 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Education Anytime, Anywhere Alison Dodd National Education Market Manager, Microsoft |
This article was provided by Microsoft Australia,
upon request, so that members can be informed of the activities and initiatives by Microsoft in the field of
education and the opportunities available to the teaching profession. Microsoft has been a long time
supporter of Melb PC and PC Update.
Microsoft Australia has been at the forefront of bringing the latest technologies to schools, universities,
colleges and TAFEs around the country, and in training and consulting administrators and staff in how to
maximise technology in education. There are countless examples of education sites across the country, both in
urban and rural centres, where technology has been used to great effect, improving both teacher efficiency
and student performance. Microsoft has developed a wide range of Australian education case studies, which
focus on how technology has been used to enhance and improve learning and education and which have been
shared throughout the education community (see
http://www.microsoft.com/australia/education).
In order to truly maximise the utilisation of technology in education, educators need to ensure that the
correct planning and training is in place. Microsoft, drawing from its extensive experience in the education
market believes there are four key components that need to be addressed in the professional development of
teachers in IT:
1. Personal Agenda - teachers should consider computing knowledge in the context
of the portable or personal computer. How does the machine work? How do I turn it on? Where is the printer
port? What is a port? What is file management? These initial questions are fundamental and very personal and,
until staff and students have the basics, computer literacy will be out of reach.
2. Computing Literacy Agenda - involves a Skills Inventory which staff can
gradually work through. The Skills Inventory should include the essential computer skills common in all the
major subject areas. The characteristic of the model is that it may be broken down into easily manageable
parts.
3. Subject Based Application - prepares staff for their particular area of
expertise and explores software specific to that subject area, or addresses the use of productivity software
(e.g. Office) in subject-specific application. There are many commercial software packages which are
important to the overall learning process.
4. Research/Development Agenda - explores the Information Super Highway where
Cyberspace is boundless. Staff are trained to negotiate the highway and, in turn, train students for
continuing independence in information retrieval, research, problem solving and development.
Microsoft, together with other IT vendors and members of the education community, can play an important role
in helping educators to identify the main issues and challenges surrounding technology and education and then
to help in dealing with them.
As a committed and active member of the Australian corporate and education
community, Microsoft Education believes it has an obligation to invest in the development of education in
this country. Microsoft's focus to date has been on providing access to our technology through broad
statewide licensing programs that cover all Microsoft desktop software as well as providing home access to
the software for teachers. Microsoft's second emphasis has been on professional development tools for
teachers to assist them in integrating the technologies into their own teaching practices. Recently, it
launched a national campaign aimed at addressing the IT skills shortage in this country called TRAIN-IT 2000,
where Microsoft announced an investment valued at $6.5 million in IT skills training through its Authorised
Academic Training Program (AATP).
We also believe strongly in Anywhere, Anytime learning, a concept that in fact developed first in Australia
as a response to the need for more dynamic learning. Student learning should not be confined to the classroom
or confined to a teacher. In today's learning environments student learning should occur at a time and place
that suits the learner, addresses their preferred learning style (visual, aural, tactile etc) and that
provides access to content on topics of interest.
Most schooling sectors are aiming for a student-to-PC ratio of between 5:1 and 8:1. It is the responsibility
of educators to ensure that these tools are used to develop a flexible learning environment and not simply to
automate old practices. Teachers need to have more than just spelling and keyboarding skills - they must have
the skills associated with design, critical analysis, and electronic forms of information access and
handling.
Microsoft places great value in schools setting up partnerships with a wide range of external organisations,
including, but not limited to, software companies like Microsoft. As a company Microsoft's partnerships are
focused on maximising the use of technology for education. The Online Learning Partnership Program, a
technology infrastructure and professional development program aimed at building new forms of online
education delivery to students across Australia and the rest of the world is one such example. Many education
sites across the country are reaping the benefits of this kind of partnership with Microsoft and other
vendors, including Charles Sturt University, the University of South Australia, John Paul College, Swinburne
University and the NSW Department of Education Training, together with the Hunter Institute of TAFE.
A great deal of progress is taking place in the Australian education sector as technology is increasingly
being used as a tool for enhancing and improving education and learning. Although technology will never be
able to solve every problem in the field of education, educators should continue to learn about what
technology can really do to help them make education and learning the best it can be: fun, interactive,
collaborative and empowering.
Reprinted from the August 2000 issue of PC Update, the
magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
