Embedding ICT in learning: power in rural partnerships

Abstract

This paper draws on aspects of the Partnerships in ICT Learning (PICTL) study funded by the federal Government and reported in 2008. The purpose of the PICTL study was to demonstrate good-practice approaches to embedding Information and Communication Technology (ICT) throughout the educational experience of pre-service teachers, teachers and teacher educators. To address this, the research program investigated ICT partnership approaches in a variety of Australian contexts through developing, trialling and evaluating forms of partnerships among universities, education authorities (government and non-government) and schools. Data from the PICTL study indicate that progress in embedding ICT within the curriculum remains limited and when considered nationally, despite large investments of funds, the situation might best be described as being in the early phases of adoption. There are great differences in ICT take-up throughout Australia and in the use of, and knowledge about, ICT in learning within and between systems, schools and tertiary institutions, and between teachers and tertiary educators.