[Offtopic] ICT in secondary schools

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Hi all,

May be of interest .. also, just by the way, in our local P-10 school
in this country town, every classroom has IWBs, and from the start of
2010, every student, and every teacher, will have their own computers.

--
Classroom computer rollout 'on target' 

Matthew Franklin, The Australian, December 18, 2009 12:00AM 
<http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/classroom-computer-rollout-on-
target/story-e6frg6n6-1225811538611>


JULIA Gillard is on target to slash the ratio of students to computers in 
high schools from 5:1 when Labor took office to about 2:1 within 16 
months. 

And the Deputy Prime Minister expects that every student in Australia 
from Years 9 to 12 will have their own computer at school by the end of 
2011.

But as Ms Gillard told The Australian yesterday the government was on 
target to deliver its 2007 election promises on computers in schools, the 
opposition rejected her figures as rubbery and said the cost of the 
scheme had blown out by more than $1 billion.

In the 2007 campaign, Labor promised an education revolution that would 
allocate $1bn to put a computer on the desk of every student between 
Years 9 and 12.

Kevin Rudd declared the computer was the toolbox of the 21st century as 
he savaged the Howard government for failing to equip students for the 
future.

Asked by The Australian to detail progress in reaching her promises, Ms 
Gillard said she had funded the purchase of 292,752 computers in 1902 
schools -- reducing the ratio of students to computers to 2:1 by March 
2011.

Ms Gillard said 180,202 computers were already on students' desks -- 62 
per cent of those funded -- with schools given two years from the time 
grants were awarded to have the hardware in place.

"Almost 2700 secondary schools across Australia were approved for funding 
to purchase almost 295,000 new computers through rounds one and two and 
2.1. This will bring these schools to a computer-student ratio of 1:2."

Ms Gillard said the government had so far spent $1.37bn of the $2.1bn, 
with implementation of the fund on track.

Ms Gillard said once the ratio of two students to each computer was 
reached, the government would have to provide another 494,000 computers 
to reach the ratio of 1:1 by the end of 2011.

Opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne said the program was 
costing more than twice what was promised in 2007.

He did not believe Ms Gillard's figures, noting that earlier this year in 
parliament she had taunted him about computer funding to the Glenunga 
International School in his Adelaide electorate.

"Six months after she made those comments the computers were still in 
their boxes in a store room unused because the school had no back-up, no 
software, cabling training or help with installation," Mr Pyne said.

--

Cheers,
Stephen