security or air conditioning. This could mean that the authorities gain benefits for the jurisdiction or system as a whole (where appropriate) or may negotiate and pass the funds to individual schools to manage.

Residual funds may also be used to purchase other ICT equipment, such as interactive whiteboards, data projectors, printers and scanners or network infrastructure.

The new ICT resources acquired through the NSSCF will be introduced in conjunction with existing school ICT resources and new ICT resources funded through other sources.

Many Australian schools already have access to advice on ICT planning and management from the various government, Catholic and independent school systems. ICT resources acquired through the NSSCF should be planned for and managed in accordance with that advice. 

• Site Diagram ( PDF 29KB)

The Guide is in five broad sections:

• About the Guide
  This section describes the purpose of the Guide and provides a glossary of terms and site map.
• Strategic planning
  This section helps schools understand their ICT readiness and set goals and priorities for ICT in teaching and learning. It helps answer the question: ‘How do I plan for the new ICT resources?’
• Implementation
  This section helps schools to optimise the learning space options they have, and to answer the question: ‘How do I implement the ICT resources?’
• Infrastructure
  This section helps schools to decide the tools that best meet their needs, and helps answer the question: ‘What ICT infrastructure and tools do I need?’
• Post-implementation
  This section helps answer the questions: ‘How should the ICT infrastructure be managed after the new resources have been implemented?’ and ‘How will I know how well I’ve succeeded?’

There is also a glossary which explains the terms and abbreviations used throughout the Guide.

This Guide has been prepared by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations with valuable assistance from Australia’s government, Catholic and independent school systems and sectors.

The Guide will be regularly revised and feedback is welcome. Please email comments to digitaleducationrevolution@deewr.gov.au. 

Complete list of jurisdictional resources

Position statements

Vision of ICT in education