The last 20 years have seen immense gains in computing power available to schools and a wide variety of useful educational software and services. Professional development in the computer area, however, has not resulted in the widespread use of computers in classrooms. This article reports on the use of the Charles Sturt University Remote Telescope…

This paper reports preliminary work in an ARC Linkage Project involving collaboration among James Cook University, Education Queensland, and Technology One (a Queensland based company). The project aims to identify and interpret factors associated with low female participation rates in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professional…

The comprehensive Girls Tech study undertaken recently by Rutgers University (The World-BankDouglass, 2004) supports the findings of a number of previous studies (Newmarch, 2000; Scott, 1998; Smith, 2005; Walker, 2002) which indicate that some females still view technology as a threatening part of male culture. There is concern about the low…

This paper locates the current technology related school reform movement in the backdrop of growing international debate and illustrates through discourse analysis why teachers and teacher educators need to engage in deeper levels of critical dialogue over the move to plug schools into the so-called knowledge economy. The objective is to raise…

What does it mean to "develop professional standards"? This paper argues that the task is one of setting up the processes and resources that will bring about an informed and growing teaching community. This is not a task in making lists of the "competencies" that teachers are to be measured against. Considerable work by government and professional…

Concomitant with the many initiatives concerned with ICT curriculum integration are requirements for measurement of the student outcomes of that integration, in keeping with recent education priorities that emphasize outcomes and accountability. However researching and measuring the impact of ICT initiatives has been found to be a significant…

In this project, narrative was constructed by Grade 5 students using learning technologies (cameras, computers and multimedia software) through three-dimensional cartoon animations, or "claymation", and the creativity that emerged was at times startling. Narrative need not be interpreted narrowly and monomodally. It emerged that narrative can be…

The importance of teacher education graduates having appropriate information and communication technology (ICT) for learning competencies and experiences is well documented. However, without well developed processes for auditing the ICT experiences of undergraduates it should not be assumed that teachers will enter their profession with the…

This paper outlines the establishment and running of an after-school Computer Clubhouse, describing aspects of the leadership, mentoring and learning activities undertaken there. Research data has been collected from examination of documents associated with the Clubhouse, interviews with its founders, Director, session leaders and mentors, and…

Technology in secondary schools has become of increasing interest as the power of the micro chip has developed. For the students of Mathematics, computers and hand held graphic calculators need to be accessible to all. They are relevant to the needs of the students' courses and to support and develop their Mathematical learning (Smith, 1997).…

This paper is the second part of a longitudinal study on the reliability of and access to ICT technologies in remote schools in north Western Australia [WA]. Part One was featured in the last issue of "AEC" ["Australian Educational Computing"]. It was an investigation into the access and practicalities of online opportunities for students and…

In 2002, the Honk Kong government launched a pilot scheme "e-school bag" promoting the use of wireless technology in ten primary and ten secondary schools for classroom teaching and learning. In 2003, a secondary school successfully received a grant from the Quality Education Fund (QEF) to implement a wireless network for outdoor field trips. This…

Australian schools are expected to integrate various uses of digital technology across all subject areas. In many schools the effectiveness of this has been questionable with little application to the development of student's creativity. This paper reports on a pilot study investigating children's creativity during computer-based activities.…

Early adolescence, classified from 10-14 years, is an important stage of development where thinking, planning and reasoning skills are evolving. Middle School is an educational context which focuses on the provision of support for students in this age group through the transitional period, from primary school to high school. Integrating a graphic…

Increasingly computers in primary schools are being used to support the interactions and learning of students online. Gaining access to online spaces gives students new ways of interacting, not possible in a face-to-face setting. For example, interacting through online environments allows students to interact more informally with each other and…