The influence of IT: perspectives from five Australian schools

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are now widespread in Australian schools but with variation in how, where, when and how much they are used. Computers may be located in a computer laboratory, distributed throughout the school, or students may use their own laptop computers. IT may be a subject in its own right or ICT may be used across all areas of the curriculum. It is how ICT is used in the school setting that is important in providing students with the skills to be participate in a 'knowledge society'. This paper examines the ways in which information and communication technologies influence teaching and learning in five Australian schools. Data were gathered through observation, interviews and document analysis in schools operating at the elementary and secondary grades in relatively technology rich environments. Each of the schools participated in the Australian component of the Second Information Technology in Education Study Module 2 (SITES-M2) of innovative pedagogical practices. Several of the studies were of specific projects where ICT was the key enabler of the learning programme. Others focused on an entire school's approach to ICT as an agent for changed approaches to learning.