Underlying the information technology program at TAS are the following principles:
- Information technology will be an integral part of the life of today's students, not only in all areas of employment and professional life but also in leisure and daily pursuits. Information technology skills are vital to the present and ongoing education of students in order to equip them for life in this millennium.
- Information technology must be seen to be integral to and inherent in the overall learning process rather than as a specialized area of individual academic subjects or skills acquired in isolation from the regular academic program.
In order to address these principles, a notebook program was introduced at TAS in 1994. The program ensures that all students in Years 5 to 10 have a notebook computer as part of their regular, daily school equipment. The program remains optional in Years 11 and 12 (related to subject selection), but most students elect to retain their notebook computers, using them extensively in all aspects of class work and home study.
In certain subjects (Information Processing and Technology, Accounting, Graphics, Art and Geography, for example), students must demonstrate that they are conversant with and competent in computer software programs as a mandatory aspect of the Queensland Studies Authority syllabi. All Preparatory to Year 4 classrooms have been equipped with multimedia desktop computers with network access to ensure that students entering Year 5 will have developed a range of basic computer skills.
Classrooms used by both junior and secondary students are networked to the school Local Area Network (LAN), providing access to the Internet and a range of CD-roms and other software programs. At both campuses, fully networked classrooms provide simultaneous access for up to thirty students. For the purposes of research and group work, The Stuart Library and its entrance hall provides full network access for up to thirty-four students.
The wireless network has been expanded to include many classrooms on both campuses.
From the earliest stage, students are encouraged to make full use of the presentation capabilities of the computer, recording creative written work in appropriate font format. The dual benefits of gaining immediate and ongoing feedback on spelling and grammatical errors and of publishing their work can be seen in the high standards achieved and in the students' readiness to meet the challenge of creative and report writing.
Year 5 is the inception year for the notebook computers. Basic skills are introduced: access to Microsoft Office and familiarisation with other software, file and directory management and file saving procedures.
Throughout these middle and upper junior years, students undergo an intensive computer training schedule incorporating keyboarding skills using UltraKey aspects of word processing data storage, retrieval and manipulation; spreadsheets and graphs. In addition, MicroWorlds is used extensively in a range of subject areas from Language Arts and SOSE to Mathematics and Science. Other more subject-specific software programs accessed during lessons include Maths Circus and Geometer’s Sketchpad. Research skills are taught with web searching an important component. Students are introduced to email and benefit through contact with other students in Australia and internationally.
The notebook computer is a vital teaching tool in enabling such a program. The educational benefits of contextual (as opposed to discrete) skill integration are well established. From the earliest stages, students are familiar with using the notebook as a normal tool at any point of any lesson throughout the school day. Computer access is established readily and immediately within the classroom, obviating the necessity to disrupt the flow of teaching and learning through moving the class to a specialized computer laboratory.
In the lower secondary years, intensive use of the notebook in classes continues as outlined above. More emphasis is given to desktop publishing techniques using Microsoft Word and Publisher as report writing becomes more detailed and refined. Students are encouraged in the use of multimedia apparatus, a digital camera and a flatbed scanner. Presentation techniques using Microsoft Powerpoint are also taught with students making their presentations with the aid of a data projector.
In this rapidly changing world, technology is enabling the evolution of communities in very powerful ways. No longer is information confined to a physical place and time; rather it is rapidly becoming digitized, creating new opportunities for learning in context. The time is soon arriving when ‘what you know‘becomes obsolete in the face of ‘how readily you can source and retrieve it’.
At TAS, we recognize that educational institutions have a major role in working with learners not only to determine the value of information, but also to develop and nurture the skills whereby learners are empowered to use both information and technology to drive new ideas and generate thinking.
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