[LINK] [Oz-teachers] ICT in the Australian Curriculum

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Tom writes,

> The Australian Council for Computers in Education released an "ACCE
> Position Paper on ICT in the Australian Curriculum", 16 April 2011:
> <http://acce.edu.au/nationalcurriculum>. This paper argues that ICT
> needs to be its own learning area .. provisionally titled ICT.

Agreed .. ICT is an essential core curriculum. 

And, it seems that ACARA might be ready to at least partly accept this, 
with Digital Literacy already being a core annual Australia-wide school 
NAPLAN test. 

However, for a number of reasons, I believe this ICT national curriculum 
core *must* be largely delivered, and assessed, electronically. Mount it 
online. It is appropriate, and fitting, that ICT become the first online
national curriculumn area. And, as such, a readily available, consistent  
CORE online curriculum area, and with various school based ICT electives.

Such online-ed initiatives can be interesting and valuable learning. For
example, the IDL, and, England's DiDA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DiDA

Another reason for an online core approach is one prime, and inescapable, 
statistic; schools have mainly failed to encourage students to study ICT.

For example, quoting McLahlan (2009)

"The number of students who have elected to study Victorian Certificate
of Education (VCE) ICT subjects and successfully passed them has been
steadily decreasing since 2001. There has been on average a 64% (males
55.3% and females 81.2%) drop. The number of Victorian schools that offer
VCE ICT has also decreased since 2001, there are up to 170 less schools
offering IT related subjects (Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority
2010a). The phenomenon of declining enrolments since 2001 is not
restricted to Victoria alone, evidence of this has been shown in SA and
NSW (Vickers 2007). The recurring theme (is of) students disinterested
in ICT study .. "

So, as an elective, ICT has been boringly taught, and dying. Making it a
core subject, as it has been taught over the last decade .. might almost
guarantee an Au student revolt. But online and interesting, it's win-win.
Students win, schools win & Australia wins. Hmm, that's win-win-win. Not
bad for a $60,000 maybe all-up Australia-wide online ICT core course.


Cheers, people
Stephen Loosley
Member, Victorian
Institute of Teaching
Also posted: ACCE website