Drape's Takes

The Enhancing_Teacher_Takeup_of_Digital_Content_Report commissioned by Education Services Australia (a merger between Curriculum Corporation and Education.au) and written by Professor Michael Gaffney has recently been published.

The Executive Summary explains:

• Although digital uptake in schools is increasing, many teachers do not use technology in their classroom.

While at ISTE this year, I met an IT Director from Australia that was in a school that had been using laptops with their students for the last 14 years. He mentioned that in spite of his students having such open access to computers, his number one problem was getting his school's teachers to use the technology.

This document alone illustrates that there are multiple factors at play - multiple barriers to technology integration - and sometimes bridging the digital divide requires more than just money and equipment. At times, the largest barriers are those caused by deep philosophical convictions maintained by teachers and school administrators alike.

I'm interested to see how well the recommendations made in the "Enhancing Teacher Takeup" document serve to improve the pedagogical use of technology in Australian schools.