School of Education ICT Infrastructure Report to the FEHPS Resources Committee

Abstract

This document reports on elements of the Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies technology infrastructure in response to changing needs which result from: the increasing use of electronic presentation materials in lectures and tutorials, the changes to preparation and presentation of unit materials to Compact Disc distribution, the DEST requirements of integration of technology in education, the provision of at least industry (school) standard teaching and learning computers, the requirements of effective staff and student data storage and backup, and the need for efficient effective computer maintenance provision. The DEST (2002) report Making Better Connections: Models of teacher professional development for the integration of information and communication technology into classroom practice noted that one of the biggest barriers to effective integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was that schools often were inadequately prepared in terms of resources, expertise and classroom practice. In order to achieve successful integration, student teachers need to provide rich opportunities to develop the skills needed to successfully integrate ICT into the curriculum, as part of their classroom practice (DEST 2002).