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Well aligned to curriculum- examples provided for different grade levels

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Prodigy Math Game features more than 1,500 mathematical skills, aligned with curriculum standards for grades 1 to 8.

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Jenga Games for multiplication and algebra

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| | Filed Under: Language, Math, Math Centers, Test Prep

One of my new favorite obsessions is using Jenga in the classroom to review and spiral concepts. Over the past year or so, I have been creating several games that are perfect if you want to incorporate Jenga in your classroom and they are all free! On this post, I will share brief descriptions and links to each one.

Amazon affiliate links provided if you wish to purchase the Jenga blocks mentioned on this post.

Getting to Know You: Jenga Game

Your students will love this getting to know you activity using Jenga! Such a fun back to school activity to help students get to know more about their classmates. Click here to read more and grab the directions page.

Playing Jenga: Engaging Test Prep

Make test prep a hands-on activity by incorporating Jenga into the mix. Learn how to use this kid-friendly game to help your students review! This version works with any questions and any color blocks, including uncolored ones. Click here to get the directions, tips for management, and implementation tricks for using Jenga as a test prep game.

Decimal Jenga Review

Make decimal review fun by turning it into a game. This Jenga decimals game (available in 4th and 5th grade versions) will help your students review with a fun hands-on approach. Grab the decimal review game printables here.

Fraction Jenga Review

Fractions can be tricky to master, but these Jenga fraction games make it easier and fun for the students. Click here to read more about the fractions Jenga review and grab the printables for 4th and 5th grade.

Whole Number Jenga Review

Want to review whole number skills in an engaging way? Click here to read about and download the FREE whole number Jenga games for 3rd-5th grade. The games review a variety of skills from adding and subtracting to writing and comparing whole numbers.

Multiplication and Division Jenga Review

Turn tedious multiplication and division review into a game with the help of Jenga blocks! With three different ways to play, these multiplication and division games can be used with 4th and 5th graders. Click here to check out the Jenga multiplication and division games.

2-D Shapes Jenga Review

Help your students remember 2-D shapes using Jenga! This game is great for the beginning of the year review for 5th graders or test prep review for 4th graders. Click here to check out!

Factors and Multiples Jenga Review

Help your students remember the difference between factors and multiples and practice generating them with this free game. Click here to read more and grab the printables.

Parts of Speech Jenga Review

Jenga isn't just for math review games! In fact, this Jenga Parts of Speech Review Game is a student favorite and one that can be pulled out over and over again throughout the school year. Click here to read more and grab all the free printables including 30 ready-to-go sentence cards!

What do you think about using Jenga in the classroom? Is this something you do already? Let me know in the comments!

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Using Jenga in the Classroom (Collection of FREE Jenga Games)

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Filed Under: Language, Math, Math Centers, Test Prep One of my new favorite obsessions is using Jenga in the classroom to review and spiral concepts. Over the past year or so, I have been creating several games that are perfect if you want to incorporate Jenga in your classroom and they are all free!

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Free downloads: numberlines, puzzles

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Blank Number Line Templates – Tim’s Printables

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Relaxing colouring to learn with

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After my obsession with "Mystery Pixel Art", I am working my way through color by numbers. Much like the pixel art, color by numbers are a good way to practice/review the content. The added benefit is that they take the students a bit longer to complete, so they are amazing to leave for a sub in an emergency situation - back-to-back one page copy, no electronics, and kids can spend a whole class period with just one sheet.

As with my other materials, you are free to use the "Print and Go" activity and share with others. My intent has always been not to add a price tag to my resources, but with the increase in cost in making them, I have decided to place the answer keys up for sale on TpT. My idea is that you take what you need, when you need it without worrying about cost (i.e. when you get a call that you need to pick up your kid from daycare, or you wake up with a migraine - you get the idea). Later, you may wish to pay it back. Even if you use them all and you just purchase one answer key, it would definitely brighten my day.

Disclaimer: The colors you see in the thumbnails and on the first pages of the free downloads have been scrambled / do not correspond to the correct answers. This was done in order to prevent students finding this page and simply copying what they see.

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Ideas on 20% time, project based learning and gamification to encourage students to become lifelong learners in the age of technology.

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Ideal fun way to move around the room, talk to peers and learn at the same time.

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I have loved playing Scoot games with my students through the years. Scoot lessons are always fun for students because they can get up from their seats and move about the classroom. These games are great for reviewing different topics discussed during the school year. So far, I have six Scoot games in my store. (Test Taking, Attendance, Character Ed., Middle School Transition, Bullying Prevention, and Meet the Counselor) Today's post talks about how to play Scoot for those of you who aren't familiar with the game.

Playing Scoot

The very first Scoot game I created was a part of the School Counselor Activity Pack for December and it focused on bullying prevention. After a customer asked if the game could be recreated to be used outside of its seasonal theme, I made the stand-alone version minus the reindeer. As the years went by, I created additional topics with Attendance Scoot and Character Ed. Scoot being my most recent.

Each game comes with 28 Scoot Cards and an answer sheet. Once the cards are printed and laminated, they can be reused again and again. (Just be sure to ask your students to take good care of them. I've found that some students will naturally fold or even roll up the cards for whatever reason. Once you get them back, they don't flatten out well.)

After laminating the cards, I use a Sharpie to write the number of the card on the back. This is because I like to have my cards face down when the game begins. Before starting the game, you will place the cards in order around the classroom using desks or tables. For example, if students are sitting at their desks in groups of 4, you can put cards 1-4 at one table, 5-8 at another, and so on.

You will only put out the number of cards that match how many students are present for the lesson. If there are 20 students present, hold on to the remaining 8 cards. Once students return to their seats, you can include those cards by reading them aloud to the class and giving them time to mark their answers before you go over all of the answers aloud together at the end.

Each student will need a copy of the answer sheet and a pencil. Clipboards are optional. Answer sheets can vary based on the Scoot Games topic.

To start the game, students will begin with the card assigned to their desks. It is important to explain that if a student has card number 16 on their desk, he or she should begin marking their answer sheet at number 16. Some students will naturally put their first answer in the number 1 spot and their entire sheet of answers will be off. So be sure to take time to explain that and be sure they know to still move forward in numerical order. (If my card is number 11, my next card should be number 12.)

At this point, I also review the path they will take around the room to get to each of the numbers. It's super important to discuss what happens when students get to the last number (whatever it may be) and where the number 1 card is. I would go to the desk with the last card and physically walk over to where I would need to go next for card number 1 so students get a visual.

Now it's time to begin. Find a good upbeat song to use that will signal when your students will move or "scoot" to the next card. I would usually bring my iPad with me so I could queue up the song on YouTube. I don't care how old the song "Happy" gets, it's a great song choice to get students moving, but any age-appropriate song will do. When I tell the students to begin, it is quiet in the room until I am ready to have them "scoot." The song plays for just a few seconds and then I hit pause so it is quiet while students are reading and answering their cards.

I said earlier that I write the number for each card on the back so the cards are faced down on each desk. My rule during Scoot is that once a student is finished answering a card, he or she must return the card back to the face-down position so the number is visible to the next student. This rule will also give you a visual as to how many students are ready to "Scoot." You will be able to scan the room and know that everyone is ready.

While the kids are scooting around, you will be able to glance at their papers or even ask the class to determine when they are doing the last one. When everyone is finished, you can play the music and let them dance back to their seats. At this time, you can review and discuss each of the answers. You can read through each of the cards as you review the answers yourself, or you can have students read the card assigned to their desks/seats and provide their answer choices.

If you haven't played Scoot with your students, give it a try. You can check out all of my Scoot games and try one for yourself!

Stick around! You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates. You can also follow my TpT Store to keep up with my latest products and freebies. Additionally, I do giveaways through My Facebook Page with my new products. Be sure to like Savvy School Counselor on Facebook and click to receive notifications so you don't miss them!

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How to Play Scoot Games - Savvy School Counselor

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I have loved playing Scoot games with my students through the years. Scoot lessons are always fun for students because they can get up from their seats and

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Assessing Pedagogical Content Knowledge of K-8 Science Teaching Teachers must be able to combine several important kinds of knowledge in order to successfully implement classroom science instruction

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Make a blank word doc a bit more interesting

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Parchment Background For Word posted by Brittany Timothy

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See the handpicked 143 Parchment Background For Word gallery posted by Ethan Johnson, share with your friends and social sites.

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VR- various topics, encouraged at SSHS

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Various colours and styles

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Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers (some of which are also called concept maps, entity relationship charts, and mind maps) are a pictorial way of constructing knowledge and organizing information. They help the student convert and compress a lot of seemingly disjointed information into a structured, simple-to-read, graphic display. The resulting visual display conveys complex information in a simple-to-understand manner.

Increasing Understanding by Creating Graphic Organizers:
The process of converting a mass of data/information/ideas into a graphic map gives the student an increased understanding and insight into the topic at hand. To create the map, the student must concentrate on the relationships between the items and examine the meanings attached to each of them. While creating a map, the student must also prioritize the information, determining which parts of the material are the most important and should be focused upon, and where each item should be placed in the map.

The creation of graphic organizers also helps the student generate ideas as they develop and note their thoughts visually. The possibilities associated with a topic become clearer as the student's ideas are classified visually.

Uses of Graphic Organizers:
Graphic organizers can be used to structure writing projects, to help in problem solving, decision making, studying, planning research and brainstorming.

Creating Graphic Organizers:
Graphic organizers can be drawn free-hand or printed. To go to printouts of many graphic organizers, click on one of the links above or below.

Adding color-coding and/or pictures to a graphic organizer further increases the utility and readability of the visual display.

How to Choose a Graphic Organizer for Your Topic/Task (click on a graphic organizer below to go to printable worksheets):
The task at hand determines the type of graphic organizer that is appropriate. The following is a list of common graphic organizers - choose the format that best fits your topic.

Star: If the topic involves investigating attributes associated with a single topic, use a star diagram as your graphic organizer. Example: Finding methods that help your study skills (like taking notes, reading, doing homework, memorizing, etc.).

Spider: If the topic involves investigating attributes associated with a single topic, and then obtaining more details on each of these ideas, use a spider diagram as your graphic organizer. This is like the star graphic organizer with one more level of detail. Example: Finding methods that help your study skills (like taking notes, reading, memorizing, etc.), and investigating the factors involved in performing each of the methods.

Fishbone: If the topic involves investigating multiple cause-and-effect factors associated with a complex topic and how they inter-relate, use a fishbone diagram as your graphic organizer. Example: Examining the effects of improved farming methods.

Cloud/Cluster: If the topic involves generating a web of ideas based on a stimulus topic, use a clustering diagram as your graphic organizer. Example: brainstorming.

Tree: If the topic involves a chain of events with a beginning and with multiple outcomes at each node (like a family tree), use a tree as your graphic organizer. Example: Displaying the probabilistic results of tossing coins.

Chain of Events: If the topic involves a linear chain of events, with a definite beginning, middle, and end, use a chain of events graphic organizer. Example: Analyzing the plot of a story.

Continuum/Timeline: If the topic has definite beginning and ending points, and a number of divisions or sequences in between, use a continuum/timeline. Example: Displaying milestones in a person's life.

Clock: If the topic involves a clock-like cycle, use a clock graphic organizer. Example topic: Recording the events in a typical school day or making a story clock to summarize a story.

Cycle of Events: If the topic involves a recurring cycle of events, with no beginning and no end, use a cyclic graphic organizer. Example topic: Documenting the stages in the lifecycle of an animal.

Flowchart: If the topic involves a chain of instructions to follow, with a beginning and multiple possible outcomes at some node, with rules at some nodes, use a flowchart. Example: Computer programmers sometimes use flowcharts to organize the algorithm before writing a program.

Venn Diagram: If the task involves examining the similarities and differences between two or three items, use a Venn diagram. Example: Examining the similarities and differences between fish and whales, or comparing a book and the accompanying movie.

Chart/Matrix Diagram: If the task involves condensing and organizing data about traits of many items, use a chart/matrix. Example: Creating a display of key inventions, who invented them, when, where and why they were invented, etc.

Y-Chart Diagram: If the task involves analyzing and organizing with respect to three qualities, use a Y-Chart. Example: Fill out a Y-Chart to describe what you know about an animal, including what it looks like, what it sounds like, and what it feels like. Or describe a character in a book, including what the character looks like, sounds like, and how the character feels.

T-Chart Diagram: If the task involves analyzing or comparing with two aspects of the topic, use a T-Chart. Example: Fill out a T-Chart to evaluate the pros and cons associated with a decision.

Fact/Opinion: If the task involves distinguishing the facts vs. the opinions in a theme or text, use fact/opinion charts. Example: Fill out a fact/opinion chart to evaluate the facts and opinions presented in a news article.

PMI Diagram: If the task involves analyzing the plusses, minuses, and implications of a decision or an action, use a PMI Chart. Example: Fill out a PMI Chart to help evaluate the positive, negative and interesting points associated with taking a new job.

Decision Making Diagrams: If the task is making a decision, use a graphic organizer to enumerate possible alternatives and the pros and cons of each. Example: Fill out a desicion making diagram to help decide which elective courses you'd like to take next quarter.

Semantic Feature Analysis Charts: If the task is comparing characteristics among a group of items, use Semantic Feature Analysis . Example: Fill out a Semantic Feature Analysis chart to compare and contrast the care needed for various pets.

Cause and Effect Diagrams: If the task is examining possible causes and effects in a process, use a cause and effect graphic organizer . Example: Fill out a cause-and-effect diagram to trace the steps in a feedback loop..

KWHL Diagram: If the task involves analyzing and organizing what you know and what you want to learn about a topic, use a KWHL chart. K stands for what you already KNOW about the subject. W stands for what you WANT to learn. H stands for figuring out HOW you can learn more about the topic. L stands for what you LEARN as you read. Example: Fill out a KWHL chart before, during, and after you read about a topic.

Pie Charts: If the task involves showing divisions with a group, use a pie chart. Example: Draw a pie chart to show what percentages of a population have blue eyes, green eyes, or brown eyes.

Vocabulary Map: Graphic organizers can be useful in helping a student learn new vocabulary words, having them list the word, its part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.), a synonym, an antonym, a drawing that represents the word, and a sentence using the word.

Paragraph Structure: These graphic organizers help you organize the structure of a paragraph, including a topic sentence, sentences with support details, and a conclusion sentence.

5 W's Diagram: If the task involves analyzing the Five W's (Who, When, Where, What, and Why) of a story or event. Example: Fill out a 5 W's Chart to help evaluate and understand the major points of a newspaper story.

Story Map: Story maps can help a student summarize, analyze and understand a story or event.

Character Traits: Graphic organizers help the student identify the traits of fictional characters by looking at events surrounding the character in the text.

Biography Diagrams Graphic organizers are useful to help prepare for writing a biography. Before writing, the graphic organizer prompts the student to think about and list the major events in the person's life.

Animal Report Diagrams: Many graphic organizers are useful to help prepare for writing a report on animals. Before writing, the student should think about and list the major topics that will be researched and covered in the report.

Geography Report Diagrams: These graphic organizers are useful to for doings a short report on a country or other area. The student draws a map and flag, and looks up basic information on the area.

Math Diagrams: Many graphic organizers are useful to learn and do math, include Venn diagrams, star diagrams, charts, flowcharts, trees, etc.

Scientific Method Diagrams: Graphic organizers used to prepare and organize a scientific experiment.

Flowchart of How to Choose a Graphic Organizer
To find an appropriate graphic organizer, answer the following questions about your topic:

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graphic organizer graphic organizers mind maps concept mapping concept mapping

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concept maps data structures entity relationship chart print outs venn diagram print out printouts star spider cloud time sequence chain cycle flowchart flow chart story writing expository writing write persuasion fishbone herringbone matrix chart tree cloud diagram tree star flower printable worksheets

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Graphic organizers, also called concept maps, entity relationship charts, and mind maps, are a pictorial way of organizing information. Click for printable worksheets.

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Images shown on contents page

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Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers
"Graphic organizers are tools that help your brain think." - Kylene Beers
Graphic organizers are an illustration of your thoughts on paper. They can help you brainstorm, organize, and visualize your ideas.

Click on a graphic organizer to download a PDF of it. Once you've downloaded an organizer, type in your comments and print it out.

Each graphic organizer below includes Teaching Notes with lessons and tips on how to use graphic organizers in the classroom.

Help with PDF Files
Generating, Identifying, and Organizing Details

Determining Main Idea and Drawing Conclusions

Order and Sequence

Graphic Organizer Teaching Notes

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Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers "Graphic organizers are tools that help your brain think." - Kylene Beers Graphic organizers are an illustration of your thoughts on paper. They can help you brainstorm, organize, and visualize your ideas. Click on a graphic organizer to download a PDF of it.

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Many different styles and formats

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Free Teaching Resources - Graphic Organizers

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Icons, small graphics and clip art of school related things.

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Word clouds for brainstorming

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Edith Cowan Uni: Problem Based Learning Scenarios

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Edith Cowan Uni: Problem Based Learning Scenarios

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Teacher focused resource- extensive
Outlines assessment, feedback, benchmarking, moderation, sustainability and teaching strategies.

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Problem Based Learning

What is it?

Problem based learning (PBL) is a teaching strategy during which students are trying solve a problem or a set problems unfamiliar to them. PBL is underpinned by a constructivist approach, as such it promotes active learning. Activities are carried out with groups of students, typically in a tutorial or seminar setting. PBL fosters self-directed learning, effective problem solving, communication and collaboration skills. Students tend to work in groups to problem solve with the lecturer or tutor taking a backstage role during the activity, their involvement is usually limited to guiding and monitoring the process.

Resources

Links to relevant PD:

Case Studies:

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Problem Based Learning Problem based learning (PBL) is a teaching strategy during which students are trying solve a problem or a set problems unfamiliar to them. PBL is underpinned by a constructivist approach, as such it promotes active learning. Activities are carried out with groups of students, typically in a tutorial or seminar setting.

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Science Buddies: Science Fair Ideas & Projects

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Science Buddies: Science Fair Ideas & Projects

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Extensive list of ideas and projects.
Each contains detailed list of materials, outline, methods, procedures, variations, career links.
Also plenty of lesson plans, hooks, blogs, classroom kits, STEM Calendar.
American based company

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Hands-on Science Resources for Home and School

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This Quest will be used as a framework for the transformation of a sustainable transport model (boat or car) in the Year 8 Physical Science class

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'Google Science Fair- for 8B science' created by Joanne Hughes

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Use this personalized learning lesson plan in your classroom today, or create your own with Quests by Classcraft.

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This will be used to transform students creativity by allowing them to design their own model component, that will then be 3D printed.

3D Modelling software for beginners.
Great for teachers, with a selection of projects and lesson plans.

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Bring learning to life for every grade and every subject with Tinkercad.

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Send your designs here for a free quote and your design can be shipped.

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Compare prices from top 3D printing services in seconds.

Craftcloud makes sourcing high-quality parts online affordable and easy. Upload a model and we'll do the rest!

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Best 3D Printing Services Online: Compare & Order Easily

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Craftcloud makes sourcing high-quality parts online affordable and easy. Upload a model and we'll do the rest! Get instant quote Try it now Unlike other 3d printing services, we will never charge you a service fee or require minimum order amounts.

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SunnySide Up Classroom 10-Pack DESCRIPTION The SunnySide Up Classroom 10-pack contains components for 10 individual SunnySide Up solar cars. Children can build solar cars on the supplied coroplast, or use recycled materials to make their own creations. Screw-eye axle holders go through or into most materials. Re-usable. For grades 5

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PBS Learning Media- lesson plans & social sharing

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PBS Learning Media- lesson plans & social sharing

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Outlines lesson plans well, where Grades & subjects can be specified.
American (?) based company, aligned to National curriculum or National Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

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Teach students about the design, construction, and evaluation needed to built a solar-powered car with this lesson plan.

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UNSW SunSprint- Cars (20m & 100m) and Boats

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UNSW SunSprint- Cars (20m & 100m) and Boats

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Good YouTube clips,
Event date 20/10/23
Links to international events at bottom of page

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The objective is to have the student

engage imagination;

direct learning;

refine scholarship; &,

embrace challenge;

by way of age-appropriate, science & engineering based events involving planning, construction, experimentation and competition.
Details
The UNSW SunSprint Model Solar Challenge will be held on the second weekend of the school Term4. SunSprint is on Friday and Saturday while MiniSprint, Solar Boats and the Solar Pursuit events are on Saturday. The event is open to all primary and high school students in NSW and ACT.

Some of the event is based on the specifications supplied by the Australian-International Model Solar Challenge allowing winning teams from SunSprint and the Solar Boats to participate in the national competition.

There are theory and construction seminars available for teachers and students at UNSW. In some cases it is possible for technical training to be held in schools. There are also several experienced school teachers happy to help new schools get into the competition.

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The objective is to have the student engage imagination; direct learning; refine scholarship; &, embrace challenge; by way of age-appropriate, science & engineering based events involving planning, construction, experimentation and competition. Details The UNSW SunSprint Model Solar Challenge will be held on the second weekend of the school Term4.

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First timers guides, funding grants.
Build guides for novice and advanced students
Links with RMIT, Deakin, Victoria Universities

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The Victorian Model Solar Vehicle Challenge is an engineering competition undertaken by hundreds of students across Victoria, from Year 1 to 12. Students design and construct their own vehicle, be it a car or boat, powered only by the sun! They learn real skills in design, engineering, troubleshooting, sustainability and teamwork. The final vehicles are highly optimised machines with surprising power. The best designs will go on to compete in the Australian International Model Solar Challenge (AIMSC), against the greatest from across Australia and Taiwan. Past competitors have found a passion in design and engineering and have gone on to study in these fields at Deakin, RMIT, Monash and Swinburne Universities.

When you run this at your school you can cover a full array of STEM content: Numeracy, Design, Applied Mathematics, Measurement and Geometry, Number and Algebra, Electric circuits, Forces and motion, Energy and motion, Design and much more.

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The Victorian Model Solar Vehicle Challenge is an engineering competition undertaken by hundreds of students across Victoria, from Year 1 to 12. Students design and construct their own vehicle, be it a car or boat, powered only by the sun! They learn real skills in design, engineering, troubleshooting, sustainability and teamwork.

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Term 1 events in Perth metro locations
Year 6 & 8

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The sun has set on the 2023 Synergy Schools Solar Challenge. Thank you to all our participants, teachers and everyone who helped to make this year's challenge possible!

Congratulations to this year's winners:

Grand Final Metro:

Year 6: Burrendah Primary School
Year 8: Kingsway Christian College

Kalgoorlie:

Year 6: O'Connor Primary School
Year 8: Goldfield's Baptist College

Geraldton:

Year 6: Dongara District High School
Year 8: Champion Bay High School

Albany:

Year 6: St Joseph's College
Year 8: St Joseph's College

See you next year!

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2023 Synergy Schools Solar Car Challenge | Renewable Energy Education

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The sun has set on the 2023 Synergy Schools Solar Challenge. Thank you to all our participants, teachers and everyone who helped to make this year's challenge possible!

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Design challenge

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Teach students about the design, construction, and evaluation needed to built a solar-powered car with this lesson plan.

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Great resource, as found from Benjamin Hespe beautiful padlet.
https://padlet.com/benjaminhespe/science-teaching-resources-m9r7ycss8z7xlyao
Spans across 13 different fields, including Biological sciences, Chemistry, Physics, health science, data science and maths. Some resources for preparing students for careers too!

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A free online platform for science education from Harvard University

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Links to Digital Learning class, with science focus

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Science and Maths, with interesting links to cybersafety

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v9

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Interactive solar system

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Assistive Technology in Action- Case Studies

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Assistive Technology in Action- Case Studies

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Python- how to reduce the requirements of special needs teacher aides to 'take notes' for students, using a combo of voice recordings, iPad & computer software... all from the perspective of the student.

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Assistive Technology in Action - Meet Sam

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Vision, Hearing, Mobility & Cognitive

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Every Apple product and service includes built-in accessibility features designed for you to make something wonderful.

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Resources & Media
Infographics
Tv & Radio
Apps

8 Ways Pedagogical Framework

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English cannot express the 'Dreaming'

'Dreamtime' or 'Dreaming' has never been a direct translation of an Aboriginal word. The English language does not know an equivalent to express the complex Aboriginal spiritual concepts to white people.

Aboriginal languages contain a lot of words for spirituality and beliefs, such as

tjurkurrpa, jukurrpa, tjurgurba (Pitjantjatjara people, north-western South Australia),

altjeringa, alcheringa, alchera, aldjerinya (Arrernte people, central Australia),

palaneri,

bugaregara,

ngarangani,

ungud (Ngarinyin people, north-Western Australia),

wongar (north eastern Arnhem Land),

bugari (Broome, north-Western Australia).

There is no spelling orthodoxy because native speakers did not write down Aboriginal languages.

The Dreaming' or 'the Dreamtime' indicates a psychic state in which or during which contact is made with the ancestral spirits, or the Law, or that special period of the beginning. - Mudrooroo, Aboriginal writer

Should I use 'Dreaming' or 'Dreamtime'?

Aboriginal spirituality does not consider the 'Dreamtime' as a time past, in fact not as a time at all. Time refers to past, present and future but the 'Dreamtime' is none of these. The 'Dreamtime' "is there with them, it is not a long way away. The Dreamtime is the environment that the Aboriginal lived in, and it still exists today, all around us," says Aboriginal author Mudrooroo . It is important to note that the Dreaming always also comprises the significance of place .

Hence, if we try to use an English word, we should avoid the term 'Dreamtime' and use the word 'Dreaming' instead. It expresses better the timeless concept of moving from 'dream' to reality which in itself is an act of creation and the basis of many Aboriginal creation myths. None of the hundreds of Aboriginal languages contain a word for time .

We are the oldest and the strongest people, we're here all of the time, we're constant through the Dreaming which is happening now, there's no such thing as the Dreamtime. - Karl Telfer, senior culture-bearer for Kaurna people, Adelaide

The Dreaming is not the product of human dreams. The use of the English word 'dreaming' is more of a matter of analogy than translation. Take care to use appropriate terms for Aboriginal topics to avoid offence.

The creation process

The Dreaming also explains the creation process. Ancestor beings rose and roamed the initially barren land, fought and loved, and created the land's features as we see them today. After creating the 'sacred world' the spiritual beings "turned into rocks or trees or a part of the landscape. These became sacred places, to be seen only by initiated men."

The spirits of the ancestor beings are passed on to their descendants, e.g. shark, kangaroo, honey ant, snake and so on and hundreds of others which have become totems within the diverse Indigenous groups across the continent .

Spirits don't belong to anyone and can be accessed by everyone. "No-one owns a spirits," says Quandamooka woman Evelyn Parkin. "You can have what I have got if you're in touch with the spirit." .

It is interesting to note that many Aboriginal people also use the term 'Dreaming' to refer to their concepts about spirituality. This might be because some of them find ceremonies or songs in a state of dreaming, a state between sleeping and waking . Strictly speaking, dreaming and mythology can be considered as the same thing: the deep mental archetypes and images of wisdom which we take on to be guided by them when the conscious mind is in a state of quietness .

The fact that the Dreaming is still around Aboriginal people is a fundamental difference to other spiritual beliefs. In Christianity, for example, the spiritual world is 'heaven', and many Christians believe it is reachable only after death and never while the person is still alive. (Those who find heaven inside might disagree, but such a discussion is beyond this article.)

Aboriginal man Midnight Davies describes how all-encompassing the Dreaming can be for Aboriginal people:

"The Dreaming is, however, more than just an explanation of cultural norms, and where we came from. The Dreaming is a complete guide to life and living - it is an encyclopaedia of the world. It is not just stories - it is art, songs, dance; it is written into the land itself.

"Through the Dreaming we are taught knowledge of plants and animals, to us many of the flowering plants are treated as signs of animals available to hunt, fish about to appear, fruits about to ripen; the movement of the stars foretells the changing of weather, the birth of animals, the time for ceremony and gatherings.

"The Dreaming completely surrounds us, we are shown proof of it everyday. It's not some old book written thousands of years ago, it is the living world itself. The Dreaming belongs to every Aboriginal person - it isn't the sacred property of a few priests/rabbis/imams, it is the property of everyone - every ceremony, every right, every tradition, every bit of knowledge is destined to be known to an individual sometime within their lifetime.

"The Dreaming was not designed to be just practised one day a week, or to only be turned to only in times of need - it is designed to be lived in every moment, and to shield you from those times of need. It serves as a guide to day-to-day life, a guide to the spiritual side of life."

What we draw on from our memories, and think, imagine and create in our daily lives is our dreaming. - Djon Mundine, Bundjalung man and Aboriginal Curator, Campbelltown Arts Centre

Dreaming gives identity

Each Aboriginal person identifies with a specific Dreaming. It gives them identity, dictates how they express their spirituality (see below) and tells them which other Aboriginal people are related to them in a close family, because those share the same Dreaming . One person can have multiple Dreamings .

Each form shares the spirituality from the 'Dreaming'. It is during ceremonies that the trance-like dreaming state seizes the Aboriginal people and they connect with the ancestral beings .

Video: Dreaming stories

Watch three Aboriginal men explaining what the Dreaming (tjukurrpa) means for them and how Dreaming stories encode information:

Here is a sample story:

Watch more Dreaming stories: Sam Taylor has put together a few Dreaming videos.

Poem: Dreaming stories

My culture is my identity.
Dreamtime stories tell the life of my people.
Growing older.
Hearing stories of my ancestors living off the land
Becoming one with the creatures
Even though I haven't met them
I feel this unbreakable connection
Through the stories I have heard.
The stories that have been passed down through generations.
These stories are living through us.
Without our culture we have no identity
And without our identity
We have nothing.

Poem by students Kiarra and Karri Moseley and Luke Bidner . Read more Aboriginal poetry.

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What is the 'Dreamtime' or the 'Dreaming'?

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'Dreamtime' or 'Dreaming' has never been a direct translation of an Aboriginal word. The English language does not know an equivalent to express the complex Aboriginal spiritual concepts to white people.

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Welcome to country
Teaching culture
Selecting resources & ethics
Working with guest speakers

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Posters, Presentations
STEM
SCRATCH
Excel

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Maths & English

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Jacqui Sharp (sharpjacqui) - Profile | Pinterest

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Jacqui Sharp | ICT facilitator, blogger, teacher, passionate about e-Learning!

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Taryns beautiful Padlet- Science & Maths

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Taryns beautiful Padlet- Science & Maths

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Problem based learning
Separate Science & Maths resources

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Stay safe online with info, resources and advice for students and parents.

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10% rule: 10% of a work may be copied for educational use. In digital environments, the fair use rule, and the 10% rule are both relevant and will inform most of your considerations when working online.

Also, all materials must be appropriately referenced unless they belong to you.

Details about applying creative commons licences can be found in this reference.

Best practices for attribution - Creative Commons

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Information sheets providing information on copyright for schools. If you are from a TAFE, please refer to the ‘Information Sheets: TAFE’ section of this website.

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Years ago I was a contributing author to What School Leaders Need to Know About Digital Technologies and Social Media. The section that I co-authored was all about mind mapping. Eight years later the concepts that we wrote about are still solid, but the tools have changed (mostly for the better).

Creating a mind map is an excellent way to generate and write down ideas connected to a central topic. I frequently use mind maps to generate ideas for blog posts and for workshop topics. Students can use them to generate ideas for creative writing, to plan presentations, and to record all of the factors contributing to a central event. Flowcharts help students see how a process works from start to finish.

Twelve Good Tools for Making Mind Maps & Flowcharts

Transno is a service that lets you write notes and outlines that can then be turned into mind maps and flowcharts with just one click. It reminds me a lot of the original Text2MindMap service that I used to use. Transno is better because it offers a variety of mind map and flowchart styles while Text2MindMap only offered one. Transno also supports collaboration by letting you invite others to edit and add to your notes. In this video I demonstrate how Transno works.

Canvas ( https://canvas.apps.chrome/) is a handy drawing tool from Google. Canvas is a great alternative to Google Drawings for iPad and Android tablet users. Canvas lets anyone create a drawing in his or her web browser by simply going to Canvas.apps.chrome. Once there you can start drawing on a blank canvas. There are four drawing tools that you can use to draw in a wide array of colors. Watch my video to see Canvas in action.

If your students have a computer in front of them, they probably have access to either Google Slides or PowerPoint or both. Google Slides and PowerPoint have built-in tools that students can use to create flowcharts. This video demonstrates how students can use Google Slides to create flowcharts. This video demonstrates how to use PowerPoint to create flowcharts. As you'll see in the videos, you can make the flowcharts interactive through the use of linking in PowerPoint and Google Slides.

Bubbl.us is a mind mapping and flowchart tool that I've been recommending for more than a decade. It has evolved overtime to keep up with the needs of students, teachers, and other users.Creating mind maps on Bubbl.us is an easy process of simply clicking on the center of your screen then entering the central topic of your mind map. The next step is to add "child" topics or bubbles that are connected to the central topic. Those are added by clicking the "+" that appears while holding your cursor over an existing bubble.

Padlet offers templates for creating flowcharts and know, want, learn charts. Unfortunately, you can only make three Padlet walls before you have to either delete one to make a new one or upgrade to a paid plan. The upside to using Padlet is that it's designed for collaboration. Here's my video on how to use Padlet to create flowcharts and mind maps.

Text2MindMap was a commercial project for a few years before going out of business then coming back as an open-source project supported by Tobias Løfgren. The way that it works is that you type a linear outline and Text2MindMap will automatically generate a corresponding mind map. To use it simply go to https://tobloef.com/text2mindmap/ then clear the existing text and replace it with your own text. Every line that you type in your outline becomes a node in the mind map. You can create a branch from a node by simply indenting a line in your outline.

The Post-it mobile apps for Android and iOS let you take a picture of physical sticky notes and then sort them on a digital canvas. This a great option for those who prefer to do their mind mapping and chart creation on paper but still need a way to digitize their work. Get the apps here.

MindMup is a free mind mapping tool that can be used online, with Google Drive, and on your desktop. MindMup works like most mind mapping tools in that you can create a central idea and add child and sibling nodes all over a blank canvas. MindMup nodes can contain text and links. When you're ready to save your MindMup mind map you can save it to Google Drive, save it to your desktop, or publish it online. If you publish it online, you can grab an embed code for it to post it in a blog post or webpage.

Coggle is a collaborative mind-mapping service that is very easy to use. To create a Coggle mind map just sign-in with your Google account and click the "+" icon to start your mind map. After entering the main idea of your mind map you can add branches by clicking the "+" icons that appear next to everything you type. To re-arrange elements just click on them and drag them around your screen. You can invite others to view and edit your mind maps.

Google Drawings and Google Jamboard be used to create mind maps and flowcharts. Drawings has more features than Jamboard. The upside of Jamboard is that it's probably a more intuitive tool for new users. Here's my video about using Google Drawings to create a mind map. Here's my video on using Jamboard.

Spider Scribe is an online mind map creation service. Spider Scribe can be used individually or be used collaboratively. What jumps out about Spider Scribe is that users can add images, maps, calendars, text notes, and uploaded text files to their mind maps. Users can connect the elements on their mind maps or let them each stand on their own. You can embed your interactive SpiderScribe mind map into your blog or website.

Sale!

Through Tuesday you can get eight of my Practical Ed Tech webinars in one bundle at more than 50% off. Or save 20% on any individual webinar.

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Great Tools for Making Mind Maps and Flowcharts

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Years ago I was a contributing author to What School Leaders Need to Know About Digital Technologies and Social Media. The section that I co-authored was all about mind mapping. Eight years later the concepts that we wrote about are still solid, but the tools have changed (mostly for the better).

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Enabling digital learning- Queensland (2022)

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Enabling digital learning- Queensland (2022)

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Local informative report detailing:
-Student access to internet & a device
-Technology infrastructure
-Plans for improvement/ recommendations

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The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the crucial need for workforce proficiency in digital technology, which touches every aspect of our lives. To prepare students and embed digital literacy into daily learning practices, the Department of Education and schools need to provide digital technology and infrastructure efficiently and consistently across Queensland.

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Australian Institute of Family Studies (2017)

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Australian Institute of Family Studies (2017)

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Interesting study that views how Australian students are using ICT in primary and high school (English class). Provides descriptions about specific tasks they perform, frequency of use and teacher experience.

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[PDF] Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector. Robert Baker - Free Download PDF (silo.tips)

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Download Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector. Robert Baker...

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Robert Baker

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Robert Baker

Acknowledgements The [email protected] Federation, Education Services Australia gratefully acknowledges the work of all the schools and teachers who contributed to this research. The teachers whose contributions are included in this report are Patricia Corby, Jamie Sharp, Lynette Barker and Nicole McGrath. Additional teachers and schools were involved in the broader research exercise, and we would like to thank them for their contributions and interest. Much appreciation and thanks must go to each of the Australian education jurisdictions for their contributions and advice throughout the development of this research.

The project team The project team for the investigation included Robert Baker, Stuart Tait, Di Kerr, Olivia Clarke, Rachel Kennedy and Jen Aughterson.

Contents Executive summary

1

Background

1

Methodology

1

The policy context

2

Theories of student learning

2

Models of teaching and learning

3

Teacher skills and capabilities

4

Collaboration, innovation and communication

5

Digital content

5

Technology-rich learning environments

6

Introduction

9

Needs of learners and the changing online environment

9

Methodology

The digital revolution and schools ICT enablers

Quality of pedagogy

10

11 12

13

Theories of student learning

13

Models of teaching and learning

18

Teacher skills and capabilities

24

Collaboration, innovation and communication

30

The learning environment

35

Digital content

35

Technology-rich learning environments

41

Conclusion

49

Appendix 1

52

Glossary

54

References

59

How have successive national policies taken account of rapid and continuing advances in technologies that are changing the way that people share, use, develop and process information?

Executive summary Background The Joint Ministerial Statement on Information and Communications Technologies in Australian Education and Training: 2008-2011 (MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008), agreed to by all Australian ministers of education, identifies a goal and supporting strategies for achieving high-quality learning outcomes through the provision and use of technology-enriched learning environments. The Statement identifies a number of areas for national collaboration, including educators' capabilities; their access to information and communication technologies (ICT); a secure and robust infrastructure; systems and architectures that enable access to, and the transfer and sharing of, information; and affordable access to appropriate online resources. In response, Millea and Galatis (2009) developed a cross-sectoral survey report regarding the ICT enablers defined in the Joint Ministerial Statement. Their report, which focused on collaboration in teaching and learning, was commissioned by Education.au. The ideas contained in that report have implications for the school, technical, further and higher education sectors. This subsequent report, Pedagogies and Digital Content for Online Learning, has been developed by The [email protected] Federation: Schools Online Curriculum Content Initiative (TLF) to build on this cross-sectoral research and focus specifically on appropriate pedagogies for the use of digital content in the Australian school sector.

Methodology The approach used in developing this report was to investigate relevant international and Australian theory and practice, re-examine contemporary school-based data about how state-of-the-art tools can 'enable new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication' (MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008, p 1), and consult with policy makers and teachers with high-level expertise in the use of digital content in the school sector. Contemporary school-based data available to the research team about teacher and student collaboration in online environments included student and teacher questionnaires, observations from focus groups, an examination of teacher-developed online learning activities and subsequent student collaborations, and teacher interviews. The data was collected from schools in four education

jurisdictions within Australia; the schools included both primary and secondary settings and the government and Catholic education sectors. The initial findings from this data were published in 2009 by TLF (Baker 2009).

The following research questions guided the development of this report: * How have successive national policies taken account of rapid and continuing advances in technologies that are changing the way that people share, use, develop and process information? * What learning theories or frameworks are most useful for understanding how students most effectively learn in online environments? * Are there models of teaching and learning that effectively harness digital content and powerful online tools for information processing, communication and collaboration? * What skills and capabilities will teachers need in order to access and use repositories of suitable, exciting, culturally appropriate, discoverable and affordable digital content? * How can digital content be used to support collaboration, innovation and communication? * What are the attributes of technologyrich learning environments that support innovation and collaboration?

Executive summary

1

The policy context The report is informed by the public policy drivers of education reform in Australia, outlined in The Melbourne Declaration (MCEETYA 2008), the aforementioned Joint Ministerial Statement (MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008) and the Digital Education Revolution (2008-2011). Taken together these documents outline the infrastructure, teacher capabilities, learning resources and leadership required to enable the effective use of ICT in the Australian school sector. These documents were in turn derived from earlier agreed policies and are contextualised by similar policy initiatives internationally. Rapid and continuing advances in ICT are changing the ways that people share, use, develop and process information technology. However, research in Australia and the United Kingdom has also identified that while there has been considerable investment in infrastructure, digital content and quality teaching, 'only a minority [of teachers and students] are reaping the benefits of the information technology revolution' (COAG Productivity Working Group 2008). Australia has developed a range of strategies and work plans to support the Digital Education Revolution and to overcome perceived barriers to change. The research team has identified key elements of national ICT policy for schools that relate to pedagogies and digital content for online learning, and the online learning environment. These include: * 'Australia will have technology enriched learning environments that enable students to achieve high-quality learning outcomes and productively contribute to our society and economy.' * 'Schools should support the development of skills in areas such as social interaction, cross-disciplinary thinking and the use of digital media.'

2

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

* 'Learners are active participants in knowledge creation and will engage with state of the art tools which enable new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication.' * 'While there has been a significant investment in educational technologies over the last decade, only a minority [of teachers and students] are currently reaping the benefits of the digital revolution.' Sources: MCEETYA 2008, pp 5, 8; MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008; COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, p 3

High-quality and relevant digital content can be provided to teachers and students in technology-rich online learning environments which enables new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication (Baker 2009). This report outlines the enablers of and barriers to successful use by students and teachers of such environments.

Theories of student learning Knowledge about how students learn is essential if teachers are to create learning activities that are intellectually rigorous, use the physical and online environment effectively, and are attuned to new ways of learning in the digital age. While prior Australian research has found that Australian teachers are generally familiar with constructivist theories of learning design (Holkner et al 2008), TLF research to date (Baker 2009) indicates that many teachers find it difficult to apply these theories to online learning activities. Teachers who are experienced in developing and using online learning are generally familiar with and experienced in using constructivist, social and situational approaches. Less experienced teachers with more limited expectations of their students' capacity for online learning may frequently resort to behaviourist teaching and learning approaches.

The research team found that teachers benefited from receiving an introduction to and outline of a range of learning theories appropriate for the use of digital content and online learning. The most effective way of linking abstract theories of learning to learning design and learning management is through professional development programs and the provision of online models of effective learning design. Collaborative online learning provides particular challenges and opportunities for teachers. In planning and managing collaborative learning, teachers can benefit from an understanding and skilled use of Engestrom's Human Activity Theory, Cooperative Learning (Johnson & Johnson 1994) and Connectivism (Siemens 2005).

Findings The research team made the following findings concerning the role of learning theories in enabling the effective use of digital content for online learning: * Teachers may require assistance in unpacking the assumptions they make about how students learn and the pedagogical approaches they use to support these. * Constructivist and situative theories of learning or perspectives are useful for online learning in that they are learner centred and take account of individual and group needs and interactions. * Connectivism and Cooperative Learning take account of a whole new set of learning requirements brought about by the digital age, and can provide a theoretical basis for collaborative learning.

Models of teaching and learning Collaborative online learning presents new challenges and opportunities for teachers and students. TLF research (Baker 2009) indicates that it is possible for teachers and students to engage with state-of-the-art tools that enable new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication. This action research indicates that a significant majority of students are highly positive about collaboration for learning in technology-rich learning environments. However, the preliminary research also found that effective learning activity design was essential if students were to engage positively with digital content in technology-rich online learning environments. In this current study, a number of models have been used to underpin learning activity design. The most effective of these models ensures that the necessary interconnections take place between the needs of learners, the physical and online environments used, the collaborative dimension, and the intended learning outcomes. While these models can be used in offline as well as online learning, they require new skill sets when applied to online learning, given the nature of digital content and tools as well as the dynamics of online collaboration between teachers and students.

Executive summary

3

Professional learning should allow teachers to gain confidence and expertise in the use of state-of-the-art tools that can be used for interaction and collaboration.

Findings The research team made the following findings in relation to learning activity design that supports effective online learning: * Learning activity design in its varied formulations can provide an effective theoretical and practical model for online learning in that it takes account of interactions between the needs of learners and the learning environment, and between people participating in the online learning activity. * There is value in defining the theoretical and practical elements of successful design for online learning for teachers who are developing skills and capabilities in the use of online learning. * Models of learning activity design should be developed or sourced that are relevant to teachers at all levels of schooling and in different learning areas. The interactive and digital curriculum content procured by TLF can be used to provide exemplary learning materials within such models.

Teacher skills and capabilities A number of international and Australian pedagogical frameworks and ICT continuums are relevant to the skills and capabilities required of teachers who seek to develop pedagogical expertise in the use of both digital content and technology-rich learning environments. These include A National Framework for Professional Standards for Teaching (TQELT 2003) and subsequent frameworks and ICT continuums developed by Australian jurisdictions and sectors.

4

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

While there is a degree of similarity among these frameworks and continuums, the research team found that there are also fundamental divergences, such as the number of levels of capability required of teachers, and the aspects of ICT that the continuums define. The Teaching for the Digital Age Work Plan 2009-2012 developed by the Australian Information & Communications Technology in Education Committee (AICTEC) contends that 'Agreed national standards [should be] ... used for the incorporation of ICT in teaching and learning for practising teachers at critical career stages' (AICTEC 2009). International collaboration to define standards that describe the development of teacher capabilities and skills in the use of ICT has resulted in the UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (UNESCO 2008A, B & C). These standards were intended to be models for countries to adapt in developing local ICT competency standards for teachers.

Findings The research team made the following findings relating to teacher skills and capabilities enabling the effective use of pedagogies and digital content for online learning: * Twenty-first-century schools require 21st-century programs and educators capable of using 21st-century resources and strategies for learning (AICTEC 2009, p 3). * Teachers require detailed pedagogy frameworks that integrate the varied uses of ICT for curriculum and assessment, pedagogy, organisation and administration, and professional learning. * There is a need for increased collaboration at a national level in the sharing of existing programs and the development of new programs (AICTEC 2009, p 7). Such collaboration might usefully align or develop agreed standards for teachers in the use of ICT in schools. * There would be an advantage in mapping any new or redeveloped standards against UNESCO's ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (2008A, B & C) as well as against the skills defined for students within the ICT continuum to be developed for the Australian curriculum.

Collaboration, innovation and communication International and Australian research confirms that systematic and sustained professional learning is required if teachers are to enable learners to be active participants in knowledge creation when using online environments for new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication.. Such learning should be based on agreed national principles such as those contained in the AICTEC Work Plan (AICTEC 2009). Systematic and 'just-in-time' learning support is required if teachers are to develop effective learning activities for the use of digital content in online environments. The research team identified a range of professional learning activities and materials that have been developed by education jurisdictions and sectors within Australia. These support general skill development, may be targeted to specific learning areas, or provide guidance about learning design for online environments. The Joint Ministerial Statement on ICT calls for 'National collaboration across Australian education and training jurisdictions and sectors to share resources and expertise, and to leverage existing initiatives while recognising the importance of innovation and experimentation'. This provides new opportunities to consider how national approaches to professional learning can fast-track the development of teacher capabilities to meet emerging challenges of 'collaborative communication and knowledge-building tools' within technology-rich learning environments (MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008 p 1). Collaborative online learning presents new challenges and opportunities for teachers. Professional learning that can take account of such collaboration will be required if teachers are to create effective models of learning activity design that enable students to collaborate, innovate and communicate in online learning environments.

Findings The research team made the following findings in relation to professional learning that enables collaboration, innovation and communication when using digital content in online environments: * The design of professional learning needs to conform to standards of best practice that are supported by the Australian education jurisdictions and sectors. * Professional learning should be developed that meets the needs of teachers at various stages of knowledge, skills, understanding and practice. * Professional learning should include an understanding of learning theories relevant to the new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication made possible by the availability of accessible, highquality digital content and technology-rich learning environments. * Professional development and advice concerning the use of online learning environments needs to move beyond imparting knowledge of the platform and the tools to include resource selection and evaluation, learning activity design and assessment. * Professional learning should allow teachers to gain confidence and expertise in the use of state-of-the-art tools that can be used for interaction and collaboration. * National and local online discussion groups and forums that allow teachers to share ideas and best practices can play a role in supporting professional learning. * Professional learning can target teacher interest in the new Australian curriculum and explore how digital resources can be used to support aspects of the curriculum at all levels of schooling.

Digital content Since 2001, TLF has developed, procured and quality assured digital content on behalf of the Australian and New Zealand ministers of education to support student learning. This content has included interactive and noninteractive digital curriculum content. For the purposes of this report, discussions of digital content are confined to these resources.

Executive summary

5

The [email protected] Federation has procured for Australian

Findings

schools more than 8,800 items of interactive and non-

The research team made the following findings in

interactive digital curriculum content. Schools are highly positive about the capacity of such content to engage and motivate students at all stages of schooling.

environments: * While the design of interactive digital content procured

Digital content has been procured by TLF to meet the

by TLF is based on sound constructivist principles, there

needs of a number of curriculum priority areas. The new

is an absence of interactive digital content that explicitly

Australian curriculum presents both opportunities and

caters for social learning and collaboration. Any

challenges for creating new digital content, for example

re-engineering of existing interactives or development

a new focus in learning areas such as History (eg

of new content should consider this need.

Prehistory) and the requirement that the Australian curriculum is developed for each year level. Collaborative online learning presents new challenges and opportunities for providers and users of digital content. While digital content in the form of digitised photographs, images, video and audio can be accessed and used in collaborative learning environments, the use of interactive

* The structure and content of the new Australian curriculum provides opportunities for the procurement of new digital content for use by teachers. * Teachers require clear guidelines and advice about the capabilities and skills required to access and use digital content for teaching and learning. * While education jurisdictions and sectors have

digital content (ie learning objects) typically involves

developed pedagogy frameworks and ICT continuums,

individual learners engaging with a critical educational

these may not provide consistent or detailed advice

concept. Very few interactives developed by TLF cater for

about pedagogies that support the use of digital

multiple users, and there is potential to re-engineer this

content for online learning.

type of content to enable collaborative online learning. The Strategic Plan for the Digital Education Revolution recognises the need for 'models of learning and teaching that effectively harness digital resources in the delivery of high quality education programs' (COAG Productivity

* National collaboration and cooperation in the development of advice and professional learning about the use of digital content would have benefits for cost, efficiency and comprehensiveness.

ensuring that ICT capability standards provide explicit

Technology-rich learning environments

advice about how teachers can gradually develop

Discussions about the nature of digital content cannot

Agenda Working Group 2008, p 7). There is value in

confidence and competence in the selection and use of digital content for teaching. The UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers: Implementation Guidelines Version 1.0 (UNESCO 2008C) might be used as a model for describing teacher capability and expertise in the use of digital content within a continuum. Current or newly developed competency standards need to be supported by 'just-in-time', flexible professional learning. Such learning should model for teachers appropriate pedagogies for the use of digital content. The research team believes that there are opportunities for national collaboration by jurisdictions and sectors to create professional learning that can support the effective use of nationally procured digital content. 6

relation to the use of digital content in online learning

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

be divorced from the learning environments in which such content is accessed and used. While major investments have been made in Australia to roll out infrastructure, develop digital content and build teacher capability, 'only a minority [of teachers and students] are reaping the full benefits of the information technology revolution' (COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, p 3). These Australian findings are mirrored in other developed economies (Green & Hannon 2007, p 16). Research has found that major impediments to the accessing and effective use of digital content, state-of-the-art tools and online learning in Australia include the deployment of computers in schools, bandwidth, the variability

of digital content, and the lack of inclusion of online learning in classroom practices (COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, p 7). The Working Group (2008, p 7) has identified potential improvements and aspirational goals to resolve these issues. Teachers in a number of learning areas, particularly secondary school teachers, still lack regular access to ICT

There are a number of Web 2.0 tools relevant to online learning environments and appropriate for the Australian school sector. They include collaborative tools that enable media sharing and manipulation, conversational arenas, virtual worlds, social networking, blogging, social bookmarking, recommender systems, collaborative editing, wikis and syndication (Crook et al 2008).

infrastructure, and are consequently uncertain about how

Findings

to develop challenging and authentic design for online

The research team made the following findings in relation to the use of pedagogies and digital content in technology-rich learning environments:

learning. Student management can remain an issue for teachers who choose to or are constrained to use computer laboratories as the learning space, particularly if they are inexperienced in managing a technology-rich learning environment. Fewer teachers have a concept of what a technology-rich learning environment comprises and are able to use such an environment to regularly support online learning. The use of interactive whiteboards is becoming increasingly widespread in schools in developed economies. Significant research in Australia and internationally has indicated the benefits of teachers using this hardware for modelling learning for their students. As with any new technology, effective use of interactive whiteboards requires specific skills. Research in Australia (Hedberg & Freebody 2007; Sweeney, cited in Millea & Galatis 2009) and in the United Kingdom (Becta 2005) has identified the importance of professional learning that enables teachers to progress through a number of stages in their use, ranging from whiteboard replacement to interactive and synergistic use. What is meant by the term 'state-of-the-art tools' is necessarily influenced by temporal considerations. The Strategic Plan for the Digital Education Revolution affirms that 'tools are required for safe and secure

* Technology-rich learning environments can include the physical environment in which the learning occurs as well as online environments that incorporate state-of-the-art tools enabling new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication. * Technology-rich learning environments offer both challenges and opportunities for teachers. Teachers need clear advice and training regarding the most appropriate environment for their own and their students' skills. * Only a small proportion of Australian teachers currently have the skills required to create learning activity design that can engage students collaboratively in online learning environments. * Interactive whiteboards and mobile technology offer considerable teaching and learning opportunities for teachers and students. Guidelines and models are required if teachers are to progress beyond the use of interactive whiteboards for solely instructional purposes. * When students are provided with digital content in technology-rich learning environments they respond positively to the new opportunities for learning and collaboration that are provided.

knowledge sharing and collaboration' (COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, p 7). The experiences of Becta in the United Kingdom, The New Media Consortium in the USA and the case studies described in the student trial within TLF's Museum and Education Digital Content Exchange project (2009) indicate that social networking tools are only one type of collaborative tool that is relevant to online learning.

Executive summary

7

What learning theories or frameworks are most useful for understanding how students most effectively learn in online environments?

8

Introduction In 2008, Australian governments committed to a Joint Ministerial Statement on Information and Communications Technologies in Australian Education and Training: 2008-2011. The Joint Ministerial Statement acknowledges that technologies are transforming the curriculum and changing the way learners operate, learn

To date, TLF has produced more than 8,800 items of digital curriculum content, which has been made available to schools through educational jurisdictions. Research by TLF on behalf of the Australian and New Zealand ministries of education over an eight-year period indicates that this digital content enhances motivation, engagement and learning.

and interact. It asserts that 'Learners are active participants in knowledge creation and will engage with state-of-the-art tools which enable new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication' (MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008, p 1). An initial report for the Museum & Education Digital Content Exchange (M&EDCE) project and trial (Baker 2009) identified the skills required of teachers when designing collaborative learning activities within a technology-rich online environment. The report focused on student responses to the digital content selected by teachers; the models of online learning that teachers used; and the collaborative toolset provided within the online environment. This current research investigation has been developed out of the results of the trial and as a response to government policy proposals for online learning such as the Joint Ministerial Statement. Its aim is to identify appropriate pedagogies, digital content and learning environments for optimum online learning in the digital age.

Needs of learners and the changing online environment Since 2001, The [email protected] Federation (TLF) has procured and quality assured new digital content to support students' learning of the key concepts and skills detailed in Australian and New Zealand curriculum documents. During this period, TLF has led innovation and research into educationally sound online curriculum content and its use by schools.

Within Australia, The [email protected] Federation has led innovation and research into educationally sound online curriculum content and its use in schools through the publication of more than 50 reports and strategy papers, including: * What to Make and Why: Principles for the Design and Development of Online Curriculum Content (McRae 2001) * Achieving Educational Soundness in the Digital Age (Atkins 2003) * Does the Use of Online Curriculum Content Enhance Motivation, Engagement and Learning? (Freebody 2005) * Uses and Effects of The [email protected] Federation's Learning Objects: An Experimental and Observational Study (Freebody & Muspratt 2007) * Alignment of Perceptions about the Uses of ICT in Australian and New Zealand Schools (Freebody, Reimann & Tiu 2008) * Use of The [email protected] Federation Digital Curriculum Resources in Australian Pre-Service Tertiary Institutions (TLF 2009)

Introduction

9

Atkins's 2003 report argued for the development of educationally sound, interactive digital curriculum resources, and identified a number of key challenges for producers of digital content for the school sector. These included the need for pedagogically based learning design that would take account of engagement and interactivity, successful learning, constructivist learning theory, inquiry models, critical pedagogy, and the appropriate use of the medium. While Atkins highlighted the needs of the learner, TLF specifications arising out of this and other research did not fully anticipate how emerging technologies would develop new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication. Six years later, there is an opportunity to rethink the connection between educationally sound digital content, the multiplicity of ways that teachers and students engage with this content, and how emerging technologies are creating a new paradigm for the delivery and use of digital content in schools. The first report for the M&EDCE project (Baker 2009) used a case study approach to examine models of collaborative online learning using digital content provided by a number of cultural organisations. That research has enabled the development of a more general survey report, about digital content and pedagogies for online learning, that can test the findings of the first report against other national and international research. The initial report identified a wide variation in teachers' ability to use technology-rich learning environments to support student learning. This variation was partly the result of differences in values, knowledge, understanding, skills and experience in catering for new kinds of learning when using digital content in an online environment.

Methodology Developing this second report from the M&EDCE project and trial involved stepping back and reconsidering the challenges for teachers who seek to design authentic, effective learning activities using online learning environments. An analysis of national policy on the use of ICT in the school sector preceded desk-based research and consultation. This analysis shaped the research questions that have guided this report and are discussed within it. These research questions were designed to identify relevant policy; digital content and tools that assist students to collaborate, innovate and communicate; the qualities of technology-rich learning environments; and curriculum and pedagogical frameworks. They are listed below.

* How have successive national policies taken account of rapid and continuing advances in technologies that are changing the way that people share, use, develop and process information? * What learning theories or frameworks are most useful for understanding how students most effectively learn in online environments? * Are there models of teaching and learning that effectively harness digital content and powerful online tools for information processing, communication and collaboration? * What skills and capabilities will teachers need in order to access and use repositories of suitable, exciting, culturally appropriate, discoverable and affordable digital content? * How can digital content be used to support collaboration, innovation and communication? * What are the attributes of technology-rich learning environments that support innovation and collaboration?

10

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

The digital revolution and schools Over the last quarter-century, Australian governments have responded to the needs of school students in a rapidly changing world. New national goals for schooling have been developed at roughly ten-year intervals. Each set of goals attempted to define the current and future needs of learners who as adults would be able to contribute effectively to the social, cultural and economic needs of the nation and to 'face the challenges of the era with confidence' (MCEETYA 2008, p 4). The most recent of these policy responses provides guidance on what will enable students to take full advantage of the state-of-the-art tools and new forms of learning that the digital age has made possible. The Hobart Declaration of 1989 recognised that Australian students should be able to use 'skills in processing [ie summarising, synthesising and publishing] and computing [eg programming, calculation]' (Australian Educational Council 1989). These skills were appropriately defined for a period preceding the advent of the internet. At the time, there were few computers in Australian schools. Computer skills were confined to a small cohort of teachers, and computer studies was confined to narrow areas of the curriculum. The Hobart Declaration was conspicuously silent on the appropriate capabilities of the teachers who were required to impart the skills that were defined as important for students to know. It implied that particular kinds of learning styles were appropriate (eg analysis and problem solving), but largely left issues relating to pedagogy to the jurisdictions and sectors. By the time of The Adelaide Declaration of 1999, public policy developers had become more fully aware of the significant impact of ICT on society. The Adelaide Declaration recognised that the world would be shaped by advances in ICT, and its goals included that students should 'be confident, creative and constructive users of new technologies, particularly information and communication technologies, and understand the impact of those technologies on society' (MCEETYA 1999, p 2). The goals regarding the values, knowledge and skills required of students were also more explicit. Whereas the earlier Hobart Declaration had defined skills largely in discipline-based terms, The Adelaide Declaration for the first time linked analysis and problem solving to the ability to 'plan and organise activities and to collaborate with others'.

1

How have successive national policies taken account of rapid and continuing advances in technologies that are changing the way that people share, use, develop and process information?

The period covered by this second set of goals for Australian schooling saw a dramatic increase in the number of computers in schools, teacher professional learning about the use of ICT in schools, and the number of programs and projects to engage teachers and students in local, national and global learning networks. National initiatives included the establishment of The [email protected] Federation: Schools Online Curriculum Content Initiative in 2001. National collaboration between jurisdictions also saw the development of a number of frameworks for MCEETYA's ICT in Schools Taskforce that covered areas such as contemporary learning, bandwidth, content, leadership, learning architectures and spaces, pedagogy and research. The Melbourne Declaration (MCEETYA 2008) further develops the perception within The Adelaide Declaration of the importance of ICT to society. It declares that students need to develop skills in sharing, using, developing and processing information and technology if they are to be effective in their use of digital media, which is, along with social interaction and cross-disciplinary thinking, an essential twenty-first century occupation. Similarly, the Joint Ministerial Statement of 2008 identifies goals for maximising the use of ICT to enable new ways of learning, innovating and communicating.

The Learning in an Online World publications can be accessed from the MCEECDYA website at www.mceetya.edu.au/mceecdya/.

The digital revolution and schools

11

Australia will have technology enriched learning environments that enable students to achieve high quality learning outcomes and productively contribute to our society and economy. Source: MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008, p 1

The separate but complementary activities of the Education Revolution (2007) and the Digital Education Revolution have reinforced the need to think strategically about how the goals identified in The Melbourne Declaration and The Joint Ministerial Statement can be realised. The Strategic Plan for the Digital Education Revolution recognises that while there have been major investments by state, territory and federal governments in infrastructure, digital content and quality teaching, 'only a minority are reaping the benefits of the information technology revolution' (COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008). The plan identifies four strands of change that may be appropriate for joint national action: leadership, infrastructure, learning resources and teacher capability. The final three strands align with the research focus of this report.

ICT enablers The recent policy documents outlined above identify many of the factors that will foster the optimum use of ICT in schools. A number of research reports also elaborate on what assists and what gets in the way of effective online learning. Based on research with students in New South Wales, Groundwater-Smith argues that four main areas need to be addressed: the way in which the environment is organised, the quality of the resources available, the quality of pedagogy, and accessibility to the power of the internet (Groundwater-Smith 2007, p 3). Green and Hannon, in a report to shape thinking on ICT use in the United Kingdom, refer to the third area that Groundwater-Smith identified. They argue that 'In the last ten years we have seen a staggering change in the amount of hardware in schools, but it has not had a significant impact on teaching and learning styles'

12

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

(Green & Hannon 2007, p 16). This perception about the gap between past investment and actual achievement is also registered in the strategy produced for the Digital Education Revolution initiative (COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, p 3). The Joint Ministerial Statement (2008) on ICT identifies a number of enablers of technology-rich learning environments: infrastructure, systems and architectures, online learning resources, and teacher capability (MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008, p 1). Accordingly, much recent research investigates infrastructure, digital content, teacher effectiveness and online learning within the school and other education sectors. Each of these enablers covers a significant amount of territory, and a report focusing primarily on pedagogies and digital content in the Australian school sector cannot and should not attempt to address each one.

Key points National education and ICT policy for schools includes key elements relevant to pedagogies and digital content for online learning: * 'Australia will have technology enriched learning environments that enable students to achieve high-quality learning outcomes and productively contribute to our society and economy.' * 'Schools should support the development of skills in areas such as social interaction, cross-disciplinary thinking and the use of digital media.' * 'Learners are active participants in knowledge creation and will engage with state of the art tools which enable new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication.' * 'While there has been a significant investment in educational technologies over the last decade, only a minority [of teachers and students] are currently reaping the benefits of the digital revolution.' Sources: MCEETYA 2008, pp 5, 8; MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008; COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, p 3

Quality of pedagogy Australian and international education jurisdictions have commissioned considerable research over

What learning theories or frameworks

the last ten years to identify how teachers can be

are most useful for understanding how

assisted to improve their effectiveness when using

students most effectively learn in online

ICT for learning and teaching. As a result of such

environments?

research, theories of learning have been promoted and adapted, models of online learning design identified, pedagogy and professional development frameworks developed, standards established for teachers to work towards, and extensive professional support provided centrally and in schools.

Theories of student learning If teachers are to learn successfully how to use state-of-the-art tools and online environments to assist students to collaborate, innovate and communicate, it is important for them to have an understanding of how students learn in physical and online environments when using digital content. However, the large number of theories and taxonomies in this area of scholarship can be bewildering for educators. As well, knowledge of particular taxonomies of student learning may depend on resources provided by the relevant education sector, or on the country or jurisdiction for which the research was developed. In a report for the federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), Holkner et al (2008, pp 9-10) attempt to identify the dominant learning theories that have underpinned the use of computers in classrooms. They describe an evolving set of theories, including the behaviourist theories of the 1950s, the cognitive theories of the 1970s and the constructivist theories of the 1990s. They argue that constructivism remains the dominant learning theory in the current decade.

However, some educational theorists contend that the ways in which students engage with technologies, and each other, in the digital age has led to a paradigm shift. For example, Siemens (2005, p 2) asserts that behaviourist, cognitive and constructivist theories of learning are limited because they 'do not address learning that occurs outside of people (ie learning that is stored and manipulated by technology)', and that they 'fail to describe how learning occurs within organisations'. The following learning theories are used or have been used in Australian jurisdictions, with varying degrees of suitability to online learning.

Behaviourism Behaviourist theories of learning assume that the learner is passive and responds to stimuli. Skinner and others argued that positive and negative reinforcement could change behaviours, and as a consequence improve values, knowledge, understanding, skills and practices. Holkner et al (2008, p 9) contend that this led to the idea of the 'computer as teaching machine giving rise to computer aided instruction'. Social Learning Theory, developed by Bandura, extended the individualistic focus of classic behaviourist theory and suggested that people learned from one another through observation,

Quality of pedagogy

13

imitation and modelling. The theory covers areas such as attention, retention (ie memory), reproduction and motivation, and forms a bridge between behaviourism and other learning theories (Bandura 1977).

Cognitivism Cognitive theories of learning focus on the importance of understanding how the mind processes information. Cognitive processes include thinking, memory, knowing and problem solving. Theorists such as Gagne and Briggs focused on 'the internal processes of learning and on how the learner comes to know rather than respond in an instructional situation' (Holkner et al 2008, p 9). Piaget (1896-1980) constructed the Stage Theory of Cognitive Development, which identified four distinct stages of development in children and young people: the Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years old), Preoperational stage (ages 2 to 4), Concrete Operations stage (ages 7 to 11), and Formal Operations stage (ages 11 to 15). These stages were defined well before online learning began to impact on large numbers of students, yet they still underpin curriculums and pedagogical approaches, along with other frameworks for developmental stages.

Constructivism and related theories Constructivist theories of learning argue that learning is an active, contextualised process in which new information is linked to prior knowledge. A significant component of all constructivist theories is the assumption that learners 'build knowledge for themselves, and that the interactions between people and situations are very important in the learning process' (Holkner et al 2008, p 10). Within Constructivism, a number of theories of learning have been proposed that are relevant to any discourse about pedagogies and digital content in the Australian school sector. They include Communities of Practice, Discovery Learning, Social Development Theory, ProblemBased Learning, and Situated Learning. Wenger (1998) argues that there are Communities of Practice where learners' interests and motivation

14

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

are enhanced by interaction, and that this interaction improves learning. The concept of Communities of Practice is dependent on the intersection of three elements: the domain (discipline or topic), the community (shared activities of individuals and groups) and the practice (narratives or resources). While the domain remains relatively fixed, the community may interact synchronously or asynchronously (ie flexibly). The practice varies depending on the resource or evolves over time as the narrative changes. Bruner described Discovery Learning as a model of inquiry-based instruction, where learners gradually acquire information and awareness of relationships. In Discovery Learning, the learner is required to draw on past experience or existing knowledge to develop new constructs and increase their awareness of relationships. In a Discovery Learning model, students are encouraged to explore, manipulate, question or experiment with learning resources in order to remember and apply concepts, and to develop new and more complex understandings. Social Development Theory originated in the work of Vygotsky. Its concepts include Social Interaction, the More Knowledgeable Other, and the Zone of Proximal Development. Vygotsky (1978) contended that social interaction is a fundamental contributor to cognitive development. According to his theory, at each stage of learning, social interaction between people precedes internalisation of knowledge. There are a range of players with which the learner interacts, and while the More Knowledgeable Other may be a teacher, it may also be another student or students. The Zone of Proximal Development is where learning takes place. The Zone is the area or distance between the learner's current ability and that of the More Knowledgeable Other. Problem-Based Learning originated in Canada and was adopted by organisations in a number of other countries. Problem-Based Learning advocates active learning through the investigation of authentic issues and problems and the development of solutions to these. It emphasises the importance of open-ended problems, self-directed learning and the teacher's role as facilitator.

Situated Learning Theory was developed by Lave and Wenger (1998) as a model of learning in a community of practice. Situated learning proposes that learning needs to be developed in authentic contexts, rather than through abstract discussion that is not contextualised. Situated Learning Theory uses the idea of Communities of Practice and aligns with Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, in that the learner is initially on the edge of a community of learners and gradually moves to assume the role of expert. This movement is dependent on the learner acquiring relevant values, knowledge, skills and processes.

Descriptive and meta-theories Activity Theory was initially proposed by Leont'ev and Rubinshtein. Engestrom expanded Activity Theory to include the idea of the 'community' as well as the individual and the object. He developed Human Activity Theory as a descriptive meta-theory or framework that could be applied to a system. The idea of the system is important as it moves beyond the single learner and can encompass teams and other groups. In a school learning context the system equates with the school or class. The components of a Human Activity System are depicted in Figure 1.2 Engestrom contends that to reach an outcome, it is necessary to produce objects (eg experiences, knowledge, products). Objects are created within activities that are themselves influenced by the tools available (eg digital content, Web 2.0 tools) and the learning context (ie the group team or class). Rules of action and the subject may also affect how the activity is conducted. The Engestrom model takes account of collaborative learning by recognising that an activity may actively involve more than one learner. Distributed Cognition was proposed by Hutchins in the 1980s. This theory of learning emphasises the social aspects of cognition. It proposes that thinking and knowledge are not confined to the individual actor but are instead 'distributed' across objects, individuals,

2

Figure 1: Human Activity System (Engestrom, 1987) Artefacts

Subject

Object Outcome

Activity

Rules

Community

Division of Effort

Source: Adapted from Engestrom 1987, University of Tasmania website, www.utas.edu.au

artefacts and tools. Distributed Cognition has been widely used in distance learning. Examples of Distributed Cognition include the creation of wikis and the use of social networking through a range of online tools.

Other learning theories and models A Multiple Intelligences theory was proposed by Gardner and has been redefined over a number of years. The theory argues that there are a number of distinct modes (ie intelligences) by which individuals understand their world. These are linguistic, logical-mathematical, visualspatial, body-kinaesthetic, musical-rhythmic, interpersonal and intrapersonal. A logical extension of this theory is that learners have preferred learning styles that align with their mode of intelligence. However, learners have more than one mode and may blend and use differing modes based on the context and subject of the learning. Siemens (2005) argues that rather than continuing to adapt Behaviourism, Cognitivism and Constructivism to new circumstances, a new paradigm is required if learning theories are to account for how individuals and groups learn in the digital age. He proposes Connectivism,

The University of Tasmania has published information on the 'Children, on-line learning and authentic teaching skills in primary education' project on its website at www.educ.utas.edu.au/users/ilwebb/Research/activity_theory.htm. This information includes two graphic representations of Human Activity Theory.

Quality of pedagogy

15

which describes how learning often occurs in online environments that contain shifting core elements. 'Actionable knowledge' within these environments can reside in an organisation or a database, and involves connecting 'specialised information sets'. Siemens argues that 'the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing' (Siemens 2005, p 3). Personal knowledge is 'comprised of a network, which feeds into organisations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network, and then continue to provide learning to the individual' (Siemens 2005, p 4). A question to be posed of this theory is whether it can take account of learning that does not occur online or within a network. Those parts of Connectivism that apply outside of online learning can be identified within learning theories such as Cooperative Learning. This theory was developed by Johnson and Johnson, who contend that 'how students perceive each other and interact with one another is a neglected aspect of instruction' (Johnson & Johnson 1994, p 1). Within Cooperative Learning as they define it, there are three ways in which students interact as they learn: competing to see who is best; individualistically without paying attention to other students; and 'cooperatively with a vested interest in each others' learning as well as their own' (Johnson & Johnson 1994, p 1). Elements of Cooperative Learning can be used to refine aspects of Engestrom's Human Activity Theory (ie the Activity itself, the Community, the Division of Effort, the Object and the Outcome).

Johnson and Johnson argue that teachers need to distinguish between group work and the organising of students to work cooperatively, as Cooperative Learning requires a common and accepted goal. They contend that a number of conditions are required for Cooperative Learning:

* Clearly perceived positive independence * Considerable promotive (face-to-face) interaction * Clearly perceived individual accountability and personal responsibility to achieve the group's goals * Frequent use of the relevant interpersonal and small-group skills * Frequent and regular group processing of current functioning to improve the group's future effectiveness. Source: Johnson & Johnson 1994

Key points A number of theories of learning describe and define for teachers how students learn most effectively in general and online learning situations. * Teachers may require assistance in unpacking the assumptions they make about how students learn and the pedagogical approaches they use to support these. * Constructivist and situative theories of learning or perspectives are useful for online learning in that they are learner centred and take account of individual and group needs and interactions. * Connectivism and Cooperative Learning take account of a whole new set of learning requirements brought about by the digital age, and can provide a theoretical basis for collaborative learning.

16

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Theories of learning in the development of TLF resources In 2003, in defining educational soundness in the digital age, Atkins identified constructivist theories of learning as being central to how interactive digital content (ie learning objects) should be conceptualised and developed in the TLF initiative. She contended that digital content should 'present the users with ideas and concepts, ask users to make predictions based on their understanding and [ask them] to test these' (Atkins 2003, p 8). Recognition of what the learner knew already and the consequent scaffolding of learning needed to form the basis of the pathways by which users engaged with digital content. As a result, the educational soundness specifications that TLF developed focused on the engagement of the learner, as well as on the integrity, useability and accessibility of the digital content (TLF 2007). For example, the requirements to ensure a learner focus identified the importance of learner profiles, the learner's interaction with the digital content, that digital content should make explicit the process of learning, and that student learning be contextualised. These are classic constructivist elements for learning design. Areas of learning theory that remained outside the scope of Atkins's 2003 research included elements of Social Development Theory, Situated Learning and Human Activity Theory. This resulted from the original conception of TLF as a producer of high-quality digital content that would be distributed to jurisdictions and sectors, which would then provide access to the content for teachers and students. This meant that the online environment or the actors in the classroom space were expected to furnish the roles of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development and the More Knowledgeable Other, the authentic and communal contexts of Lave and Wenger's Situated Learning, or the community in Human Activity Theory.

Interactives such as the Wishball: Whole Numbers series allow groups of students to engage in a challenge using the same digital resource at different computers. Other interactives such as the Frog Pond Habitat series allow for more than one student at the same computer to investigate, evaluate, model relationships and identify possible causes of the decline of a frog population. The Jet Force series is one of the few examples of an interactive resource (ie Jet Force Championship) allowing for collaborative gaming activity. In this resource, a student can challenge a friend to see who is best able to combine forces and score a goal. Much of the digital content sourced by TLF from cultural organisations, government bodies and commercial organisations such as digitised photographs, documents, videos and audio files has no intrinsic learning design. Typically, educational soundness and relevance is included in the text that is bundled with the digital resource, rather than in the resource itself. While this might recommend such digital resources as being more flexible than interactives, they are highly dependent on the capacity of the teacher to use them effectively for individual or cooperative learning.

Most interactive digital content developed by TLF is designed to immerse the learner in a learning experience that develops understanding. This learner focus does not prevent teachers and students from collaborating and communicating while using interactive digital content.

Quality of pedagogy

17

Models of teaching and learning As learning management systems and online environments overall become more complex and more capable of supporting different kinds of learning, there is a corresponding increase in the support required for teachers if they are to acquire the skills necessary to use such environments effectively. The first M&EDCE report found that if teachers were encouraged to design, develop and manage authentic online learning activities, they required significant experience, confidence and skill in using the online learning environment.

through the learning design. Activities designed using this approach tended to underestimate the capacity of students to understand complex concepts and relationships, limiting students to making reactive responses to digital content. This approach may have resulted from an inability to understand how students learn in online environments, or from an inability to transfer principles into practice in the learning design.

Are there models of teaching and

A number of teachers in the trial were able to provide a richer learning experience by including higher order thinking tasks within the learning design. These teachers used the online environment to prompt learners to develop complex responses, in some cases setting tasks that were progressively more complex. This supported

learning that effectively harness digital

and encouraged scaffolded thinking and learning.

content and powerful online tools for

Fewer teachers in the trial chose to use constructivist perspectives that took account of learners' preferences, needs, skills and pre-existing knowledge. The teachers who did explore this approach designed activities that would have been equally appropriate for a single learner and for a pair or group. Learning designs with a constructivist basis were characterised by activities that supported experimentation and the discovery of principles. These activities sometimes provided opportunities for reflection and evaluation but rarely included peer review and peer evaluation.

information processing, communication and collaboration? Teachers' use of learning theories in the M&EDCE trial In February and March 2009, the M&EDCE project conducted trials in schools of digital content sourced from cultural organisations. This digital content was provided in a technology-rich online environment that included a number of state-of-the-art tools to support collaboration. Teachers were asked to select a topic to suit their curriculum, choose relevant digital resources and then design an online learning activity that would engage students collaboratively. Thirteen schools participated. The trial did not attempt to impose preferred models of learning design on the participants. The report on the trial (Baker 2009) identified that the learning designs that the teachers in the trial created revealed a number of assumptions about how students should and do learn.

One teacher in the trial adopted a situative perspective, designing an activity that enabled collaborative inquiry and learning. In addition to having a clear sense of the skills required, the teacher participated (ie collaborated) in the learning activity in order to facilitate the development of learning relationships. The teacher's approach also took account of associative and constructivist perspectives. The model for this approach is included in full as an appendix (Appendix 2: Model 2) in the first report (Baker 2009, pp 113-14). Rather than reproduce the model in this report, it is described in the following case study.3

Some teachers in the trial were most comfortable using a behaviourist approach. In such cases, collaboration was incidental to the learning, and was rarely supported

3

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The model was developed by Lynette Barker of St Therese's Primary School in New South Wales.

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

M&EDCE Case study 1 A teacher is planning an online learning activity about Australian identity for years 5 and 6 students. In designing the activity, the teacher wants to use educationally sound digital content (eg film, photographs, images) in a safe and secure online learning environment where students have defined identities and where individual and collective development of knowledge and skills can be monitored.The teacher also aims to test state-of-the-art tools (eg Web 2.0 tools) that support collaboration (eg media sharing, collaborative media manipulation, conversation in online arenas, social networking, social bookmarking, collaborative editing, and use of wikis). In designing the learning activity, the teacher thinks about learners' preferences, skills, knowledge, and ability to collaborate with others. She includes tasks that require students to support and learn from peers. As the teacher is aware of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development she wants to use an online environment in which the teacher or other students can act as the More Knowledgeable Other. The activity needs to clearly define the intended learning outcomes and how the students are to demonstrate these.

The results of the student trial within the M&EDCE project suggest that teachers using online learning environments need to have access to additional advice and resources if they are consistently to use constructivist, social development and situated learning approaches that reflect their current knowledge, experience and practice. They may also require explicit modelling of how effective digital pedagogies can be used to achieve intended learning outcomes.

Learning design guidance in the international context The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) in the United Kingdom has been at the forefront of research into the innovative use of digital technologies in the higher, technical and further education sectors. JISC funded preliminary research by Mayes and de Freitas (2004) in order to map learning theory onto pedagogical approaches. Mayes and de Freitas identified three broad clusters or perspectives that make fundamentally different assumptions about what educators need to know about learning: the associative perspective, the constructive perspective and the situative perspective. More recent JISC research also asserts that 'designing for learning is likely to take place within the context of a preferred pedagogical approach' (JISC Innovation Group 2009, p 10); such an approach will be dependent on the teacher's views or perspectives about how students learn. The 2009 report outlines the assumptions and associated pedagogies for each of Mayes and de Freitas's perspectives. These are summarised in Table 1 below. As the table indicates, Mayes and de Freitas have created two subcategories within the constructive perspective, the individual focus and the social focus.

At the conclusion of the student trial, many teachers indicated an interest in more fully exploiting the digital resources in the online environment provided.

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Table 1: Perspectives, assumptions and pedagogies underpinning learning design Perspective

Assumptions

Associated pedagogy

Associative perspective

Learning as acquiring competence

* Focus on competences

* Learners acquire knowledge by building associations between different concepts * Learners gain skills by building progressively complex actions from component skills Constructive perspective (individual focus)

* Routines of organised activity * Progressive difficulty * Clear goals and feedback * Individualised pathways matched to the individual's prior performance

Learning as achieving understanding

* Interactive environments for knowledge building

* Learners actively construct new ideas by building and testing hypotheses

* Activities that encourage experimentation and discovery of principles * Support for reflection and evaluation

Constructive perspective (social focus)

Situative perspective

Learning as achieving understanding

* Interactive environments for knowledge building

* Learners actively construct new ideas through collaborative activities and/or dialogue

* Activities that encourage collaboration and shared expression of ideas

Learning as social practice

* Participation in social practices of enquiry and learning

* Learners develop their identities through participation in specific communities of practice

* Support for reflection, peer review and evaluation

* Support for development of learning skills * Dialogue to facilitate the development of learning relationships

Source: JISC Innovation Group 2009, p 11

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Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

These perspectives, assumptions and associated pedagogies have implications for learning in both physical and online environments. Clearly some Australian teachers need to develop their understanding of the constructive and situative perspectives if they are to create effective learning paths for both offline and online learning. These perspectives also suggest the importance of learning resources (eg digital content) and technology-rich learning environments being able to accommodate both individual and collaborative learning.

The 2009 JISC report also explores learning activity design. It proposes a model derived from Beetham and Sharpe (2007, pp 26-38), shown in Figure 2. This model of learning activity design is useful for defining how learners might use digital content and state-of-the-art tools in technology-rich learning environments. The learning environment can encompass not just the online environment in which the activity takes place, but also the online tools that can support the activity and the intended learning outcomes. Such tools can support collaboration, innovation and communication. 'Other people' can encompass what Vygotsky defines as the More Knowledgeable Other, and indicates that learners can actively collaborate with peers and teachers to achieve learning outcomes. Figure 2: A model of learning activity design

The JISC model of learning activity design can be used to explore the pedagogies required of teachers who are using digital content in classrooms as well as the physical and online environments in which learning occurs. This model offers a guide to designing learning activities that take account of the needs of learners and the ways in which they will interact within a technology-rich learning environment in order to achieve intended outcomes. The model is intentionally non-hierarchical as the teacher may develop a learning design with either the needs of the students or the intended learning outcomes as the starting point. Whichever is the case, learning design using this model will necessarily involve thinking about not only the design questions but also the pedagogical practices involved.

Learning environment Tools, resources; affordances of the physical and virtual environment Impact of learning environment on learning outcomes

Interaction between learners and aspects of the learning environment

Learners

Activity

Preferences, needs, motivations; skills, knowledge, abilities; modes of participating

Interaction of learner(s) with environment leading to planned outcomes supported by other people in specific roles

Interaction between learners and others involved in the activity

Intended learning outcomes Aquisition of new knowledge, skills and abilities; evidence of these

Roles others play in facilitating learning outcomes

Other people Source: Adapted from JISC Innovation Group 2009, p 13

Peers, tutors, facilitators, mentors, instructors

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Learning design guidance in the Australian context Not all states and territories have provided explicit guidance on learning activity design that is applicable to online environments. However, there are a number of web-based activities and activity formats that are available to Australian teachers and based on sound learning design principles. These include WebQuests and their variants that incorporate contemporary learning theory and pedagogical approaches, including inquirybased learning and, in more contemporary versions, Connectivism; Raps; Virtual Field Trips; Travel Buddies; Subject Samplers and Concept Builders. In Australian systems, these learning designs have been incorporated into online education portals such as The Learning Place in Queensland (Education Queensland 2009A), underpinning both subject-based topics and the design and development of collaborative learning activities. Advice has also been developed by the Northern Territory Government in the resource Designing for Learning, one of a number of resources developed for Northern Territory schools. It is based on the ideas of Smith, Lynch and Knight (2007), Marzano et al (1997) and Marzano (2007). In contrast to, yet complementing, the JISC model, Designing for Learning advocates a linear set of design questions and pedagogical practices. The overarching questions that form the basis of the model are listed in Table 2.

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Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Table 2: Designing for Learning: overarching questions Starting with the learner

What does the learner already know? Where does the learner need or want to be? How does the learner learn best?

Making choices to improve the learning

What resources do I have at my disposal? What will constitute the Learning Journey and therefore what is the best context for learning? Who will do what?

Monitoring learner progress

How will I check to see the learner has achieved the learning outcomes? How will I inform the learner and others about the learner's progress?

Source: Northern Territory Government (n.d.)

Designing for Learning is applicable to mainstream as well as online learning environments. Each high-level question is accompanied by questions and methodologies relating to learning activity design and pedagogical practice. The sections of the resource covering 'How does the learner learn best?' and 'What will constitute the Learning Journey and therefore what is the best context for learning?' directly relate to planning for students' use of the physical and online learning environment. To indicate the level of advice provided in the resource, Table 3 below shows the more detailed questions and methodologies attached to the question 'What will constitute the Learning Journey and therefore what is the best context for learning?' Table 3: Designing for Learning: The Learning Journey Design questions Making choices to improve the learning

What will constitute the Learning Journey and therefore what is the best context for learning?

*W hat methodology will best sequence the learning for these learners? *W hat choices need to be made in relation to instructional strategies and tactics, and learning environments? *W hat contexts and experiences will be used to frame learning and assessment tasks? *W hat learning tasks provide an opportunity for assessment as and for learning?

Pedagogical practices Methodology * Use a methodology for the learning sequence that matches the science of learning, area of learning and development of knowledge expected Instructional strategies, tactics and learning environments * Use evidence-based strategies and associated tactics that match the nature of the knowledge to be demonstrated * Identify the role and actions of the teacher depending on the nature and level of the knowledge expected Tasks * Use experiences - real or life-like - that will engage and enable knowledge development

Source: Northern Territory Government (n.d.)

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The section of the resource relating to 'How does the learner learn best?' deals with issues that are fundamental to quality learning activity design. This section poses a number of questions relating to Attitudes and Perceptions, Learner Intellectual Quality, and Thinking and Learning Habits. The questions on Attitudes and Perceptions cover areas such as task completion and expectations; classroom management; and relationships, including issues such as the development of individual and group identities and dealing with cyberbullying.

Key points Effective learning activity design is essential if students are to engage positively with digital content in technology-rich learning environments. * Learning activity design in its varied formulations can provide an effective theoretical and practical model for online learning in that it takes account of interactions between the needs of learners and the learning environment, and between people participating in the online learning activity. * There is value in defining the theoretical and practical elements of successful design for online learning for teachers who are developing skills and capabilities in the use of online learning. * Models of learning activity design should be developed or sourced that are relevant to teachers at all levels of schooling and in different learning areas. The interactive and digital curriculum content procured by TLF can be used to provide exemplary learning materials within such models.

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Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Teacher skills and capabilities A number of general pedagogy frameworks have been developed in Australia during the first decade of the twenty-first century. These have derived from national education initiatives, curriculum projects and special interest organisations. At a national level, the Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce (TQELT) developed a professional standards framework in 2003 for Australian ministers of education. A number of jurisdictions already had, or subsequently developed, pedagogy frameworks to guide teaching and learning in the school sector. The extent to which these frameworks take account of how ICT is transforming the ways in which 'learners and educators operate, learn and interact' (MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008, p 1) will form the first part of this section of the report. The second part of this section will examine pedagogy frameworks that specifically focus on the skills required by teachers using ICT for learning and teaching.

Quality teaching frameworks The National Framework for Professional Standards for Teaching (TQELT 2003) was developed to provide a 'basis for agreement on and consistency around what constitutes quality teaching and facilitates the articulation of the knowledge, understandings, skills and values for effective teaching through development of standards at the local level'. The National Framework aimed to be comprehensive. It described quality teaching in terms of four Career Dimensions (Graduation, Competence, Accomplishment, Leadership) and four Professional Elements (Professional knowledge, Professional practice, Professional values, Professional relationships) (TQELT 2003, pp 9-11). The framework defined each dimension and element in a paragraph, with the assumption that individual jurisdictions would 'flesh them out'.

The National Framework recognised that teachers needed to have a 'detailed understanding of how young people learn and their role in facilitating that learning' (TQELT 2003, p 11). It also stated that teachers should be able to design learning activities using a range of techniques, tools, practices and resources. However, it did not anticipate that teachers might need to encourage cross-disciplinary thinking, social interaction and the use of digital media, or be able to provide students with state-of-the-art tools in technology-rich learning environments. When jurisdictions created corresponding local frameworks for their teachers, they often resolved this apparent lack of reference to ICT. The Northern Territory's 2007-08 Teaching and Learning Framework took a global approach. It did not specify the use of ICT as a separate element or standard; instead, ICT was expected to inform all elements of the framework. In contrast, Queensland's Professional Standards for Teachers lists the ability to 'Integrate information and communication technologies to enhance student learning' as one of 12 standards (Department of Education and Training [Qld] 2005). Standards 6.1-6.5 emphasise the importance of understanding students' learning needs, using appropriate strategies and resources, creating authentic learning experiences, evaluating achievement and using ICT to access and manage information on student learning (DET [Qld] 2005, p 8). Non-hierarchical indicators are provided to amplify each statement. Standards 6.2 and 6.3 anticipate the emerging need for teachers to develop activities that cater for individual learning needs as well as for learning that is highly collaborative (DET [Qld] 2005, pp 20-1). New South Wales developed a framework for quality teaching that includes three dimensions: 'Intellectual quality', 'Quality learning environment' and 'Significance'. The framework argues that pedagogies, including those used to support student engagement with digital content, need to be underpinned by deep knowledge, deep understanding, problematic knowledge, higher order

thinking, metalanguage and substantive communication. The framework also contends that background knowledge, cultural knowledge, knowledge integration, inclusiveness, connectedness and narrative are essential elements of materials 'that will support the full and positive integration of new learning with new media into teaching and learning' (Groundwater-Smith 2007). In Victoria, Principles of Learning and Teaching (DEECD 2009A) were developed to support the introduction of the Victorian Essential Learning Framework (VCAA 2005). The Victorian principles take account of a range of theories of learning, and move beyond constructivist theories that focus on the development of the individual to also emphasise the importance of collaborative and situated learning. While each principle is applicable to teaching and learning using ICT, only the third and sixth principles describe the value of technology or ICT for teaching and learning. Principle 3 advocates that students' experience of a technology-rich world should be recognised and utilised for learning. It suggests that good practice includes the incorporation of contemporary technologies into learning sequences, and supports the recognition and use of student expertise. Software to allow internet chat, the use of mobiles, internet searching and email are all mentioned. Other emerging technologies such

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as collaborative online environments, cloud computing, smart objects or the 'personal web' are not referred to or explored. Principle 6 advises that students should learn how to use software, be able to exploit ICT to search for information, use ICT for recording data and for communicating with others, and be able to access and use online simulations. Skills in publishing and presentation are also highlighted.

Professional Development Framework (2009B), Victoria's e-Potential Continuum of ICT Capabilities (DEECD 2009B) and the Tasmanian Curriculum Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) K-10 Cross Curricular Framework (DET [Tas] n.d.). The aim is not to exclude or ignore other commonly used frameworks but rather to provide representative examples of ICT-specific pedagogy frameworks.

ICT-specific pedagogy frameworks

International competency standards

What skills and capabilities will teachers need in order to access and use repositories of suitable, exciting, culturally appropriate, discoverable and affordable digital content?

There are a number of ICT-specific pedagogy frameworks or standards in use both nationally and internationally. Those examined in this report include the UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (2008A, B & C), the Pedagogy Strategy (2005) developed by the ICT in Schools Taskforce, Queensland's Smart Classrooms

UNESCO's ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (2008A, B & C) define the ICT-related skills required of teachers in primary and secondary schools. They take as their starting point the assumption that new technologies require new teacher roles, pedagogies, and approaches to teacher training. They also take account of the changing use of ICT in the wider society for both interaction and collaboration, and its impact on the skills required of teachers in managing classrooms in which such ICT-related interaction and collaboration are used for teaching and learning. The ICT Competency Standards describe three approaches that indicate evolving levels of teacher competence within six core components of educational systems. The standards are listed in Table 4 below.

Table 4: UNESCO ICT competency standards Technology literacy approach

Knowledge deepening approach

Knowledge creation approach

Policy and vision

Technology literacy

Knowledge deepening

Knowledge creation

Curriculum and assessment

Basic knowledge

Knowledge application

21st-century skills

Pedagogy

Integrating technology

Complex problem solving

Self management

ICT

Basic tools

Complex tools

Pervasive tools

Organisation and administration

Standard classroom

Collaborative groups

Learning organisations

Teacher professional development

Digital literacy

Managing and guiding

Teacher as model learner

Source: UNESCO 2008A, p 11

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Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

The Technology literacy approach involves incorporating technological skills into the curriculum. The Knowledge deepening approach involves using ICT to solve complex, real-world problems, and the Knowledge creation approach involves innovating to produce new knowledge. The effectiveness of this three-stage model for developing ICT competencies depends on whether the three progression points in the approaches allow for incremental professional learning in the use of ICT over a period of time.4 Table 5 below shows how the ICT Competency Standards define competence in relation to pedagogy according to the three stages. The standards seemingly define a fairly basic knowledge of pedagogy at the Technology literacy stage; there appear to be significant leaps in the values, knowledge, skills and practices required of teachers between the Technology literacy, Knowledge deepening and Knowledge creation stages. The Technology literacy stage in the table above implicitly includes an understanding of how students learn; an understanding of learning design; and skills in using and evaluating software for creating, presenting and researching. However, what initially seems to be a fairly

low level of ICT literacy required in Competency I.C.1 actually conceals a deeper understanding of how ICT can be used for teaching and learning in subject areas, as well as an awareness of theories of learning and their impact on the use of ICT in classrooms. This competency also realistically apprehends how teachers use ICT to support lecturing and demonstration. This is particularly pertinent given the growing use by teachers of interactive whiteboards as a medium for instruction. This foundation level competency in the use of ICT for learning is as relevant to continuing teachers as it is to graduates. It was intended by UNESCO that countries would map their own standards and professional development programs against the ICT Competency Standards. The UNESCO ICT Competency Standards are useful in that they provide a neutral model for evaluating or developing ICT-specific pedagogy frameworks. For example, they might appropriately form one of the building blocks for the new ICT continuum that is to be developed during Phase 1 of the Australian curriculum. They might also be used as the basis for any revisions made by Australian education jurisdictions and sectors to their own ICT pedagogy frameworks.

Table 5: UNESCO competency standards - pedagogy Technology literacy

Knowledge deepening

Knowledge creation

I.C.1 Describe how didactic teaching and ICT can be used to support students' acquisition of school subject-matter knowledge

II.C.1 Describe how collaborative, project-based learning and ICT can support student thinking and social interaction, as students come to understand key concepts, processes and skills in the subject matter and use them to solve real-world problems

III.C.1 Explicitly model their own reasoning, problem solving and knowledge creation while teaching students

I.C.2 Incorporate ICT activities into lesson plans so as to support students' acquisition of school subject-matter knowledge

II.C.2 Identify or design complex, real-world problems and structure them in a way that incorporates key subject-matter concepts and serves as the basis of student projects

III.C.2 Design online materials and activities that engage students in collaborative problem solving, research or artistic creation

Source: UNESCO 2008C, pp 9, 12, 16 4

A three-stage model for describing the development of ICT capabilities is used in Queensland. A four-stage model is used in the Northern Territory and Victoria.

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Australian ICT competency standards The Teaching for the Digital Age Work Plan, developed by the Australian Information and Communications Technology in Education Committee (AICTEC), acknowledges that there are already a range of frameworks and professional learning programs developed for, and in use within, Australian jurisdictions and sectors. The Work Plan argues that there is a need for agreed national standards for the incorporation of ICT into teaching and learning, both for graduate teachers and practising teachers at critical stages of their professional careers (AICTEC 2009, p 6). The MCEETYA ICT in Schools Taskforce developed the Learning in an Online World series between 2003 and 2008. In 2005, as part of the series, a Pedagogy Strategy was published that specifically focused on pedagogies appropriate to online learning. The Pedagogy Strategy describes how ICT should be used in classrooms, the principles that underpin ICT-related pedagogies, the kinds of teaching and learning that ICT makes possible, and the kinds of professional support required by teachers. The Pedagogy Strategy does not attempt to provide a continuum of skills development in the way that the UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers or the Northern Territory, Queensland or Victorian frameworks do. The Pedagogy Strategy begins by acknowledging the importance and influence of learner-centred theories of education on Australian curriculum development, and the capacity of ICT to transform learning. This is consistent with the most recent statement about ICT in Australia (MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008). The Pedagogy Strategy is forward thinking in its emphasis on using ICT for conceptual development as well as for building learning communities. Like the UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (2008A, B & C), it recognises a range of situations where teachers might use ICT, for example presenting digital resources and using digital content to create learning activities and sequences. It also encourages the development of problem-based challenges for students and recognises the value of simulations, modelling and creative activities using ICT. The Pedagogy Strategy is an aspirational framework that defines parameters for the effective use of ICT by teachers. However, it does not attempt to guide jurisdictions, 28

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

schools or teachers in creating more detailed frameworks that outline necessary values, knowledge, skills and practices in relation to teachers' use of ICT. Education jurisdictions and sectors in Australia have provided more specific advice for teachers, and a representative sample of this advice follows. The Queensland Department of Education and Training provides advice to teachers about online learning and the use of ICT within The Learning Place education portal (Education Queensland 2009A) and through the Smart Classrooms Professional Development Framework (Education Queensland 2009B). The Smart Classrooms framework provides indicators and pathways within a three-stage 'licence' approach. Within each licence, skills, practices and attributes are grouped in four categories: Professional Values, Professional Relationships, Professional Knowledge and Professional Practice. Professional Practice within the Queensland ICT continuum recognises that teachers can only gradually develop the capabilities that will allow them to manage student collaboration within and across schools. It recommends that at a foundation level of ICT competence teachers should be able to encourage communication with a known audience; at a median level they should be able to encourage the use of online environments for communication and collaboration; and at an advanced level they should be able to support students in collaborative projects. This scaffolded approach has been developed with whole school transformation in mind, not only from an individual teacher's personal transition perspective. Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory have also developed ICT continuums for teachers in their jurisdictions. These continuums all define ICT capabilities over four stages. In Victoria, the online e-Potential ICT Capabilities Resource for Teachers (DEECD 2009B) includes a Continuum of ICT Capabilities. These ICT capabilities of teachers are expressed at four levels: Foundation, Emergent, Innovative and Transformative. Each of these levels is aligned with aspects of teaching in a school context that might involve the use of ICT: Learning & Teaching, Assessment & Reporting, Classroom Organisation, ICT Ethics, Resources, ICT Professional Learning, and ICT Leadership. The

statements of capability for each level outline progression in relation to values, knowledge, skills and practices. For example, the four progression points for Learning & Teaching are: Some integration of ICT; ICT to support student understandings; ICT to model and support powerful learning; ICT engaging students to learn new things in new ways. Some of these capabilities require considerable thinking by teachers, such as the following example within the Learning & Teaching component: 'At the Transformative Level you are using ICT innovatively to engage students in a way that was never possible before, leading to learning new things in new ways'. The South Australian Teacher Educational ICT Capabilities Continuum (EdCap) (DECS n.d.) describes four phases of development (Developing ICT Skills, Applying ICT in the Classroom, Delivering on Learning Outcomes, and Transforming Practices) within three broad aspects of ICT: Vision and Attitude, Professional Contribution and Learning, and Integration into Teaching and Learning. Each of these aspects is further divided into a number of components. For example, Integration into Teaching and Learning is divided into areas such as Practice, Management, Planning, Resources, Online Learning, and Assessment Recording and Reporting.

If presented in the form of a three-stage or four-stage model, each part of the model needs to be unpacked, as in the UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers. Australian ICT competency standards would also benefit from including descriptions of the values, knowledge, skills and practices relevant to teaching and learning and to the use of digital content. An analysis of support documents further suggests that such frameworks should provide specific advice about learning activity design that can be used or adapted by teachers at each level of proficiency, such as the information provided in the Northern Territory resource Designing For Learning (Northern Territory Government n.d.).

Key points There are a number of pedagogy frameworks that describe and define how teachers can use ICT for teaching and learning. * Twenty-first-century schools require 21st-century programs and educators capable of using 21st-century resources and strategies for learning (AICTEC 2009, p 3).

The Northern Territory's ICT Teacher Continuum (DEET 2003) describes four phases of development (Uncertain and/or hesitant, Willing but dependent, Confident and proficient, and Leading and enabling others) within three broad aspects of ICT: Vision, Approach and Ethics, and Classroom ICT Integration. Each of these aspects is further divided into a number of components. For example, Classroom ICT Integration is divided into areas such as Resources, Classroom Management, Online Interaction, and Recording and Reporting. Each stage is linked to professional learning opportunities.

* Teachers require detailed pedagogy frameworks that integrate the varied uses of ICT for curriculum and assessment, pedagogy, organisation and administration, and professional learning.

The components and phases of each of these Australian continuums are compared to the UNESCO ICT Competency Standards in Appendix 1.

* There would be an advantage in mapping any new or redeveloped standards against UNESCO's ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (2008A, B & C) as well as against the skills defined for students within the ICT continuum to be developed for the Australian curriculum.

The experience of the M&EDCE student trial indicates that Australian ICT pedagogy frameworks should be sufficiently detailed in order for teachers to understand the skills and capabilities that they need to develop to use digital content in technology-rich learning environments.

* There is a need for increased collaboration at a national level in the sharing of existing programs and the development of new programs (AICTEC 2009, p 7). Such collaboration might usefully align or develop agreed standards for teachers in the use of ICT in schools.

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The Work Plan sets out eight principles for effective professional learning that are applicable to jurisdictions, sectors and schools:

Collaboration, innovation and communication A number of reports to government in the last decade have highlighted the importance of sustained approaches to professional learning in order to maximise the take-up of ICT in schools. Models of Teacher Professional Development for the Integration of Information and Communication Technology into Classroom Practice (Downes et al 2001) advised the Australian Government about current and recommended forms of pre-service education and continuing professional development to support the use of ICT in classrooms. The recommendations in the report included that a national set of ICT standards be developed for beginning teachers that covered skills, changing pedagogies, changing content, and curriculum frameworks. To meet the needs of current teachers (and schools), Downes et al also argued that there was a need to develop standards for experienced teachers, and to create professional development programs aimed at beginning and experienced teachers respectively. Focusing on ICT and education, AICTEC provides strategic policy advice to Australian governments, ministerial bodies and education departments. Central to this advice is its Work Plan for 2009-12 to support the Digital Education Revolution. The Work Plan contends that while 'a range of professional learning programs offered by groups and jurisdictions already exists ... there is a need for increased collaboration at the national levels for the sharing of existing programs and the development of new programs' (AICTEC 2009, p 3). It also acknowledges that such programs need to develop the capabilities of pre-service teachers, current teachers and school leaders. In calling for 'increased collaboration at the national levels for the sharing of existing programs and the development of new programs', the AICTEC Work Plan recognises that effective professional learning cannot and will not occur in all jurisdictions and sectors through piecemeal approaches.

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Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Principles of professional learning * Opportunities that are evidence-based and data-driven to guide improvement and to measure impact. * Opportunities that are just in time and just enough. * Programs focused on and embedded in teacher practice. * Opportunities that are collaborative and involve reflection on practice and student learning. * Engagement that is ongoing, supported and fully integrated into the culture and operations of the system and accredited where possible. * Programs that take account of teachers' prior knowledge, different learning styles and access to technology. * Recognition of emerging technologies and their impact on teaching, learning and research. * Opportunities for school-based learning with close connections to classroom practice. Source: AICTEC 2009, p 3

Rethinking how professional learning should support new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication is not just an Australian preoccupation. Futurelab in the United Kingdom is a leading promoter of innovation in ICT. A survey report it produced about teachers learning with digital technologies found that while research-based literature frequently addressed teacher learning and digital technologies, there was little that dealt 'directly with ... teachers as learners with technologies' (Fisher, Higgins & Loveless, 2006, p 2). The report contends that the requirements for teacher learning are the same as those for students, and that learning should be active and experiential: a process where knowledge is enacted, constructed and revised. It notes that Vygotsky's concept of a Zone of Proximal Development is important for understanding how teachers learn. Teacher professional learning may be 'situated', or can take place within a 'community of practice'. Fisher, Higgins and Loveless propose a schema that identifies four areas of 'purposeful activity with digital technologies' (see Table 6 below). It may be useful to examine the experiences of teachers in the M&EDCE project and trial in relation to the four categories in the above schema.

Knowledge building Teachers in the M&EDCE trial were expected to have a degree of experience in the use of collaborative learning that they could use in adapting and developing ideas for learning in a technology-rich learning environment.5 It was also anticipated that they would draw upon prior experience in using digital content for teaching and learning. The trial demonstrated that a majority of students were comfortable with collaborating online. Teachers were also enthusiastic about the potential of the online environment for engaging with digital content, but indicated that the constraints of the trial sometimes limited their ability to use the software effectively. However, this may also have resulted from the inexperience of some of the teachers in using collaborative learning in mainstream classes, their inability to transfer knowledge of collaborative or cooperative learning to an online learning environment, or their unfamiliarity with using digital content to support student learning. Those teachers who successfully developed, managed and evaluated their learning designs had a clear view of what it means to collaborate, could incorporate this explicitly into the learning design, and could scaffold learning through collaboration.

Table 6: Clusters of purposeful activity with digital technologies Knowledge building

* Adapting and developing ideas * Modelling * Representing understanding in multimodal and dynamic ways

Distributed cognition

* Accessing resources * Finding things out * Writing, composing and presenting with mediating artefacts and tools

Community and communication

* Exchanging and sharing information * Extending the context of activity * Extending the participating community at local and global levels

Engagement

*E xploring and playing *A cknowledging risk and uncertainty *W orking with different dimensions of interactivity *R esponding to immediacy

Source: Fisher, Higgins & Loveless 2006, p 20 5

The Museum & Education Digital Content Exchange used Scootle as a virtual learning environment to access resources. The Scootle virtual learning environment provided a range of Web 2.0 tools that could be used by teachers and students for collaborative learning.

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While case studies and models of exemplary learning designs are included in the first report, there is clearly a need to educate teachers about the potential of technology-rich environments for instruction and collaboration. While Australian teachers have access to a variety of online learning environments, the challenge for professional learning is to rise above a particular environment or technology in order to reach general principles that are applicable to, and can be transferred across, a range of environments. During the trial, one model of a collaborative learning activity was provided to teachers. TLF also encouraged teachers to develop and publish learning paths (ie learning activity designs) that could be viewed by other teachers. While the first M&EDCE report identified three exemplary learning designs developed by teachers in the trial, it was apparent that teachers at each level of competency require learning design exemplars that demonstrate both good practice and poor practice. The challenge is to develop exemplars that can be used within a range of online learning environments. Online learning environments need to incorporate state-of-the-art tools for innovation, collaboration and communication. Within the M&EDCE trial, teachers, with varying degrees of success, used a technology-rich online learning environment that allowed for collaboration by teachers and students. While teachers and students sometimes had difficulty managing the more dynamic elements of this environment, such as the chat facility, both groups were highly positive about engaging with digital curriculum resources in such an environment. The experience and capabilities of the teacher will shape the extent to which digital content can be used in multimodal or dynamic ways. As with the need to model learning design for the online environment, exemplars can be used to demonstrate effective and non-effective use of digital content.

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Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Distributed cognition Distributed cognition recognises that knowledge or understanding can be 'distributed' across objects, individuals, artefacts and tools. The schema proposed by Fisher, Higgins and Loveless (2006) proposes that this knowledge and understanding can be used for accessing resources and finding things out, and in writing and presenting with mediating artefacts and tools. A number of collaborative technologies (eg mailing lists, discussion groups, the online learning environment) can assist distributed cognition in professional learning. The M&EDCE trial was supported by a mailing list. Similar support is essential for the success of any trial involving teachers engaging with new technologies. Accessing digital content can be catered for at a technology-literacy level of competency. At this level it is appropriate for teachers to receive professional support that enables them to discover, access and use one resource didactically using an interactive whiteboard. At higher levels, teachers can be encouraged and assisted to group digital content in sequences that can be used for either didactic or collaborative learning. At this stage, the use of an interactive whiteboard may also be useful, but it could be used by a student or student group as well as by the teacher. The concept of 'finding things out' is derived from the language of the United Kingdom National Curriculum for ICT (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority n.d.). For students, it encompasses skills such as considering systematically the variety of information required to solve a problem, the selection of sources, and evaluating information. While finding things out might appear very basic in the context of professional learning, the M&EDCE trial indicates that it is an essential component in the development of successful learning activity design.

On one level, TLF resolves issues relating to the quality of digital content for teachers by ensuring the overall educational soundness of the collection. However, within a collection of more than 8,800 resources, teachers' evaluation of the most relevant digital content when designing an online learning activity remains a critical issue. Ultimately, this depends on the teacher having a clear understanding of the needs and capabilities of students as well as the activity's intended outcomes. To date, TLF's focus for teacher professional learning has been on demonstrating the range of content it provides, rather than on challenging teachers to select appropriate digital content for a topic. There is significant potential to expand professional learning to achieve the latter, as well as to give consideration to the learning context and environment. In this kind of learning for teachers, the focus should be on creating educationally sound learning designs that incorporate the most appropriate digital resources. Effective learning design was central to the exemplary collaborative activities in the M&EDCE trial. Learning design involved writing, composing and presenting with mediating artefacts and tools. Without knowingly using a model of learning activity design, teachers whose skills allowed them to work at innovative or transformative levels could take account of: * Learner preferences, needs, skills, knowledge, abilities, and modes of participation * The learning environment: classroom organisation, digital resources, online learning environment, Web 2.0 tools * Other people: their own active role as the More Knowledgeable Other, peers. * Teachers operating at a technology-literacy level did not take account of one or more of these elements. Active and experiential professional learning needs to deconstruct learning activity design for teachers. They particularly need to be aware of the state-of-the-art tools that can enable new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication.

Community and communication The M&EDCE trial allowed groups of teachers across schools and jurisdictions, and teachers and students within a school, to exchange and share information and extend the context of an activity. The trial did not focus on extending the participating community at local and global levels as this was outside the scope of the project. Exchanging and sharing information should have been fundamental to the development of learning designs that aimed to engage and allow for interaction and collaboration. The mailing list used to support teachers in the project engaged those teachers who were used to sharing their ideas in online communities. This is not atypical. The more important need was to engage in online discourse the teachers who were working at a technology-literacy or knowledge-deepening level. Active and experiential professional learning could involve a group of teachers as leaders or facilitators and as learners within a collaborative learning activity. This is again a form of modelling, where teachers learn to empathise with learners before conducting an online collaborative activity in a classroom. Very few teachers in the M&EDCE trial chose to extend the context of the online learning activity they had developed beyond completion of the online tasks. Teachers working at a knowledge-deepening or knowledge-creation level scaffolded learning for students through explicit instruction, through linking to prior knowledge and experience, or through intended learning outcomes that students could only achieve by completing the activity.

Quality of pedagogy

33

Engagement Engagement as defined by Fisher, Higgins and Loveless (2006) includes exploring and playing, acknowledging risk and diversity, working with or at different levels of interactivity and responding to immediacy. The M&EDCE trial provided teachers and students with a technology-rich online environment where play and exploration could occur. Some teachers in the trial were uncomfortable with the notion of online play, so disabled Web 2.0 tools that allowed for interaction and collaboration. This is acceptable if teachers are working at the technology-literacy level, or if the mode of delivery (eg asynchronous learning) does not allow supervision. While many students brought to the trial experience and interest in social networking, the absence of prior opportunities within typical online learning situations sometimes meant that they were unable to focus on achieving the intended learning outcomes. When teachers develop designs for online learning that enable cooperation and collaboration there is an element of risk and uncertainty. Teachers need to acknowledge this, as they would want these qualities to be part of their own professional learning. Active and experiential professional learning about how to create and use learning pathways that are collaborative would liberate teachers working at a technology-literacy level and allow them to move to a knowledge-deepening or knowledge-creation level. Before they can do this, teachers need to have confidence in working with different levels of interactivity. Teachers in the M&EDCE trial were provided with an online learning environment that encouraged high levels of interactivity and collaboration. A number of teachers at technologyliteracy or knowledge-deepening levels of proficiency were unready for this. Following the trial, different versions of the online learning environment were developed to cater for teachers who only want to use learning paths didactically, as well as for teachers who are ready to use and allow for interactivity and collaboration.

34

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Key points Teachers require a range of professional learning opportunities if they are to be effective users of digital resources in a technology-rich learning environment. * The design of professional learning needs to conform to standards of best practice that are supported by the Australian education jurisdictions and sectors. * Professional learning should be developed that meets the needs of teachers at various stages of knowledge, skills, understanding and practice. * Professional learning should include an understanding of learning theories relevant to the new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication made possible by the availability of accessible, high-quality digital content and technology-rich learning environments. * Professional development and advice concerning the use of online learning environments needs to move beyond imparting knowledge of the platform and the tools to include resource selection and evaluation, learning activity design and assessment. * Professional learning should allow teachers to gain confidence and expertise in the use of state-of-the-art tools that can be used for interaction and collaboration. * National and local online discussion groups and forums that allow teachers to share ideas and best practices can play a role in supporting professional learning. * Professional learning can target teacher interest in the new Australian curriculum and explore how digital resources can be used to support aspects of the curriculum at all levels of schooling.

The learning environment The development of effective learning environments in which online learning

How can digital content be used to support

is designed to occur necessarily involves

collaboration, innovation and communication?

a number of challenges and opportunities for systems, schools and teachers. These challenges and opportunities

Digital content

require discourse about what constitutes

There are a number of print, digital and physical resources or texts that teachers can use in supporting any online learning activity. This section of the report is limited to an examination of the digital content procured and distributed by TLF. The background to the development of specifications suitable for the procurement of interactive digital content by TLF is outlined in the Introduction. These specifications allowed for the development of high-quality interactive educational multimedia eminently suited to one user and relevant to a subject discipline or a cross-curriculum area at a defined stage of schooling.

technology-rich learning environments, the nature and use of digital resources, and the extent to which resources should be comprehensive in coverage. This second M&EDCE report takes as a point of reference the model of learning activity design developed by JISC (see 'Models of teaching and learning' section). The learning environment as conceptualised within this model includes 'tools' and 'resources' as well as the 'affordances of the physical and virtual [ie online] environment'.

Students undertake challenging and stimulating learning activities supported by access to global information resources and powerful tools for information processing, communication and collaboration

As previously noted, few of the interactive digital resources developed to date enable multiple users to interact while using the same object. Teachers and students can, of course, physically compare their knowledge and understandings before, during and after they individually engage with a particular interactive digital curriculum resource. Where teachers have enabled the collaborative features of a technology-rich online environment, students can also discuss and compare their experiences in real time. Non-interactive digital content is also procured by TLF and is primarily sourced from cultural organisations, government bodies and commercial organisations.1 Each digital resource has metadata attached that enables discovery in TLF's online learning environment (Scootle) or in a repository provided by a jurisdiction (eg The Learning

Source: COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, p 4 1

This finding was made by King and Deighton (2009), based on their analysis of what was then more than 7,500 digital resources provided through TLF. Their report found that 31 per cent of these resources were interactive.

The learning environment

35

When TLF was established, six curriculum priority areas were defined against which content was to be sourced and developed: Mathematics and Numeracy; Science; Languages Other Than English; Studies of Australia; Literacy for Students at Risk; and Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise. These six areas are now extensively resourced, particularly by interactive digital curriculum resources. The changing curriculum priorities of the Australian school sector have opened up new areas for emphasis that represent further opportunities for digital resource development.

Place, DigiLearn, TaLE). Having discovered and accessed the digital resource, the end user is provided with a brief description of it, an educational value statement, and relevant conditions of use and copyright data.

Resources for the new Australian curriculum The new Australian curriculum for K-12 in the areas of Arts, English, Geography, History, Languages, Mathematics and Science is being developed in two phases. Phase 1 will be completed in 2010. The curriculum will use each year of schooling in Australia as a progression point, defining the knowledge, skills and understanding required for a particular learning area at a particular year level (eg Mathematics, Year 5).

King and Deighton's 2009 Review of Online Curriculum Resources quantified the digital content provided by TLF against each new learning area in the Australian curriculum at each level of schooling, as shown in Table 7 below. (Since the researchers undertook their analysis, more than 1,200 additional resources have been created.)

The Australian curriculum's framing and shaping documents note that it should cover a number of capabilities: literacy, numeracy, ICT, thinking skills, creativity, self-management, teamwork, intercultural understanding, ethical behaviour and social competence. While ICT is defined as a separate capability, with an ICT continuum to be developed during Phase 1, it is intended that ICT will inform every curriculum area that is developed.

Scoping for King and Deighton's report clearly preceded the decision to include the Arts in the Australian curriculum. Digital content for Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise and numerous digitised art works make up a significant portion of the more than 8,800 items developed or acquired to date within the initiative.

Table 7: TLF online curriculum resources for the stages of schooling Stage of schooling Learning area

Early (P/K-2)

Middle (3-6)

Senior (7-12)

Subtotal/Total

English

47

93

522

662

Geography

0

0

106

106

History

12

106

4256

4374

Languages

52

496

224

772

Mathematics

54

198

313

565

The sciences

89

230

853

1172

254

1123

6274

7651

TOTAL Source: King & Deighton 2009, p 32

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Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

The preliminary analysis also identified a number of gaps in provision, such as the need for interactive and digital curriculum resources that cover prehistory in Australia and internationally, as well as world history and geography. Clearly there will be gaps in the provision of digital content for new priority curriculum areas. On one level, it will be a matter of defining what kinds of digital content need to be sourced or developed. One scenario is that the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, a jurisdiction or sector, or, in theory, a teacher could advise that a particular curriculum priority or topic requires educationally sound digital content. Those responsible for procurement and quality assurance might then source or develop digital content to meet perceived needs.

Trialling digital resource procurement A key feature of the procurement and quality assurance process used in the M&EDCE project was that it streamlined existing resource procurement and quality assurance processes used by TLF. The project also demonstrated the capacity of cultural organisations, government bodies and commercial organisations to use these accelerated processes for the provision of new digital content. Provision and quality assurance are only one part of the picture. Criteria for inclusion of a resource in a TLF repository include that it be relevant to jurisdictions' curriculums, and educationally sound. One aim of the M&EDCE trial was to ascertain whether Australian teachers could discover, access and embed within online learning activities digital content that was relevant, suitable, exciting, culturally appropriate and affordable. This kind of evaluation (ie about the educational value of the digital resource) was clearly outside King and Deighton's research. The trial was also interested in testing issues relating to affordability by providing guidance to curators and other experts in cultural organisations that enabled them to select, categorise and describe digital curriculum content from their collections.

Teachers and students within the M&EDCE trial were generally positive about the capacity of the online learning environment provided in the trial to enable discovery of digital content. Metadata tagging by the curators and experts assisted teachers to select and evaluate digital resources using their own selection criteria such as learning area, topic and age-appropriateness. Teachers were then able to sequence digital content and build learning activities around it.

Using digital content in an online environment A number of Australian and international ICT competency frameworks provide guidance about the use of digital content or resources. The UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (2008A, B & C) describe the use of digital content at the Technology literacy and Knowledge creation levels of competency, particularly within the components of Pedagogy and Teacher Professional Development. At the foundation level of Technology literacy, the standards describe how teachers can 'Use presentation software and digital resources to support instruction' (UNESCO 2008C, pp 9, 13, 16). Higher levels of competency focus on the design of online materials (ie learning activity design) and on the use of such materials to enable student collaboration within an online learning activity.

The learning environment

37

In terms of professional development, the standards emphasise the ability of teachers to use digital content to enhance their productivity and to support their own acquisition of subject matter and pedagogical knowledge. The Knowledge deepening level involves teachers being able to share digital content. At the Knowledge creation level, teachers are able to 'Use ... ICT resources to participate in professional communities and share and discuss best teaching practices' (UNESCO 2008C, p 17).

The Australian Pedagogy Strategy (ICT in Schools Taskforce 2005, pp 4-5) also describes, within a pedagogy framework, the importance of digital content for teachers seeking to use ICT effectively in the classroom. It suggests that the selection of appropriate [digital] content is important for teachers who are integrating ICT into their pedagogies, teaching for conceptual development, and building learning communities; and that it is also important for planning, programming, assessing and reporting.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has developed standards and performance indicators for teachers. These standards and indicators recognise the importance of digital content for developing student learning and creativity, as well as its role in learning activity design and for assessment. ISTE argues that teachers should:

The Northern Territory, South Australia and Victoria have produced ICT continuums that describe the use of (digital) resources by teachers at various levels of proficiency. These are provided in tables 8, 9 and 10 below. There is a marked similarity between the Northern Territory and South Australian continuums.

1.b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

2.a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. Source: ISTE 2008

Table 8: Northern Territory Phase 1 Uncertain and/or hesitant

Phase 2 Willing but dependent

* Use ICT as a standalone resource to browse and locate simple learning resources

* Access and store resources on the local network

Phase 3 Confident and proficient

Phase 4 Leading and enabling others

* Contribute to shared local electronic resources

* Access and contribute to external and systemic resources to enable an ICT-rich curriculum

* Integrate electronic resources into teaching/learning Source: DEET 2003

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Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Table 9: South Australia Phase 1 Developing ICT skills

Phase 2 Applying ICT in the classroom

* Accesses and uses some hardware resources in computer rooms, pools, pods and classrooms

* Accesses and borrows hardware for use in the classroom

* Uses ICT as a standalone resource to browse and locate simple learning resources

* Accesses and stores resources on the local network

Phase 4 Leading and enabling others

* Contributes to the development of local electronic resources

* Provides leadership in the use and development of hardware and electronic resources * Promotes and contributes to external and systemic resources to enable an ICT rich curriculum

Source: DECS (n.d.)

Table 10: Victoria foundation

emergent

Minimal use of resources

An emerging use in the classroom

innovative

transformative

Integrates ICT resources effectively

Leads use for richer learning

Source: DEECD 2009B

In the student trial for the M&EDCE project, teachers accessed and used digital content in an online learning environment that supported collaboration. The following case study, which maps out teachers' increasing skill and confidence in the use of digital content, is based on the experiences of a diverse group of teachers in the project. The case study presupposes that teachers have already progressed beyond a stage where they see no reason to use ICT in the classroom.

M&EDCE Case study 2

Phase 3 Confident and proficient

* Engages in professional discussions about school, networks, hardware and peripherals

Teachers' use of digital resources within the trial

Phase 1 The teacher believes that they need to understand what digital resources are and how they can be accessed. Their jurisdiction or sector encourages them to use a technology-rich online learning environment. They find an appropriate online learning environment through their state or territory education portal and register as a user. They discover that there are many kinds of online educational resources. They download any user guides and use the guides to help them locate interesting digital content relevant to their teaching area. When selecting digital content, they increasingly pay attention to any educational value statement that accompanies the resource. As they develop more confidence, they experiment with selecting more complex resources such as those with interactive digital content. Phase 2 The teacher decides that they need to know how to create a learning activity that contains sequenced digital content. Initially they select simple digital content (eg photographs, text files) rather than interactive digital content. They decide to select a digital resource to support a lesson using an interactive whiteboard. Their confidence growing, they use a learning path that includes a number of items of digital content. They then decide to demonstrate an

The learning environment

39

item of interactive digital content or allow a student or students to use the interactive whiteboard to engage with the item. Finally, the teacher might use the online learning environment to design an elementary learning pathway with learning tasks that contextualise the digital content for students.

Implications for teacher advice and professional learning

Phase 3 The teacher uses the learning environment to develop and publish a simple online learning activity that a small group of students can access from a limited number of computers in a classroom or library. They ask a colleague to team-teach or support the remaining group while the activity takes place. The activity initially blends working online to view the digital content and tasks with working using pens and paper. The teacher may practise this kind of approach to develop confidence before moving to a whole-class activity in a computer laboratory. Towards the end of Phase 3, the teacher may 'enable' collaborative aspects of an online learning environment for use by students. Collaboration would be restricted and focused.

Currently, TLF provides a range of services to teachers seeking to use digital content. On one level, advice is provided in documentation such as the catalogues, the frequently asked questions and the Scootle User Guide for Teachers. The User Guide includes sections on discovering and accessing content, creating learning paths (ie learning activity design), and creating and managing collaborative activities. Teachers in each of the phases described in Case Study 2 would be able to use the guide to find out how to use TLF digital content. The User Guide also shows teachers how to use an online learning environment to access and use content. This involves demonstrating the capacities of that environment.

Phase 4 The teacher wants to use digital content and an online learning environment to improve student motivation and enable students to develop confidence in managing their own learning. The teacher reads any available documentation about creating and managing collaborative activities. They develop the learning activity outcomes and design a collaborative learning activity. As they become more confident, they are able to develop more complex learning activities that use state-of-the-art tools for collaboration. The teacher is able to interact with other teachers to share learning activities and provide advice about how to use most effectively interactive and digital curriculum resources in online learning environments.

The phases described in the above scenario cover the range of experiences of teachers in the M&EDCE trial. While there were only a small number of teachers in the trial, their various levels of skill and experience were representative of Australian teachers as a whole. 40

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

The findings of the trial that helped shape the case study above have implications for the advice provided to teachers about the use of digital resources, and for professional learning.

Online discussion groups can provide useful advice to teachers, but they need to be focused on particular learning areas or cater for specific levels of teacher readiness. Threaded asynchronous discussions that are open to all users are as important as closed or invitational groups that may cater for only high-level and experienced users. The introduction of the new Australian curriculum will offer considerable opportunity to provide teachers with national models for learning activity design that range from the simple to the complex to cover a range of skill levels, and that are specific to particular learning areas, themes or topics. Models that demonstrate how to use resources successfully need to engage prospective users at a range of levels of expertise. The most effective professional learning takes place in schools. School-based professional learning enables the development of a community of practice and meets the actual needs of teachers. Graduated professional learning modules that enable teachers to develop sequentially knowledge, skills, understandings and practice for the use of digital content in

technology-rich learning environments would advance the vision and agenda for the Digital Education Revolution in Australia. These modules could be made available online and could be completed individually or collegiately by teachers at a time that suited them.

Key points Digital content has been developed, sourced and described through The [email protected] Federation's Schools Online Curriculum Content Initiative. This content is important to the school sector, as agreed procurement and quality assurance processes have ensured its educational soundness and appropriateness. * While the design of interactive digital content procured by TLF is based on sound constructivist principles, there is an absence of interactive digital content that explicitly caters for social learning and collaboration. Any re-engineering of existing interactives or development of new content should consider this need. * The structure and content of the new Australian curriculum provides opportunities for the procurement of new digital content for use by teachers. * Teachers require clear guidelines and advice about the capabilities and skills required to access and use digital content for teaching and learning. * While education jurisdictions and sectors have developed pedagogy frameworks and ICT continuums, these may not provide consistent or detailed advice about pedagogies that support the use of digital content for online learning. * National collaboration and cooperation in the development of advice and professional learning about the use of digital content would have benefits for cost, efficiency and comprehensiveness.

Technology-rich learning environments Infrastructure The physical environment in which the online learning activity takes place has preoccupied educational jurisdictions in Australia and other countries over the last ten years. A number of definitions have been proposed, rejected and defended. This report understands the physical environment to include the selection of the physical learning space (ie a library, classroom or computer laboratory) as well as the equipment used within that space. The physical and online environment may often determine the kinds of online learning that can take place.

What are the attributes of technology-rich learning environments that support innovation and collaboration?

The physical environment in which contemporary Australian students learn is not always a built space. The use of mobile technologies, such as data-loggers on hand-held devices or laptop computers on a site trip, is as relevant to a discussion of a technology-rich physical environment as is learning on a computer in a classroom, library or computer laboratory. Similarly, distance learning, while it may take place in spaces that are defined by temporal constraints, does not involve conventional face-to-face teaching and learning. Discussions at a national level about the physical environment have focused on infrastructure (particularly hardware and bandwidth) as well as resources. The Strategic Plan (2008) developed for the Digital Education Revolution provides a picture of where Australian schools are at now, what improvements are required and what aspirational goals might be set (COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, pp 7-9).

The learning environment

41

The Strategic Plan for the Digital Education Revolution defines infrastructure as incorporating access devices (eg computers, laptops, PDAs, ultra-mobile devices), interoperability, connectivity and access portals. Bandwidth continues to be a major issue for many schools seeking to make effective use of contentrich, collaborative online environments. Australian teachers in the M&EDCE project agreed that access devices, connectivity and access portals were essential requirements of technology-rich learning environments. To these they added that the learning environment needed to be able to cater for differentiated work.2 Millea and Galatis (2009, p 2) found that access to tools and enabling infrastructure varied across jurisdictions and sectors. They reported a number of findings relating to the services and skills required for the effective use of ICT in the Australian education sectors. These included infrastructure to support reliable, fast and ubiquitous access (2009, p 7). A national survey of Australian schools in 2008 to identify student-computer ratios found that a number of schools had a ratio of 1:8 or worse (Digital Education Revolution 2009, p 1). The Digital Education Revolution has established targets to improve this ratio, for example a 1:1 computer-to-student ratio for all years 9-12 students by 2011. The Strategic Plan asserts that 'every student [should have] ... access to digital resources and tools to enable 21st century learning across the curriculum' (COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, p 9). While improved access and equity will have immediate effects in schools, the M&EDCE project and trial indicates that access does not guarantee that successful teaching and learning take place, as there can be a mismatch between infrastructure provision on the one hand, and teachers' capacity to manage online learning, as well as their awareness of that capacity, on the other.

2

42

M&EDCE project focus group, 21 September 2008

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

The capacity of infrastructure to allow for differentiated work depends on the set-up of computers in schools. Many Australian schools, particularly secondary schools, are still using a laboratory model for computer distribution. While case studies developed from the M&EDCE trial indicate that experienced teachers can cater for different learning styles in such environments, teachers with limited experience in using computers for teaching and learning, or in using computers for collaborative learning, will experience management issues on a far larger scale when more than 20 students engage simultaneously in learning online. Clearly, teachers need to develop confidence in managing computer-based learning using small groups completing defined and limited tasks before engaging whole classes in online learning. Evidence-based research indicates that this is particularly the case with secondary school students.

Interactive whiteboards Australian research in a number of jurisdictions has explored the use of interactive whiteboards for teaching and learning. Hedberg and Freebody (2007) investigated the use of interactive whiteboards by teachers working with TLF's digital content. In their report they noted the research of Vrasidas and Glass (2005) into the obstacles to integrating ICT into the classroom (Vrasidas & Glass, cited in Hedberg & Freebody 2007, p 7). These obstacles ranged from the resistance of the teacher to change, to the lack of the professional learning that was required to support adoption. Hedberg and Freebody also quoted from research by Moss et al (2007) in the United Kingdom indicating that the use of interactive whiteboards was dependent upon teacher intent and capability. Research by Becta (2005) outlines three stages through which teachers progress in their use of interactive whiteboards: supported didactic, interactive and enhanced interactive. Millea and Galatis (2009) take these stages further by commending the five stages of an Interactive Whiteboard Development Framework proposed by Sweeney (in Millea & Galatis 2009, pp 75-6): whiteboard replacement, supported didactic, interactive, enhanced interactive, and synergistic user.

Content and learning management systems

In reviewing case studies within the M&EDCE project and trial, Baker (2009) notes the variable success with which teachers used whiteboards in the trial. In some schools the interactive whiteboard was available for use, yet the teacher did not initially use it to introduce the tasks, the features of the online learning environment or any of the digital content, or to review student collaborations. For teachers needing to operate at the 'supported didactic' stage, this would have provided greater coherence and purpose to the collaborative learning activities. Other teachers in the trial did use the interactive whiteboard for didactic purposes. Some confident teachers (and their students) were able to use it within the final three stages of the framework proposed by Sweeney. Evidence-based research in the United Kingdom and Australia therefore indicates that there is significant potential for more extensive teacher (and student) use of interactive whiteboards - however, this potential is not always taken advantage of when using learning management systems or using digital curriculum resources collaboratively. Clearly, teachers need to progress through levels of competency in their use, such as that described in Phase 2 of Case Study 2. There is a risk that the skill levels of some teachers will stagnate at the supported didactic stage, preventing the occurrence of interaction and collaboration in the classroom.

3

The Strategic Plan (2008) for the Digital Education Revolution recognises that the deployment of TLF content is currently highly variable, and that its full value is yet to be realised. It also contends that 'eLearning' is often regarded as separate to offline learning. The plan sets targets and aspirational goals for improving the quality of online environments for use in schools, for example that there should be 'tools for safe and secure online knowledge sharing and collaboration including social networking (Web 2.0) systems'. An aspirational goal included in the plan is that 'students and teachers [will] routinely collaborate, build and share knowledge using digital technologies - blogs, file sharing, social networking, videoconferencing, etc' (COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, p 7). A number of reports published in 2009 have attempted to explore issues and define options for the use of repositories, content and learning management systems in the Australian school sector. Two will be discussed briefly below. In their review of online curriculum resources that are currently available for use in schools, King and Deighton (2009, pp 50-1) describe how state and territory jurisdictions and sectors provide access to repositories of digital content through a number of content and learning management systems. However, the real picture in Australian schools can be more varied than the research would indicate. King and Deighton also acknowledge that content is provided to commercial software and hardware suppliers such as ClickView or Smartboard, and is then licensed by schools and jurisdictions. In fact, individual schools within any jurisdiction may use a number of content or learning management systems, such as the open-source Learning Activity Management System (LAMS) developed at Macquarie University.3

'The LAMS Community' section of the LAMS website (LAMS 2009) includes a forum for K-12 schools, in which a number of Australian schools participate.

The learning environment

43

The M&EDCE trial (Baker 2009) more narrowly focused on the use of TLF's repository of digital content, available through the Scootle online learning environment. The research found that accessing and using digital content and the learning toolset within this online environment offered significant potential for collaborative online learning. The overall picture provided by recent research suggests that variations in the quality of infrastructure for accessing suitable digital resources, as well as the quality of the online learning environment across and within jurisdictions, means that both teachers and students require extensive additional support. It also means that teachers and students who seek to interact online with others are, when this is possible, limited through a 'silo effect' to those using the same software systems. This again suggests opportunities for national cooperation and collaboration.

State-of-the-art tools The Joint Ministerial Statement on Information and Communications Technologies in Australian Education and Training: 2008-2011 (MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008) asserts that students should 'engage with state-of-the-art tools which will enable new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication'. The Digital Education Revolution Strategic Plan defines what these tools might include. It identifies 'tools for safe and secure online knowledge sharing and collaboration including social networking (Web 2.0) systems', and places 'digital technologies - blogs, file sharing, social networking, videoconferencing etc' within the umbrella term 'state of the art tools' (COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, p 7). In 2008, Crook et al published a groundbreaking survey of Web 2.0 technologies, commissioned by Becta in the United Kingdom. They define 12 categories of Web 2.0 activity: media sharing, media manipulation, conversational arenas, online games, virtual worlds, social networking, blogging, social bookmarking, recommender systems, collaborative editing, wikis, and syndication. Definitions of each of these technologies are also provided. A subsequent section of Crook et al's report identifies what is conveniently described as Educational Web 2.0.

44

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Most of the examples of the Educational Web 2.0 technologies selected were developed in the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA. While a number of these technologies are already being incorporated into online learning environments, Millea and Galatis (2009, pp 77-88) suggest that within the Australian context they are only available outside the online learning environments provided by education authorities. In the Horizon Report 2009: The K-12 Edition, published by The New Media Consortium in the USA, Johnson et al identify a number of technologies that will have a significant impact on schools in 2009-14. The Horizon Report estimates the time period it will take to adopt each of these technologies, with the maximum time being five years. The authors contend that collaborative environments are currently being widely used in schools. The following table provides examples for the six categories of emerging technologies that the report identifies. Table 11: Technologies to watch Emerging technology

Examples

Collaborative environments

Scootle, Moodle, Voicethread, Virtual Whiteboard, Exploratree

Online communication tools

TeacherTube, Teachers TV, Skype, instant messaging, chat, videoconferencing

Mobiles

photography, GPS capability, various third-party applications to allow functions such as data logging

Cloud computing

Google docs, Voicethread

Smart objects

Lego Mindstorms

The personal web

Delicious bookmarks, iGoogle

Millea and Galatis (2009, pp 61-80) focus on those technologies and tools that can support collaborative learning. They identify Web 2.0, text-based communication tools, immersive learning environments and 'people networks' as being appropriate for consideration by the three Australian education sectors. They draw upon the definition and categorisations of online collaborative tools developed by the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC).

The ISO/IEC uses the following criteria to identify online collaborative tools:

Challenges and opportunities

Ease of use

In defining the challenges and opportunities provided by new technologies for learning, Crook et al (2008, pp 8-9) assert that Web 2.0 has fundamentally changed users' engagement with the internet, enabling greater user participation, joint knowledge building, user manipulation and creation of data and media, as well as new frameworks and resources for research and inquiry. They note that these technological innovations have coincided with, or allowed a parallel development in, identity expression and text-based communication among young people, and safety considerations.

A collaborative tool enhances productivity by being extremely user-friendly in providing the collaboration. It enables, through open communication among the participants, to assist in achieving a shared purpose. Collaborative The tool facilitates an exchange of information, consensus-building and resolving differences. Temporal The tool will, without regard for time, space and/or location, ensure that participants can work collaboratively in their own time and space. However, the tool should

Following this groundbreaking research, a number of Australian and international research projects have used a case study approach to investigate the potential of Web 2.0 for the education sectors. For example, Becta in the United Kingdom has been at the forefront of research into online tools that can enhance education through online collaboration.4 In addition to the survey of Web 2.0 technologies commissioned from Crook et al (2008), it has commissioned and published a number of action research projects about Web 2.0 in schools. Its research indicates that:

respect the time requirement for the completion of the task it supports.

4

The Becta website (www.becta.org.uk) lists five reports that focus on Web 2.0 technologies for learning.

Source: ISO/IEC 2006, cited in Millea & Gallatis 2009, p 23 The learning environment

45

Web 2.0 helps to encourage student engagement and increase participation - particularly among quieter pupils, who can use it to work collaboratively online, without

Existing support for the use of online tools

the anxiety of having to raise

A number of education jurisdictions in Australia provide advice for teachers about communication tools. For example, on its website the Department of Education and Training in Western Australia suggests how blogs, chat, podcasts, social bookmarking, videoconferencing, wikis and other communication tools can be used for learning. The educational value of each technology is discussed as well as practical classroom and teacher applications. The Department also suggests how teachers can gain confidence and skill in using individual tools (Department of Education and Training [WA] 2009).

questions in front of peers in class - or by enabling expression through less traditional media such as video Teachers have reported that the use of social networking technology can encourage online discussion amongst students outside school Web 2.0 can be available any time, anywhere, which encourages some individuals to extend their learning through further investigation into topics that interest them Pupils feel a sense of ownership and engagement when they publish their work online and this can encourage attention to detail and an overall improved quality of work. Some teachers reported using publication of work to encourage peer assessment. Source: Becta 2009

46

Clearly emerging technologies such as the Web 2.0 technologies described by Crook et al (2008) and the Horizon Report 2009 have implications for jurisdictions, schools and teachers who seek to provide students with a safe and secure online learning environment. The challenge for Australian authorities is to integrate appropriate tools into online learning environments.

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

The Department of Education and Training in Queensland, through The Learning Place, provides online collaborative environments for teachers and students that include a wide range of collaborative tools (eg blogging, forums, chat, comic chat, wikis, voice/video/data conferencing, project rooms, polling, podcasting) as well as expert advice and professional development in their use. Support for collaborative practice has been provided through online professional learning resources and courses, exemplars of practice, statewide hosted online learning events and a highly functioning network of expert facilitators, mentors and innovators. Support has also included a significant body of work in research and innovation that has been delivered by the ICT Learning Innovation Centre.

Use of state-of-the-art tools in the trial The M&EDCE project (2009) trialled with teachers and students a technology-rich online environment to identify what worked and why. The project defined tools more narrowly than Crook et al (2008), the Horizon Report 2009 or Millea and Galatis (2009). A tool was defined as a technology or feature that could be included in a safe and secure online learning environment; the definition did not include external websites such as Voicethread or Virtual Whiteboard. Features of, or tools within, the online learning environment provided in the M&EDCE trial included the following: * A dynamic environment - students could add their own text, comments and online resources, and rearrange the workspace to build a structured, collaborative response to a task * Feedback - teachers could provide ongoing feedback at any time, for student reflection and meaningful formative assessment * Online identity - students could create nicknames and choose an avatar for their own use in the live workspace * Chat - students could chat in real time, take part in informal discussions and receive feedback in the online environment * File uploading and sharing - students could upload their files and resources to attach to a learning activity * Spatial and temporal tools - students could interact with digital content using Google maps and a unique timeline display. Source: Baker 2009, p 28

Most teachers and students were able to use successfully the toolset provided within the trial. The first M&EDCE report suggested that additional Web 2.0 tools such as those included on Futurelab's Exploratree website could also be integrated into the online learning environment.

Key points Australian teachers should have access to, and be able to use, technology-rich learning environments that enable students to achieve high-quality learning outcomes and productively contribute to our society and economy (MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008). * Technology-rich learning environments can include the physical environment in which the learning occurs as well as online environments that incorporate state-of-the-art tools enabling new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication. * Technology-rich learning environments offer both challenges and opportunities for teachers. Teachers need clear advice and training regarding the most appropriate environment for their own and their students' skills. * Only a small proportion of Australian teachers currently have the skills required to create learning activity designs that can engage students collaboratively in online learning environments. * Interactive whiteboards and mobile technology offer considerable teaching and learning opportunities for teachers and students. Guidelines and models are required if teachers are to progress beyond the use of interactive whiteboards for solely instructional purposes. * When students are provided with digital content in technology-rich learning environments they respond positively to the new opportunities for learning and collaboration that are provided.

The learning environment

47

Learners are active participants in knowledge creation and will engage with state-of-the-art tools which enable new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication.

48

Conclusion The following key points cover the seven areas of ICT education policy, theories of learning, learning design, pedagogy frameworks, professional learning, digital content, and technology-rich learning environments.

National education and ICT policy for schools includes key elements relevant to pedagogies and digital content for online learning: * 'Australia will have technology enriched learning environments that enable students to achieve high-quality learning outcomes and productively contribute to our society and economy.' * 'Schools should support the development of skills in areas such as social interaction, cross-disciplinary thinking and the use of digital media.' * 'Learners are active participants in knowledge creation and will engage with state of the art tools which enable new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication.' * 'While there has been a significant investment in educational technologies over the last decade, only a minority [of teachers and students] are currently reaping the benefits of the digital revolution.' Sources: MCEETYA 2008, pp 5, 8; MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008; COAG Productivity Agenda Working Group 2008, p 3

A number of theories of learning describe and define for teachers how students learn most effectively in general and online learning situations. * Teachers may require assistance in unpacking the assumptions they make about how students learn and the pedagogical approaches they use to support these. * Constructivist and situative theories of learning or perspectives are useful for online learning in that they are learner centred and take account of individual and group needs and interactions. * Connectivism and Cooperative Learning take account of a whole new set of learning requirements brought about by the digital age, and can provide a theoretical basis for collaborative learning.

Effective learning activity design is essential if students are to engage positively with digital content in technology-rich learning environments. * Learning activity design in its varied formulations can provide an effective theoretical and practical model for online learning in that it takes account of interactions between the needs of learners and the learning environment, and between people participating in the online learning activity. * There is value in defining the theoretical and practical elements of successful design for online learning for teachers who are developing skills and capabilities in the use of online learning. * Models of learning activity design should be developed or sourced that are relevant to teachers at all levels of schooling and in different learning areas. The interactive and digital curriculum content procured by TLF can be used to provide exemplary learning materials within such models. Conclusion

49

There are a number of pedagogy frameworks that describe and define how teachers can use ICT for teaching and learning. * Twenty-first-century schools require 21st-century programs and educators capable of using 21st-century resources and strategies for learning (AICTEC 2009, p 3). * Teachers require detailed pedagogy frameworks that integrate the varied uses of ICT for curriculum and assessment, pedagogy, organisation and administration, and professional learning.

Teachers require a range of professional learning opportunities if they are to be effective users of digital resources in a technology-rich learning environment. * The design of professional learning needs to conform to standards of best practice that are supported by the Australian education jurisdictions and sectors. * Professional learning should be developed that meets the needs of teachers at various stages of knowledge, skills, understanding and practice.

* There is a need for increased collaboration at a national level in the sharing of existing programs and the development of new programs (AICTEC 2009, p 7). Such collaboration might usefully align or develop

* Professional learning should include an understanding of learning theories relevant to the new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication made possible by the availability of accessible, high-quality

agreed standards for teachers in the use of ICT in schools.

digital content and technology-rich learning environments.

* There would be an advantage in mapping any new or redeveloped standards against UNESCO's ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (2008A, B & C) as well as against the skills defined for students within the ICT continuum to be developed for the Australian curriculum.

* Professional development and advice concerning the use of online learning environments needs to move beyond imparting knowledge of the platform and the tools to include resource selection and evaluation, learning activity design and assessment. * Professional learning should allow teachers to gain confidence and expertise in the use of state-of-the-art tools that can be used for interaction and collaboration. * National and local online discussion groups and forums that allow teachers to share ideas and best practices can play a role in supporting professional learning. * Professional learning can target teacher interest in the new Australian curriculum and explore how digital resources can be used to support aspects of the curriculum at all levels of schooling.

50

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Digital content has been developed, sourced and described through The [email protected] Federation's Schools Online Curriculum Content Initiative. This content is important to the school sector, as agreed procurement and quality assurance processes have ensured its educational soundness and appropriateness. * While the design of interactive digital content procured by TLF is based on sound constructivist principles, there is an absence of interactive digital content that explicitly caters for social learning and collaboration. Any re-engineering of existing interactives or development of new content should consider this need. * The structure and content of the new Australian curriculum provides opportunities for the procurement of new digital content for use by teachers.

Australian teachers should have access to, and be able to use, technology-rich learning environments that enable students to achieve high-quality learning outcomes and productively contribute to our society and economy (MCEETYA & MCVTE 2008). * Technology-rich learning environments can include the physical environment in which the learning occurs as well as online environments that incorporate state-of-the-art tools enabling new forms of learning, collaboration, innovation and communication. * Technology-rich learning environments offer both challenges and opportunities for teachers. Teachers need clear advice and training regarding the most appropriate environment for their own and their students' skills.

* Teachers require clear guidelines and advice about the capabilities and skills required to access and use digital content for teaching and learning.

* Only a small proportion of Australian teachers currently have the skills required to create learning activity designs that can engage students collaboratively in online learning environments.

* While education jurisdictions and sectors have developed pedagogy frameworks and ICT continuums, these may not provide consistent or detailed advice about pedagogies that support the use of digital content for online learning.

* Interactive whiteboards and mobile technology offer considerable teaching and learning opportunities for teachers and students. Guidelines and models are required if teachers are to progress beyond the use of interactive whiteboards for solely instructional purposes.

* National collaboration and cooperation in the development of advice and professional learning about the use of digital content would have benefits for cost, efficiency and comprehensiveness.

* When students are provided with digital content in technology-rich learning environments they respond positively to the new opportunities for learning and collaboration that are provided.

Conclusion

51

Appendix 1 The following tables compare the UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (2008) with a number of ICT continuums in use in the Australian states and territories. Table 12 lists progression points within the ICT standards and the continuums of individual jurisdictions without any deliberate alignment. Table 12: Progression points in ICT competency ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (UNESCO)

Technology literacy

Knowledge deepening

Knowledge creation

ICT Continuum: Self-Evaluation Guide (NT)

Uncertain and/or hesitant

Willing but dependent

Confident and proficient

Leading and enabling others

Smart Classrooms Professional Development Framework (Qld)

ICT Certificate

ICT Certificate

Digital Pedagogy Licence

Digital Pedagogy Licence Advanced

Teacher Educational ICT Capabilities Continuum (EdCap) (SA)

Developing ICT skills

Applying ICT in the classroom

Delivering on learning outcomes

Transforming practices

Continuum of ICT Capabilities (Vic)

Foundation

Emergent

Innovative

Transformative

Sources: UNESCO 2008, DEET [NT] 2003; Education Queensland 2009B, DECS [SA] (n.d.); DEECD [Vic] 2009B

Table 13 below attempts to align the components of individual continuums with the approaches of UNESCO's ICT Competency Standards for Teachers. There may be overlap in some areas.

52

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Appendix 1

53

values

Vision

Assessment and reporting

Classroom organisation

Sources: UNESCO 2008; DEET [NT] 2003; Education Queensland 2009B; DECS [SA] (n.d.), DEECD [Vic] 2009B

(Vic)

Learning and teaching

Continuum of ICT Capabilities

ICT ethics

Practice

Assessment recording and reporting Management

Contribution

knowledge

Professional

Planning

Attitude

Professional knowledge

practice

Professional

Classroom management

Classroom practice

Pedagogy

Teacher Educational ICT Capabilities Continuum (EdCap) (SA)

Vision

Professional

Policy and

Smart Classrooms Professional Development Framework (Qld)

Recording and

Ethics reporting

Planning

Curriculum and assessment

Approach

Vision

ICT Continuum: SelfEvaluation Guide (NT)

Policy

Policy and vision

ICT Competency Standards for Teachers (UNESCO)

Table 13: Aspects of ICT competency

Online learning

Resources

knowledge

Professional

Online interaction

Resources

ICT

Organisation and administration

Professional learning

relationships

Professional

[Professional learning is aligned to each level]

Teacher professional development

Glossary

54

Activity Theory

Theory of learning originally developed by Leont'ev and Rubinshtein. It argues that learning results from an engagement in an activity, and that the activity is influenced by the learner's needs and the learning context.

AICTEC

Australian Information and Communications Technology in Education Committee

Artefacts

Physical and online tools and resources that impact on a learning activity

Associative perspective

Term used by JISC researchers to describe how learners acquire knowledge through association of concepts and through progressively more complex skill development

Becta

British Educational Communications and Technology Agency

Behaviourism

A group of learning theories asserting that knowledge, skills and values are conditioned or learned through modelling, or by trial and error

Blog

Short for web log. Blogging is one of the Web 2.0 technologies identified by Crook et al (2008).

Chat

Synchronous internet discussion, usually occurring in a dedicated chat room

Cloud computing

An emerging online technology identified by Johnson et al (2009)

COAG

Council of Australian Governments

Cognitivism

A group of learning theories proposing that people learn by constructing mental maps, models and frameworks

Collaborative environment

An online environment that can cater for synchronous or asynchronous interaction and collaboration by users. Also an emerging technology identified by Johnson et al 2009)

Communities of Practice

A learning theory proposing that learners' interests, motivations and understandings are developed through social interaction

Connectivism

A learning theory describing how learning occurs in online environments that contain shifting core elements

Constructive perspective

Term used by JISC researchers to categorise constructivist pedagogical approaches to online learning

Constructivism

A group of learning theories arguing that learning is an active, contextualised process where new information is linked to prior knowledge. Some researchers have proposed that constructivism has individual and social dimensions.

Content management system

A software platform that that enables users to upload, modify, manage and or delete digital content online

Continuum

A series of progression points grouped under stages of learning

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Conversational arenas

One-to-one or one-to-many conversations using internet software such as videoconferencing. Also category of Web 2.0 technologies identified by Crook et al (2008)

Cooperative Learning

A learning theory proposing that the ways in which students perceive and interact with each other are an important aspect of the learning process

Data logging

Using an electronic device to record data or information concerning an object or event over time

DECS

Department of Education and Children's Services [SA]

DEECD

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development [Vic]

DEET

Department of Education, Employment and Training

DEEWR

Department of Education, Employment and Workforce Relations, Australia

Delicious

A social bookmarking service that allows users to select, describe, annotate and share web pages from any computer

Digital content

Generic term for an array of electronic and internet content such as multimedia, audio, video, digitised photographs and text, and graphic files

Digital Education Revolution

Australian Government program (2008-12) aiming to bring about substantial and meaningful changes to teaching and learning in all schools. Elements include a Fibre Connections to Schools Initiative.

Discovery Learning

A learning theory originated by Jerome Bruner. It argues that learners most effectively acquire information and awareness of relationships through an inquiry approach.

Distributed Cognition

Psychological theory originated by Hutchins that emphasises the social aspects of cognition and that involves the interaction of individuals and artefacts

Exploratree

Online library of digital thinking guides (eg flowcharts) managed by Futurelab, United Kingdom

Google docs

Free web-based word processor and spreadsheet that can be used by a single user or collaboratively

GPS

Global positioning system

Human Activity Theory

Adaptation of Activity Theory that takes account of the role of the community in the learning process

ICT

Information and communication technologies

iGoogle

Software developed by Google that allows registered users to assemble their own web page using various components

Instant messaging

Real-time communication between two or more people using typed text via the internet

Interactive whiteboard

An interactive display that connects the computer desktop to a projector. Users typically control the computer using a pen, finger or other device.

ISO/IEC

International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission

Glossary

55

56

ISTE

International Society for Technology in Education

JISC

Joint Information Systems Committee

K-12

Kindergarten to Year 12

LAMS

Learning Activity Management System

Learning activity design

A clearly developed and sequenced learning activity, possibly including digital resources. A 'learning pathway' is The [email protected] Federation equivalent of learning activity design.

Learning environment

The physical or online environment in which learning takes place

Learning management system

A software platform that delivers content to, tracks and manages users in online learning

Learning object

A term used by The [email protected] Federation to describe self-contained multimedia interactives designed to assist learning

Lego Mindstorms

Commercial educational product that provides programmable sensor blocks

M&EDCE

Museum & Education Digital Content Exchange [project and trial]

MCEECDYA

Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs

MCEETYA

Former Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (see MCEECDYA)

MCVTE

Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education

Media manipulation

The use of web tools to design and edit digital media files. Also category of Web 2.0 technologies identified by Crook et al (2008)

Media sharing

Uploading, downloading and sharing digital media files on the web. Also category of Web 2.0 technologies identified by Crook et al (2008)

Mobile

A portable communicative device that may have data capture and third-party software included. Also an emerging technology identified by Johnson et al (2009)

Moodle

A free, open-source online learning platform

More Knowledgeable Other

A term used by Vygotsky to explain how individuals and groups can learn by interacting with others who hold greater knowledge and skills

Multiple Intelligences

A theory proposed by Gardner, which argues that individuals have differing intelligences, and that these intelligences lead to individuals having preferred learning styles

NSW

New South Wales

NT

Northern Territory

Online communication tools

Text, audio and video-based online tools for communication. An emerging technology identified by Johnson et al (2009)

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

Online games

Rule-governed games played in an online environment. Also category of Web 2.0 technologies identified by Crook et al (2008)

PDA

Personal digital assistant. A handheld device combining phone, fax, computing, internet access and networking features

Pedagogy

Principles and methods of teaching based on theories regarding how students learn

Pedagogy framework

An organised and systematic outline of a range of pedagogies that is appropriate for teacher use

Personal web

Online pages created by individuals that can provide pathways into the World Wide Web

Problem-Based Learning

Theory of learning proposing that individuals and groups learn most effectively when seeking explanations and designing solutions to real-world problems and issues

Qld

Queensland

Recommender system

A form of information filtering that presents types of items of likely interest to a particular user

RSS

Really Simple Syndication

SA

South Australia

Scootle

An online environment, developed by The [email protected] Federation, that provides access to interactive and digital curriculum content

Situated Learning

A learning theory originated by Jean Lave and arguing that the most effective learning occurs in authentic contexts rather than through abstract or uncontextualised discussion

Situative perspective

Term used by JISC researchers to categorise situative pedagogical approaches to online learning

Skype

Commercial voice-over-internet software

Smart objects

Objects combining a unique identifier with sensors and network access. An emerging technology identified by Johnson et al (2009)

Social bookmarking

Collections of online annotated or unannotated bookmarks developed by an individual or a group. Also category of Web 2.0 technologies identified by Crook et al (2008)

Social Development Theory

A learning theory originally developed by Vygotsky that has three main elements: social interaction, the More Knowledgeable Other, and the Zone of Proximal Development

Social networking

Websites that support social interaction. Also category of Web 2.0 technologies identified by Crook et al (2008)

Syndication

Subscription to RSS feeds that indicate when a website has been updated. Also category of Web 2.0 technologies identified by Crook et al (2008)

Tas

Tasmania

TLF

The [email protected] Federation

TQELT

Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce

UNESCO

United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization Glossary

57

58

VCAA

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority

Vic

Victoria

Virtual Whiteboard

An online environment that provides a 'canvas' for thinking, designing, and collaborating with others in real time

Virtual world

An online themed environment in which a user can interact with others, often using an avatar. Also category of Web 2.0 technologies identified by Crook et al (2008)

Voicethread

A commercial online environment where users can create digital resources as well as communicate and collaborate. It has elements of a learning management system.

Web 2.0

Online environments or tools that facilitate interaction and collaboration

Wiki

A web-based tool that allows multiple users to contribute content. Also category of Web 2.0 technologies identified by Crook et al (2008)

Zone of Proximal Development

The space between what is the learner knows and what others know

Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector

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Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership Taskforce 2003, A National Framework for Professional Standards for Teaching, Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, Australia.

Millea, J & Galatis, H 2009, Collaboration in Teaching and Learning: Strategic ICT Advisory Service, Education.au, Australia.

The [email protected] Federation 2007, Education Soundness Specification v.4.0, TLF, Australia.

Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs 1999, The Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century, MCEETYA, Australia. Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs 2008, The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, MCEETYA, Australia. Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs & Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education 2008, Joint Ministerial Statement on Information and Communications Technologies in Australian Education and Training: 2008-2011, Australian Information & Communications Technology in Education Committee, Australia. Moss, G, Jewitt, C, Levaaic, R, Armstrong, V, Cardini, A & Castle, F 2007, The Interactive Whiteboards, Pedagogy and Pupil Performance Evaluation: An Evaluation of Schools Whiteboard Expansion (SWE) Project: London Challenge, School of Educational Foundations and Policy Studies, Institute of Education, University of London. Northern Territory Government n.d., Designing for Learning: Design Questions [and] Pedagogical Practices, DET, Northern Territory.

The [email protected] Federation 2009, Use of The [email protected] Federation Digital Curriculum Resources in Australian Pre-Service Tertiary Institutions, Curriculum Corporation, Melbourne. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 2008A, ICT Competency Standards for Teachers: Policy Framework, UNESCO, United Kingdom. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 2008B, ICT Competency Standards for Teachers: Competency Standards Modules, UNESCO United Kingdom. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 2008C, ICT Competency Standards for Teachers: Implementation Guidelines, Version 1.0, UNESCO, United Kingdom. University of Tasmania 2006, Children, Online Learning and Authentic Teaching Skills in Primary Education, UTAS, Tasmania. Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority 2005, Victorian Essential Learning Framework, VCAA, Victoria. Vrasidas, C & Glass, GV (eds) 2005, Preparing Teachers to Teach with Technology, Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, Connecticut.

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority n.d., National Curriculum: ICT Key Stages 1-4, QCA, United Kingdom.

Vygotsky, LS 1978, Mind and Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Siemens, G 2005, 'Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age', www.elearnspace.org/Articles/ connectivism.htm.

Wenger, E 1998, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom.

Smith, R, Lynch, D & Knight BA 2007, Learning Management: Transitioning Teachers for National and International Change, Pearson Education Australia.

References

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[PDF] Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector. Robert Baker - Free Download PDF

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Download Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector. Robert Baker... Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector Robert Baker Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector Robert Baker Acknowledgements The [email protected] Federation, Education Services Australia gratefully acknowledges the work of all the schools and teachers who contributed to this research.

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Learning continuum
general-capabilities-information-and-communication-ict-capability-learning-continuum.pdf (australiancurriculum.edu.au)

ICT Version 8.4:
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability (Version 8.4) | The Australian Curriculum (Version 8.4)

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F-10 Curriculum | V9 Australian Curriculum

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Various teacher/ education based focused podcasts

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We are a podcast network that encourages you to think about your profession and succeed in the world of education. Whether you are a first-year educator ...

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Engagement in learning akin to a video game with different levels

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Engagement in learning akin to a video game with different levels

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After 9 mins, Judy talks about how the learning experience can be akin to a video game.....

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Judy Willis on the Science of Learning: Big Thinkers

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This is a great tool for students with below expected levels of literacy or students with other reading disabilities (dyslexia/ dysgraphia).
Another easy to use option is: Vocaroo & Podbean

Editing is so easy using this tool: www.soundtrap.com

Podcast posting for science: High School Science | SchoolTube

Hearing Loss Live Podcast are also available:
https://hearinglosslive.com/hearing-loss-podcast/

Benefits of using podcasts can be found here:
Podcasting in Education: What Are the Benefits? (thepodcasthost.com)

Interesting activity for students about finalising a unit of work at the end of term Listening to Themselves: Podcasting Takes Lessons Beyond the Classroom | Edutopia

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Audacity ® | Free Audio editor, recorder, music making and more!

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Audacity is the world’s most popular audio editing and recording app. Edit, mix, and enhance your audio tracks with the power of Audacity. Download now!

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Info about how they can be used to link with the curriculum. Really useful for visual learners and want to avoid large quantities of text.

Templates can be found here: easel.ly | create and share visual ideas using infographics

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Mobile apps abound for concept mapping. These include Popplet (lite), MindGenius, Mindomo, and SimpleMind. Ideal at the start or end of a unit of work.

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Great online game for Pavlov's Dogs and Blood typing for those seeking to work in behavioural biology or the medical field

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On this page you'll find educational resources including animated games and easy to use Nobel Prize lessons for teachers to use in the classroom. Teachers and students are especially important to us. Many Nobel Prize laureates testify that a certain teacher challenged or encouraged them, and that the experience has been crucial to the choices they made in life. Through our educational efforts we want to assure many more student experience the feeling of a genuine aha-moment.

Some of our animated educational games are available to use again. We have been working hard to restore these ever since support for Flash Player was removed and hope even more will be available in the future.

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Educational Games These educational games, based on Nobel Prize-awarded achievements, will teach and inspire you while you're having fun! Nobel Prize lessons Nobel Prize Lessons are so easy to use, [...]

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Relaxed, yet stimulating learning to really help with engagement

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Wisemapping, Coggle, Bubbl.us, Mindomo, Popplet, SpiderScribe.
Could really help students summarise what they have learned

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For great ideas about using QR codes in school, have a look here:

10 Exciting QR Code Activities for Students | Teach Starter

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QR Code is a two-dimensional version of the barcode, typically made up of black and white pixel patterns. Denso Wave, a Japanese subsidiary of the Toyota supplier Denso, developed them for marking components in order to accelerate logistics processes for their automobile production. Now, it has found its way into mobile marketing with the widespread adoption of smartphones. "QR" stands for "Quick Response", which refers to the instant access to the information hidden in the Code.

Tell me more

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QR Code Generator | Create Your Free QR Codes

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QR Code is a two-dimensional version of the barcode, typically made up of black and white pixel patterns. Denso Wave, a Japanese subsidiary of the Toyota supplier Denso, developed them for marking components in order to accelerate logistics processes for their automobile production.

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General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Privacy Act 1988 (legislation.gov.au)

Australian Education Act 2013 (legislation.gov.au)

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International Comparative Legal Guides International Business Reports

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The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) ( Privacy Act), which includes the Australian Privacy Principles ( APPs), is the principal data protection legislation.
1.2 Is there any other general legislation that impacts data protection?
Yes, other general legislation that impacts data protection include the following:

Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (Cth) (DNCR Act) stipulates limitations with respect to unsolicited telephone calls;

Spam Act 2003 (Cth) (Spam Act) sets out rules with respect to commercial messages; and

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) contains provisions relating to compliance with the APPs in respect of information obtained under this Act.

There is also the following legislation at the state and territory level:
1.3 Is there any sector-specific legislation that impacts data protection?
Yes, there is sector-specific legislation impacting data protection, including those set out below.

For the telecommunications sector:

Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth); and

Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth).

For the health sector:

My Health Records Act 2012 (Cth);

Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010 (Cth);

Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW);

Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997 (ACT); and

For the banking, insurance and superannuation industries:

Prudential Standard CPS 231 (Outsourcing) and Prudential Standard SPS 231 (Outsourcing) (together, CPS 231); and

Prudential Standard CPS 234 (Information Security) (CPS 234),

which are issued by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority ( APRA) under:

Banking Act 1959 (Cth);

Insurance Act 1973 (Cth);

Life Insurance Act 1995 (Cth);

Private Health Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2015 (Cth); and

Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth).

In addition, the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) also applies to specific sectors covered by its consumer data right ( CDR) regime (further discussed under section 7 below).
1.4 What authority(ies) are responsible for data protection?
The main authorities include the following:

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is responsible for data protection under the Privacy Act.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is responsible for the protection of privacy in accordance with the DNCR Act and Spam Act.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the OAIC are responsible for administering the CDR regime pursuant to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).

The APRA is responsible for regulating powers in accordance with CPS 231 and CPS 234.

The Australian Attorney-General's Department has responsibilities and powers in connection with the privacy of data obtained pursuant to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth).

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has responsibilities and functions relating to compliance with the APPs in respect of information obtained under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth).

2.1 Please provide the key definitions used in the relevant legislation:
" Personal Data "

Terminology used in the Privacy Act is "personal information", which is defined to refer to information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:

1. whether the information or opinion is true or not; and

2. whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

" Processing "

"Processing" is not used in the Privacy Act. Rather, the terminology of "use" and "disclose" are used in the APPs. According to the Australian Privacy Principles Guidelines issued by the OAIC in July 2019 ( APP Guidelines):

An entity "uses" personal information when it handles and manages that information within the entity's effective control.

An entity "discloses" personal information when it makes it accessible or visible to others outside the entity and releases the subsequent handling of the personal information from its effective control.

" Controller "

"Controller" is not used in the Privacy Act. The relevant concept is phrased as "APP entity", which means an "agency" or "organisation".

An "organisation" is defined in the Privacy Act as:

an individual;

a body corporate;

a partnership;

any other unincorporated association; or

a trust,

that is not a small business operator, a registered political party, an agency, or an authority or prescribed instrumentality of a State or Territory.

An "agency" is set out as a defined list which includes, for instance, the following key agencies:

a Minister;

a Department;

a body (whether incorporated or not), or a tribunal, established or appointed for a public purpose by or under a Commonwealth enactment, not being:

an incorporated company, society or association; or

an organisation that is registered under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (Cth);

a body established or appointed by the Governor-General, or by a Minister;

a federal court; and

the Australian Federal Police.

" Processor "

"Processor" is not used in the Privacy Act. The relevant terminology is "APP entity", in relation to which please refer to the definition for "Controller" above.

" Data Subject "

The phrase "Data Subject" is not used in the Privacy Act. The Privacy Act protects the personal information of "individuals", which is defined to mean natural persons.

Additionally, the CDR regime (discussed further under section 7 below) includes provisions regarding the definition of a "CDR consumer" where a person is identifiable (or reasonably identifiable) from data relating to the person because of the supply of a good or service to the person or one of the person's associates. CDR consumers may be individuals or bodies corporate.

" Sensitive personal data "

"Sensitive information" is defined in the Privacy Act as:

1. personal information about an individual's:

1. racial or ethnic origin;

2. political opinions;

3. membership of a political association;

4. religious beliefs or affiliations;

5. philosophical beliefs;

6. membership of a professional or trade association;

7. membership of a trade union;

8. sexual orientation or practices; or

9. criminal record;

2. health information about an individual;

3. genetic information about an individual that is not otherwise health information;

4. biometric information that is to be used for the purpose of automated biometric verification or biometric identification; or

5. biometric templates.

" Data Breach "

Under s. 26WE(2) of the Privacy Act, there is an "eligible data breach" if:

1. there is unauthorised access to, or unauthorised disclosure of, personal information held by an entity (or loss of the information in circumstances where unauthorised access to or disclosure of the information is likely to occur); and

2. a reasonable person would conclude that the access, disclosure or loss is likely to result in serious harm to any of the individuals to whom the information relates.

Other key definitions

"Collects": An entity collects personal information only if the entity collects the personal information for inclusion in a record or generally available publication.

"De-identified": Personal information is de-identified if the information is no longer about an identifiable individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

"Holds": An entity holds personal information if the entity has possession or control of a record that contains the personal information.

"Record": The definition of a record includes a document or an electronic or other device but excludes items such as:

a generally available publication;

anything kept in a library, art gallery or museum for the purposes of reference, study or exhibition;

Commonwealth records in the open access period for the purposes of the Archives Act 1983 (Cth);

records in the care of the National Archives of Australia;

documents placed in the memorial collection of the Australian War Memorial; or

letters or other articles in the course of transmission by post.

See also other definitions in s. 6 of the Privacy Act.
3.1 Do the data protection laws apply to businesses established in other jurisdictions? If so, in what circumstances would a business established in another jurisdiction be subject to those laws?
Yes, the Privacy Act applies to businesses established in other jurisdictions provided that the APP entity or small business operator has an "Australian Link". An Australian Link arises under s. 5B(2) of the Privacy Act if an organisation or operator is:

1. an Australian citizen;

2. a person whose continued presence in Australia is not subject to a time limitation imposed by law;

3. a partnership formed in Australia or an external Territory;

4. a trust created in Australia or an external Territory;

5. a body corporate incorporated in Australia or an external Territory; or

6. an unincorporated association that has its central management and control in Australia or an external Territory.

If not described above, an organisation or small business operator may have an Australian Link under s. 5B(3) of the Privacy Act if:

1. the organisation or operator carries out business in Australia or an external Territory; and

2. the personal information was collected or held by the organisation or operator in Australia or an external Territory, either before or at the time of the act or practice.

4.1 What are the key principles that apply to the processing of personal data? Transparency
APP 1 is concerned with the use of personal information in an open and transparent manner. It imposes an obligation on APP entities to implement practices, procedures and systems to ensure the organisation is APP compliant.
Lawful basis for processing
Generally, the lawful basis for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information requires the information to be reasonably necessary for the entity's function(s) or activity(ies). APP 3.5 restricts APP entities to collect personal information only by lawful and fair means.
Purpose limitation
If an individual has consented to an entity's collection of the individual's personal information for a primary purpose, then the information should not be used for another purpose ( secondary purpose) save for a few exceptions, including where the individual would reasonably expect the entity to use or disclose the information for the secondary purpose. Such secondary purpose should:

be related to the primary purpose; and

in the case of sensitive information, be directly related to the primary purpose.

Data minimisation
APP 3 stipulates that personal information must not be collected unless it is reasonably necessary for:

or directly related to, one or more of an agency's functions or activities; or

one or more of an organisation's functions or activities.

Furthermore, APP 11 requires personal information to be destroyed/de-identified where an entity no longer requires the information for any purpose for which the information may be used or disclosed under the APPs.
Proportionality
Refer to data minimisation above. Additionally, under APP 10, an entity must take reasonable steps to ensure the personal information that is used and disclosed is accurate, up to date, complete and relevant.
Retention
Under APP 11.3, when the entity holds personal information and its purpose for use or disclosure no longer remains, the entity holding the personal information is subsequently required to destroy or de-identify the information.
Other key principles Dealing with unsolicited personal information
Under APP 4, if an APP entity receives unsolicited personal information, the entity must determine whether it could have solicited and collected the information under APP 3. If the entity determines that it could not have done so, then it should destroy or de-identify the information in accordance with APP 4.

See also further discussion of other principles in the answers below.
5.1 What are the key rights that individuals have in relation to the processing of their personal data? Right of access to data/copies of data
APP 12 provides an individual the right to access their data from an entity. It further stipulates timeframes in which an entity must respond to an individual's request to access their data. However, this is not applicable to information held by a government agency that is required or authorised by law not to disclose the information, or where an organisation reasonably believes that the disclosure of such information would be a serious threat to the health or safety of others, or would cause detriment to one's privacy.
Right to rectification of errors
APP 13 permits an individual to require an entity to correct their held personal information. APP 10 stipulates that personal information held, used, and disclosed by an entity should be complete, accurate and up to date.
Right to deletion/right to be forgotten
This power is limited in Australia. APP 11.3 requires an entity to take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify personal information if it no longer needs the personal information for any purpose for which the information may be used or disclosed under the APPs.
Right to object to processing
APP 2 provides that individuals must have the option of dealing anonymously or by pseudonym with an APP entity, unless the APP entity is otherwise required by law or it is impracticable for the APP entity to provide such option.

APP 5 stipulates that an individual must be informed of certain specified matters when their personal information is collected, including any main consequences for the individual if all or some of their personal information is not collected. Based on such notice, the individual may choose whether or not to have their personal information collected.
Right to restrict processing
The processing of personal information is restricted by APPs 3, 6, 7 and 8 as to the how and the purposes for which personal information is used and disclosed (including for any direct marketing or disclosure overseas). Otherwise, there is limited express rights by which an individual may directly restrict how their information is processed.
Right to data portability
APP 12 stipulates that an individual can request a copy of personal information held by an APP entity. Additionally, individuals can have their personal data transferred from one APP entity to another.
Right to withdraw consent
An individual has the right to withdraw their consent to the use of their personal information. Once an individual has withdrawn consent, an APP entity can no longer rely on that past consent for any future use or disclosure of the individual's personal information. Additionally, an individual should be advised of the potential ramifications associated with the withdrawal of their consent.
Right to object to marketing
APPs 7.2 and 7.3 stipulate that APP entities must provide individuals a simple method to request the APP entity to no longer send, and the individual to no longer receive, marketing communications.
Right protecting against solely automated decision-making and profiling
The Privacy Act does not contain an explicit right which protects an individual's personal information against automated decision-making and profiling. However, APP 6 may potentially restrict an APP entity's ability to undertake automated decision-making and profiling as it stipulates that if an individual has consented to the collection of their personal information for a primary purpose, then their personal information should not be used for another secondary purpose, unless an exception applies (see further details under the point regarding 'Purpose limitation' under section 4 above).
Right to complain to the relevant data protection authority(ies)
Individuals have the right to lodge privacy complaints with the OAIC if they are concerned that their personal information has been mishandled. They may also have the right to complain to external dispute resolution schemes that may help with privacy-related complaints with respect to, for instance, financial service providers, telecommunications providers, and electricity, gas or water providers in some States of Australia.
5.2 Please confirm whether data subjects have the right to mandate not-for-profit organisations to seek remedies on their behalf or seek collective redress.
Data subjects do not have the right to mandate, nor does the Privacy Act expressly allow not-for-profit organisations to seek remedies or on behalf of data subjects.

However, a representative complaint may be lodged on behalf of a class of people where all the class members were affected by an interference with privacy.
6.1 What additional obligations apply to the processing of children's personal data?
The Privacy Act does not stipulate an age after which an individual can make their own privacy decisions. However, an APP entity will need to establish (on a case-by-case basis) whether an individual under the age of 18 has the capacity to consent. As a general rule, an individual under the age of 18 has the capacity to consent when they have sufficient understanding and maturity to understand what is being proposed.

Alternatively, if it is not practical or reasonable for an APP entity to establish the capacity of an individual under the age of 18, the entity may presume:

that an individual 15 or over has the capacity to consent (unless something suggests otherwise); and

that an individual aged under 15 is does not have capacity to consent.

The APP Guidelines mentions that in some circumstances, it may be appropriate for a parent or guardian to consent on behalf of a young person, for example, if the child is young or lacks the maturity or understanding to do so themselves.
7.1 Is there a legal obligation on businesses to register with or notify the data protection authority (or any other governmental body) in respect of its processing activities?
Generally, there is no obligation under the Privacy Act to register with or notify data protection authorities such as the OAIC. As discussed further in section 16 below, certain obligations arise when specific data breaches occur.

On an industry-specific level, under CPS 231, APRA-regulated industries (including banking, insurance and superannuation) must notify APRA if they undertake outsourcing of a material business activity (including data processing activity), either as soon as possible after undertaking a domestic outsourcing activity, or prior to entering any off-shore outsourcing arrangement.

In addition, entities in industries covered by the CDR regime (with the first implementation being in the financial sector) also have accreditation obligations. The extent of an entity's obligations with respect to its processing activities falls under the accreditation requirements set out in the CDR scheme in Part IVD, Division 3 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).
7.2 If such registration/notification is needed, must it be specific (e.g., listing all processing activities, categories of data, etc.) or can it be general (e.g., providing a broad description of the relevant processing activities)?
In respect to CDR accreditation under the CDR scheme is in respect of the receipt and holding of CDR data.
7.3 On what basis are registrations/notifications made (e.g., per legal entity, per processing purpose, per data category, per system or database)?
With respect to CDR accreditations, these are made on a per legal entity basis.
7.4 Who must register with/notify the data protection authority (e.g., local legal entities, foreign legal entities subject to the relevant data protection legislation, representative or branch offices of foreign legal entities subject to the relevant data protection legislation)?
In industries covered by the CDR scheme (see details under question 18.2 below), the CDR accreditation requirement is mandatory for all entities that receive consumer-specific data, including foreign legal entities that are subject to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).
7.5 What information must be included in the registration/notification (e.g., details of the notifying entity, affected categories of individuals, affected categories of personal data, processing purposes)?
In respect to CDR, when applying for CDR accreditation, the applicant must state their address for service, the goods or services the applicant wishes to offer, ownership structure, number of employees, whether the applicant holds or intends to hold designated data and their intent for how they will use the data, other licences held, how the applicant manages CDR data, and whether the applicant is a fit and proper person.
7.6 What are the sanctions for failure to register/notify where required?
With respect to the CDR regime, if a person holds out a false accreditation for receiving and holding CDR data, the sanctions are:

for a body corporate, a maximum civil penalty amount being the greater of:

1. AU$10 million;

2. if the relevant court can determine the value of the benefit obtained from the contravention, three times the value of that benefit; or

3. if the court cannot determine the value of that benefit, 10% of the body corporate's annual turnover in the year preceding the contravention; or

for a person other than a body corporate, imprisonment of five years and/or a maximum civil penalty amount of AU$500,000.

7.7 What is the fee per registration/notification (if applicable)?
No fee is currently applicable.
7.8 How frequently must registrations/notifications be renewed (if applicable)?
This is not currently applicable in Australia.
7.9 Is any prior approval required from the data protection regulator?
In respect to the CDR regime, accreditation through the ACCC is a pre-requisite to receiving or holding CDR data.
7.10 Can the registration/notification be completed online?
Yes, registration for the CDR regime can be completed online.
7.11 Is there a publicly available list of completed registrations/notifications?
Yes. In respect to the CDR regime, under s. 56CE of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). At the time of writing, the public listing of accredited data recipients is available here: [Hyperlink]
7.12 How long does a typical registration/notification process take?
The process and time frame for relatively new CDR accreditation scheme have been developing and emerging gradually.
8.1 Is the appointment of a Data Protection Officer mandatory or optional? If the appointment of a Data Protection Officer is only mandatory in some circumstances, please identify those circumstances.
The appointment of a Data Protection Officer, which is commonly referred to as a "privacy officer" in Australia, is optional in general.

As part of the current review of the Privacy Act, the Australian Government issued a Privacy Act Review Issues Paper in October 2020, inviting submissions on matters for consideration in the review. In response to this, the OAIC made a submission on 11 December 2020 which included a recommendation to amend APP 1 to require entities to appoint a privacy officer(s) and ensure that privacy officer functions are undertaken.

In respect of government agencies, the Australian Information Commissioner has issued a Privacy (Australian Government Agencies - Governance) APP Code 2017 ( Government Agencies APP Code) which is binding on government agencies in Australia. This requires government agencies to have a designated privacy officer at all times as part of the requirements for complying with APP 1.2.
8.2 What are the sanctions for failing to appoint a Data Protection Officer where required?
No sanction is applicable in general.

With respect to government agencies, failure to appoint a privacy officer as required by the Government Agencies APP Code would be a breach of that Code, which is a contravention of APP 1.2 and also an interference with the privacy of an individual under clause 26A of the Privacy Act. Please see details of the sanctions under question 16.1 below.
8.3 Is the Data Protection Officer protected from disciplinary measures, or other employment consequences, in respect of his or her role as a Data Protection Officer?
Such protection is not applicable in Australia generally and not provided in the Government Agencies APP Code in respect of government agencies.
8.4 Can a business appoint a single Data Protection Officer to cover multiple entities?
There is no formal requirement regarding the appointment of a Data Protection Officer in general.

For government agencies, the Government Agencies APP Code provides that an agency may designate an officer as a privacy officer by reference to a position or role, including by reference to a position or role in another agency. This would permit a person in a specific position in a government agency to be designated as the privacy officer of multiple government agencies.
8.5 Please describe any specific qualifications for the Data Protection Officer required by law.
There is no qualification generally required by law in Australia.

In connection with government agencies, the OAIC published a Privacy Officer Toolkit in which it recommends a privacy officer to have:

an in-depth understanding of the Privacy Act and the Government Agencies APP Code, and the ability to translate these requirements into practice in the agency; and

an understanding of any other legislation that governs the way the agency handles personal information.

8.6 What are the responsibilities of the Data Protection Officer as required by law or best practice?
There is no general requirement by law on the responsibilities of the Data Protection Officer.

In relation to best/good practice:

The OAIC published a document entitled Privacy management framework: enabling compliance and encouraging good practice which provides steps the OAIC expects to be taken to meet compliance obligations under APP 1.2. In this document, the OAIC recommends a commitment to (i) appoint key roles and responsibilities for privacy management, including a senior member of staff with overall accountability for privacy, and (ii) have staff responsible for managing privacy, including a key privacy officer, who are responsible for handling internal and external privacy enquiries, complaints, and access and correction requests.

In the OAIC's submission dated 11 December 2020 in response to the Privacy Act Review Issues Paper (see further details under question 7.1 above), the OAIC describes a privacy officer as the first point of contact for privacy matters within an entity who is responsible for ensuring that day-to-day operational privacy activities are undertaken.

In respect of government agencies, the Government Agencies APP Code describes privacy officers as the primary point of contact for advice on privacy matters in a Government agency and requires Government agencies to ensure that the following privacy officer functions are carried out:

1. handling of internal and external privacy enquiries, privacy complaints, and requests for access to and correction of personal information;

2. maintaining a record of the agency's personal information holdings;

3. assisting with the preparation of privacy impact assessments;

4. maintaining the agency's register of privacy impact assessments; and

5. measuring and documenting the agency's performance against the privacy management plan at least annually.

8.7 Must the appointment of a Data Protection Officer be registered/notified to the relevant data protection authority(ies)?
This is not required in general.

For government agencies, the Government Agencies APP Code requires an agency to keep the OAIC notified in writing of the contact details for the agency's privacy officer, or if an agency has more than one privacy officer, for one of its privacy officers.
8.8 Must the Data Protection Officer be named in a public-facing privacy notice or equivalent document?
This is not required in Australia.

For reference in relation to this:

APP 5 requires an APP entity that collects personal information about an individual to, as is reasonable in the circumstances, provide notice to the individual (commonly referred to as "privacy notice") including of the identity and contact details of the APP entity or otherwise ensure that the individual is aware of such details.

APP 1 requires an APP entity to have a clearly expressed privacy policy which must contain information on how an individual may (i) access personal information about the individual that is held by the entity and seek the correction of such information, and (ii) complain about a breach of the APP and how the entity will deal with such a complaint. In connection with how these requirements may be met, the Guide to developing an APP privacy policy published by the OAIC mentions the example of setting out in a privacy policy the relevant contact details which may include the position of the contact person, a generic telephone number, the postal address and a generic email address. An APP entity is required to take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to make its privacy policy available. This is usually achieved by an APP entity making its privacy policy available on its website.

9.1 If a business appoints a processor to process personal data on its behalf, must the business enter into any form of agreement with that processor?
A business has an obligation to protect personal information under the Australian legal framework. As part of this obligation, the business is required to ensure that other entities to which it discloses personal information also comply with the relevant legal requirements. The business's obligations are more stringent for cross-border disclosure. It would be good practice for such obligations to be agreed in writing between the business and the data processor as a contractual arrangement.

For banking, insurance and superannuation industries, APRA-regulated entities are required by CPS 234 to evaluate the design of a data processor's information security controls that protects the entities' information assets. CPS 231 also sets out requirements for these entities' outsourcing of material business activities to be documented in a binding agreement.
9.2 If it is necessary to enter into an agreement, what are the formalities of that agreement (e.g., in writing, signed, etc.) and what issues must it address (e.g., only processing personal data in accordance with relevant instructions, keeping personal data secure, etc.)?
While it is not a legislative requirement to enter into an agreement, doing so would be good practice to address the type of personal information being processed, the purpose for its disclosure, the complaints handling process, compliance with the APPs and the implementation of a data breach response plan.

In respect of an APRA-regulated entity who outsources data processing for a material business activity, CPS 231 requires that the outsourcing arrangement must be contained in a written legally binding agreement signed by all parties before the outsourcing arrangement commences. CPS 231 sets out the minimum matters that must be addressed by the outsourcing agreement, including:

the scope of the arrangement and services to be supplied;

the form in which data is to be kept and clear provisions identifying ownership and control of data;

auditing and reporting provisions;

confidentiality, privacy and security of information;

offshoring arrangements (if any); and

an indemnity to the effect that any sub-contracting by a third-party service provider of the outsourced function will be the responsibility of the third-party service provider, including liability for any failure on the part of the sub-contractor.

10.1 Please describe any legislative restrictions on the sending of electronic direct marketing (e.g., for marketing by email or SMS, is there a requirement to obtain prior opt-in consent of the recipient?).
Under APP 7, an organisation is prohibited from using or disclosing personal information for the purpose of direct marketing. However, there are a number of exceptions to this prohibition. The following exceptions apply to personal information (not sensitive information):

the personal information has been directly collected from an individual in a manner reasonably expected to be used for direct marketing (APP 7.2); or

the personal information has been collected from a third party, or from an individual who would not reasonably expect their personal information to be used for direct marketing, and either the individual has consented to the direct marketing or it is impracticable to obtain that consent (APP 7.3); and

the organisation provides a simple means by which the individual may easily "opt out" of such direct marketing in each direct marketing communication and the individual has not so opted out.

Under the Spam Act, express or inferred consent is required for the sending of an electronic message (see section 16).
10.2 Are these restrictions only applicable to business-to-consumer marketing, or do they also apply in a business-to-business context?
APP 7.1 encompasses not only the regulation of personal information for direct marketing but also its "disclosure" for this purpose. Therefore, this would cover business-to-business contexts where one business transfers personal information it has collected to another, and that business conducts direct marketing.

Further, APPs 7.6 and 7.7 outline the requirements related to individuals requesting not to receive direct marketing communications, including situations where the use or disclosure of their personal information is "for the purpose of facilitating direct marketing by other organisations".
10.3 Please describe any legislative restrictions on the sending of marketing via other means (e.g., for marketing by telephone, a national opt-out register must be checked in advance; for marketing by post, there are no consent or opt-out requirements, etc.).
The DNCR Act prohibits unsolicited telemarketing calls and fax messages to numbers on the national Do Not Call Register, unless consent is obtained from the person or organisation being contacted.

The Spam Act prohibits the sending of unsolicited and non-consensual electronic messages. However, electronic messages by government bodies, political parties and charities may be exempt from this prohibition.
10.4 Do the restrictions noted above apply to marketing sent from other jurisdictions?
Under s. 7 of the Spam Act, the sending of commercial electronic messages with an "Australian Link" are regulated by the Spam Act. This includes messages that:

originate in Australia;

are sent by an individual or organisation who is physically present in Australia, or whose central management is in Australia, at the time of sending;

have been accessed by a computer, server or device located in Australia;

are connected to an account-holder that is present in Australia when the message is accessed; or

if unable to be delivered because the relevant electronic address does not exist, would have been reasonably likely to have been accessed using a computer, server or device located in Australia, had the address existed.

The DNCR Act covers telephone calls and fax messages sent to "an Australian number". This is defined as a number that is specified in the numbering scheme referred to in s. 454A of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) or in the numbering plan referred to in s. 455 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) which is for use in connection with the supply of carriage services to the public in Australia. S. 9 of the DNCR Act also expressly states that it extends to acts, omissions and matters outside Australia.
10.5 Is/are the relevant data protection authority(ies) active in enforcement of breaches of marketing restrictions?
Yes, the ACMA is the regulatory authority charged with enforcing the DNCR Act and Spam Act and it publishes actions it takes to enforce breaches of marketing restrictions covered by these Acts.

For instance, in March 2021, an e-marketing company was fined AU$310,000 for breaching the Spam Act and sending direct marketing emails without a functional unsubscribe facility. Separately, in January 2020, a telecommunication provider was fined over AU$150,000 for breaching the DNCR Act by making telemarketing calls to numbers on the Do Not Call Register without consent and not ending the calls when immediately asked.
10.6 Is it lawful to purchase marketing lists from third parties? If so, are there any best practice recommendations on using such lists?
A marketing list may be purchased from a third party. However, it must comply with APP 7.3. This requires that the organisation who purchases the marketing list from a third party ensures that the individuals on the list have consented to marketing or, where such consent is impractical to obtain, each communication provides the recipient with a simple means to opt out.

Under APP 7.6(e), individuals may also request to be advised of the source of their personal information used or disclosed in relation to the direct marketing.
10.7 What are the maximum penalties for sending marketing communications in breach of applicable restrictions?
The current maximum penalties as a result of court action for the infringement of the DNCR Act or the Spam Act, respectively, are AU$2.22 million per day for a body corporate and AU$444,000 per day for a person that is not a body corporate. Penalties under the DNCR Act and the Spam Act are civil rather than criminal penalties. The court may also make an order directing a person who has infringed the DNCR Act and/or the Spam Act to compensate a victim who has suffered loss or damage as a result of the relevant contraventions.
11.1 Please describe any legislative restrictions on the use of cookies (or similar technologies).
There is no specific legal regime that covers restrictions on the use of cookies. However, where the use of cookies rises to the level of enabling identification of an individual, it will be subject to the restrictions of the APPs. Under the APP regime, websites must have privacy policies that inform its users of all cookies that collect, process and share personal information.
11.2 Do the applicable restrictions (if any) distinguish between different types of cookies? If so, what are the relevant factors?
In theory, the APPs do not apply differently to different types of cookies. However, public guidance has been given by the OAIC regarding how their distinctive operations run and how individuals may subsequently change their browsing preferences in line with this.
11.3 To date, has/have the relevant data protection authority(ies) taken any enforcement action in relation to cookies?
The OAIC launched proceedings against Facebook Inc. in March 2020 in relation to the use and disclosure of personal information collected through the use of the "This is Your Digital Life" application. The primary judge granted the OAIC leave to serve Facebook Inc and Facebook Ireland overseas. This decision was appealed by Facebook and on 7 February 2022, the Full Federal Court of Australia delivered its judgment.

The judgment found that through its installation and/or management of cookies on devices of Australian users, Facebook was deemed to be carrying on business in Australia and therefore subject to Australian privacy law.

In turn, Facebook was found to be in breach of APP 6 and APP 11.1 by sharing the data obtained through the "This is Your Digital Life" application without the consent of users and without taking reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised disclosure of personal information.
11.4 What are the maximum penalties for breaches of applicable cookie restrictions?
There are no express legislative restrictions and penalties specifically on the use of cookies. Where the use of cookies rises to the level of enabling identification of an individual, restrictions of the APPs apply - please refer to question 16.4 with reference to penalties for data security breaches.
12.1 Please describe any restrictions on the transfer of personal data to other jurisdictions.
Transferring personal information to jurisdictions outside Australia is governed by APP 8. APP 8.1 stipulates that a foreign recipient of personal information must comply with the APPs. However, there are exceptions to this under APP 8.2:

1. it is reasonably believed that the recipient is subject to a law, or binding scheme, that bears overall substantial similarity to the APPs and the individual can take action to enforce such protections;

2. the entity has obtained the individual's consent to the foreign disclosure;

3. the foreign disclosure is required or authorised by Australian law;

4. a permitted general situation (such as to lessen or prevent serious health and safety risks, or to take appropriate action in relation to suspected serious misconduct) applies;

5. such disclosure is required by a Government agency under an agreement to which Australia is a party; or

6. the disclosure is by a Government agency and relates to foreign law enforcement activities.

For the banking, insurance and superannuation industries, CPS 231 requires APRA-regulated entities to notify the APRA prior to entering into any off-shore outsourcing arrangement of a material business activity (including data processing activity).
12.2 Please describe the mechanisms businesses typically utilise to transfer personal data abroad in compliance with applicable transfer restrictions (e.g., consent of the data subject, performance of a contract with the data subject, approved contractual clauses, compliance with legal obligations, etc.).
To transfer data abroad, the OAIC expects that enforceable contracts requiring compliance with the APPs are drawn up. Under s. 16C of the Privacy Act, the Australian entity is legally responsible for any breaches of the APPs by the recipient on the basis that they believe that the foreign recipient will be compliant with the APPs.
12.3 Do transfers of personal data to other jurisdictions require registration/notification or prior approval from the relevant data protection authority(ies)? Please describe which types of transfers require approval or notification, what those steps involve, and how long they typically take.
There are no registration requirements in relation to the transfer of personal data.
12.4 What guidance (if any) has/have the data protection authority(ies) issued following the decision of the Court of Justice of the EU in Schrems II (Case C‑311/18)?
In an official response to a Freedom of Information request, the OAIC answered the question of whether Australian businesses will be impacted by the Schrems II decision. The OAIC stated that the impact of the Schrems II decision on international data transfers is likely to be significant. The Schrems II decision calls into question the use of Standard Contractual Clauses as a transfer mechanism and urges companies to make assessments on a case-by-case basis to ensure the data is adequately protection from acquisition by public authorities.

The OAIC stated that this part of the decision may have implications for Australian businesses if EU companies or EU data protection authorities were to consider that data being transferred to Australia could be subject to an order by Australian public authorities. However, these considerations require further guidance from the EU and developments are being monitored by the OAIC.
12.5 What guidance (if any) has/have the data protection authority(ies) issued in relation to the European Commission's revised Standard Contractual Clauses published on 4 June 2021?
So far, there has been no official Australian data protection authority guidance issued in this regard. However, the OAIC had previously made a submission on 11 December 2020 in response to the Privacy Act Review Issues Paper issued by the Australian Government in October 2020.

In the OAIC's submission, it highlights the importance of entities to be able to satisfy themselves that the receiving entity is able to comply with the Standard Contract Clauses in a way which provides meaningful protections. The response indicates that entities should consider the broader legal frameworks and practices that the receiving country's privacy framework is subject to in order to make an assessment as to whether the implemented safeguards provide an equivalent standard of protection, particularly placing the onus on data controllers, exporters and importers.
13.1 What is the permitted scope of corporate whistle-blower hotlines (e.g., restrictions on the types of issues that may be reported, the persons who may submit a report, the persons whom a report may concern, etc.)?
The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ( Corporations Act) provides protections for whistle-blowers who report misconduct or an improper state of affairs or circumstances in relation to a regulated entity(ies) (including companies, banks, insurers, etc.) or its officer or employee. This includes a disclosure of information if the discloser has reasonable grounds to suspect that a regulated entity has contravened the Corporations Act, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth), the Banking Act 1959 (Cth), the Insurance Act 1973 (Cth) and other prescribed legislation. Whistle-blowers are protected by the Corporations Act from civil, criminal or administrative liability, contractual or other remedy, contractual termination or victimisation.

In order to be protected under the Corporations Act, the discloser must be an eligible whistle-blower, which includes an individual who is or has been an officer, employee, supplier or employee of a supplier (whether paid or unpaid) or associate of a regulated entity or a relative or dependant of any of these individuals.

An eligible whistle-blower is protected under the Corporations Act if disclosure is made to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ( ASIC), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, a prescribed Commonwealth authority or eligible recipients including an officer, senior manager, auditor, actuary or any other person authorised by the regulated entity to receive such disclosures, or to a legal practitioner for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or representation relating to such protection.

Since 1 January 2020, all public companies, large proprietary companies and corporate trustees of registrable superannuation entities have been required to have a whistle-blower policy and to make it available to officers and employees of the company.
13.2 Is anonymous reporting prohibited, strongly discouraged, or generally permitted? If it is prohibited or discouraged, how do businesses typically address this issue?
An eligible whistle-blower may choose to provide his or her name and contact details or report anonymously without affecting his or her eligibility for protection under the Corporations Act. With respect to anonymous reports, ASIC has noted that they will not be able to follow up with anonymous whistle-blowers for further information or steps to be taken.

Separately, the OAIC requires any person lodging a privacy complaint with them to provide his or her name and contact details as the OAIC cannot investigate an anonymous complaint.
14.1 Does the use of CCTV require separate registration/notification or prior approval from the relevant data protection authority(ies), and/or any specific form of public notice (e.g., a high-visibility sign)?
No; the use of CCTV does not require separate registration, notification or prior approval from data protection authorities. However, public sector agencies must advise individuals that their personal information is being collected, the purpose for which the information is being collected, the intended recipients of the information, whether the supply of the information is required by law or is voluntary, the ability to access and correct the information, and the agency's details.

Australian Government agencies and organisations with an annual turnover of more than AU$3 million, as well as some other organisations ( APP entities) must also comply with the APPs in relation to personal information, including notifying individuals that their image may be captured.

In addition, some industries, such as buses and taxis, operate under industry specific laws that regulate their use of CCTV. For instance, in the State of New South Wales, the operator of a bus or taxi service must ensure that signs are conspicuously placed within and on the outside of a bus or taxi advising persons that they may be under video surveillance.

There are also notice requirements in relation to employee surveillance. Please refer to the discussion under question 15.1 below for further information.
14.2 Are there limits on the purposes for which CCTV data may be used?
Yes, there are limits on the purposes for which CCTV data may be used.

For example, federal police, Commonwealth agencies and public sector agencies may only collect personal information if it is directly related to a function or activity of the agency.

These agencies, as well as APP entities, must not use the personal information for a purpose other than that for which it was collected, unless certain exemptions apply, such as the individual having consented to the use of the information.
15.1 What types of employee monitoring are permitted (if any), and in what circumstances?
The monitoring of employees is regulated at the state level. New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have specific legislation regulating workplace surveillance. The other States and the Northern Territory rely on general surveillance legislation.

In the State of New South Wales, for example, employees can be monitored by:

1. camera surveillance, which is surveillance by means of a camera that monitors or records visual images;

2. computer surveillance, which is surveillance by means of software or other equipment that monitors or records the information input or output, or other use, of a computer; and

3. tracking surveillance, which is surveillance by means of an electronic device to monitor or record geographical location or movement.

These types of employee monitoring can be used while the employee is at work for the employer. "At work" is defined as at a workplace of the employer (or a related corporation of the employer), regardless of whether the employee is actually performing work at the time, or at any other place while performing work for the employer (or a related corporation of the employer).

Surveillance of changing rooms and bathrooms is prohibited.
15.2 Is consent or notice required? Describe how employers typically obtain consent or provide notice.
Yes; consent or notice is generally required. The requirements for consent or notice differ per State.

In New South Wales, for example:

1. employees must be notified at least 14 days before the surveillance commences (or before a new employee commences work if they are due to commence within 14 days). This notice can be sent by email;

2. the notice must indicate the kind of surveillance to be carried out, how it will be carried out, when it will start, whether it will be continuous or intermittent, and whether it will be for a specified limited period or ongoing;

3. in relation to camera surveillance, signage must be erected that is clearly visible at each entrance notifying employees that they may be under surveillance;

4. in relation to computer surveillance, employees must be notified of the employer's policy on computer surveillance; and

5. in relation to tracking surveillance, a notice must be clearly visible on the vehicle indicating that the vehicle is the subject of tracking surveillance.

15.3 To what extent do works councils/trade unions/employee representatives need to be notified or consulted?
There is no requirement for works councils, trade unions or employee representatives to be notified or consulted.
15.4 Are employers entitled to process information on an employee's COVID-19 vaccination status?
The vaccination status of an individual is classified as "sensitive information" under the Privacy Act. Generally, an employer must first seek an employee's consent in order to collect information about an employee's vaccination status and the collection must be reasonably necessary for one or more of the employer's functions or activities, unless there is an applicable exception such as the collection being required or authorised by law or a court order.
16.1 Is there a general obligation to ensure the security of personal data? If so, which entities are responsible for ensuring that data are kept secure (e.g., controllers, processors, etc.)?
The Privacy Act does not distinguish between data controllers and data processors. All entities (to which the Privacy Act applies) are subject to the same obligations. The Privacy Act applies to Australian Government agencies and organisations with an annual turnover of more than AU$3 million, as well as some other organisations ( APP entities).

APP 11 requires all APP entities to take reasonable steps to protect personal information they hold from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
16.2 Is there a legal requirement to report data breaches to the relevant data protection authority(ies)? If so, describe what details must be reported, to whom, and within what timeframe. If no legal requirement exists, describe under what circumstances the relevant data protection authority(ies) expect(s) voluntary breach reporting.
Yes; the Privacy Act requires entities to give a notification if they have reasonable grounds to believe that an eligible data breach has happened, or it is directed to do so by the Commissioner.

If it is not clear whether the circumstances amount to an eligible data breach, the entity must carry out an assessment and take all reasonable steps to ensure that the assessment is completed within 30 days.

The entity must prepare a statement that sets out the identity and contact details of the entity, a description of the eligible data breach, the kinds of information concerned, and recommendations of the steps that individuals should take in response. The entity must give a copy of this statement to the Commissioner as soon as practicable.

For the banking, insurance and superannuation sector, CPS 234 requires APRA-regulated entities to notify APRA as soon as possible, and in any case no later than 72 hours after becoming aware of an information security incident. An APRA-regulated entity must also notify APRA as soon as possible, and in any case no later than 10 business days, after it becomes aware of a material information security control weakness which the entity expects it will not be able to remediate in a timely manner. An APRA-regulated entity includes an authorised deposit-taking institution, general insurer, life company, private health insurer and RSE licensee (as that term is defined in the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) with respect to registrable superannuation entities).

For actors in the infrastructure space, the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure Protection) Act 2022 ( SLACIP Act) introduces a new obligation for responsible entities to create and maintain a critical infrastructure risk management programme ( RMP). At a high level, the RMP will need to consider:

1. a process or system for identifying the operational context of each of its critical assets;

2. a principles-based risk identification process to identify risks to each of its critical assets;

3. a risk management process or system that includes, for each material risk, a process or system to consider the risk and minimise or eliminate the risk as far as it is reasonably practicable to do so; and

4. a process for reviewing the programme and keeping the programme up to date.

Moreover, entities will need to submit an annual report within 90 days of the end of the financial year, in the specified form, which includes a statement: as to whether the RMP was up to date at the end of the financial year; and on any hazard that had a significant impact, including details of the hazard, the effectiveness of the RMP, and any responsive variation of the RMP. This annual report must be approved by the relevant board, council or governing body of the entity, and failure to meet these obligations is an offence punishable by 150 civil penalty units (AU$33,300) for an individual or 750 penalty units (AU$166,500) for a body corporate.
16.3 Is there a legal requirement to report data breaches to affected data subjects? If so, describe what details must be reported, to whom, and within what timeframe. If no legal requirement exists, describe under what circumstances the relevant data protection authority(ies) expect(s) voluntary breach reporting.
Yes; the Privacy Act requires the entity, if practicable to do so, to take reasonable steps to notify the contents of the statement described above to each individual to whom the information relates or who are at risk from the eligible date breach. If not, then the entity must publish a copy of the statement on the entity's website (if any) and take reasonable steps to publicise the contents of the statement. The entity must do so as soon as practicable after completing the statement.
16.4 What are the maximum penalties for data security breaches?
The maximum penalty for data security breaches under the Privacy Act is currently AU$2.22 million for a body corporate. However, please refer to question 19.2 for a prospective look at the proposed increase in penalties.
17.1 Describe the enforcement powers of the data protection authority(ies).

1. Investigative Powers: An investigation may be commenced by the OAIC into a suspected or alleged interference with privacy, either on receipt of a complaint or as a Commissioner-initiated investigation (s. 36). The OAIC is able to investigate this if certain conditions are satisfied (s. 40 of the Privacy Act) and the complaint is not declined under s. 41 or referred to an alternative complaint body under s. 50.

2. Corrective Powers: Enforcement powers include powers to accept an enforceable undertaking and bring proceedings to enforce the same (s. 80V); make a determination (s. 52); bring proceedings to enforce a determination (ss 55A and 62); report to the Minister in certain circumstances following a CII, monitoring activity or assessment (ss 30 and 32); seek an injunction including before, during or after an investigation or the exercise of another regulatory power (s. 80W); and apply to the court for a civil penalty order for a breach of a civil penalty provision (s. 80U).

3. Authorisation and Advisory Powers:Privacy regulatory powers that permit the OAIC to work with an entity to facilitate compliance with privacy legal obligations and best practice privacy practice, including powers to request an entity, group of entities, body or association to develop an APP code, or the Credit Reporting (CR) code (being a written code of practice about credit reporting), and apply to the Commissioner for the code to be registered, or for the Commissioner to develop the code and register it (ss 26E(2), 26G, 26P(1) and 26R); direct an agency (but not an organisation) to give the Commissioner a privacy impact assessment (PIA) (s 33D); monitor, or conduct an assessment of, whether personal information is being maintained and handled by an entity as required by law (ss 28A and 33C); and direct a regulated entity to notify individuals at risk of serious harm, as well as the Commissioner, about an eligible data breach under Part IIIC of the Privacy Act (s 26WR).

4. Imposition of administrative fines for infringements of specified GDPR provisions:This is not applicable in the Australian law context.

5. Non-compliance with a data protection authority: Please refer to the paragraphs above.

17.2 Does the data protection authority have the power to issue a ban on a particular processing activity? If so, does such a ban require a court order?
As processing activities do not generally require registration, they would not be banned unless they are in breach of applicable legislative requirements. The OAIC has the powers discussed under question 16.1 above in respect of processing activities regulated by the Privacy Act. See also further details in the last bullet point under question 5.1 above.

For an APRA-regulated institution, if in APRA's view, an offshoring agreement (including an offshoring agreement for the processing of data) involves risks that the APRA regulated institution is not managing appropriately, APRA may require the APRA-regulated institution to make other arrangements for the outsourced activity as soon as practicable. Where the processing activity is also a material business function and outsourced, the APRA has regulatory powers to enforce and ensure any data processing activity is done in accordance with CPS 231.
17.3 Describe the data protection authority's approach to exercising those powers, with examples of recent cases.
The OAIC has used its powers to approve legally binding guidelines with respect to the guidelines issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Another example involves a superannuation fund in 2018 that was found by the OAIC to have unlawfully disclosed personal information of its members to third parties, ultimately ordering the superannuation fund to apologise.

Furthermore, in mid-2019, the OAIC accepted an undertaking for a company that was connected to Federal Parliament to use the information collected in relation to Parliament and subsequently contact those persons without their consent.
17.4 Does the data protection authority ever exercise its powers against businesses established in other jurisdictions? If so, how is this enforced?
The OAIC can take, and has taken, action on foreign organisations. An example of this occurred in 2016, where the OAIC had obtained an enforceable undertaking from a Canadian-based media company due to discomfort expressed with the security of personal information collected, as well as compliance reporting, monitoring and enforcement.

A more recent example can be found in the proceedings brought by the OAIC against Facebook Inc in March 2020 ( Facebook Inc v Australian Information Commissioner [2022] FCAFC 9) in relation to the use and disclosure of personal information collected through the use of "This is Your Digital Life" application. See question 11.3 for more detail on this case.
18.1 How do businesses typically respond to foreign e-discovery requests, or requests for disclosure from foreign law enforcement agencies?
Businesses are required to comply with APP 6 for any disclosure of personal information and APP 8 for cross-border disclosure of personal information. Under APP 8.1, businesses must take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that the foreign recipient complies with the APPs (other than APP 1) in relation to the information.

APP 8.1 does not apply to the disclosure of personal information about an individual by an APP entity to the overseas recipient if:

1. the entity reasonably believes that:

1. the recipient of the information is subject to a law, or binding scheme, that has the effect of protecting the information in a way that, overall, is at least substantially similar to the way in which the APPs protect the information; and

2. there are mechanisms that the individual can access to take action to enforce that protection of the law or binding scheme; or

2. the APP entity expressly informs the individual that if he or she consents to the disclosure of the information, subclause 8.1 will not apply to the disclosure; and after being so informed, the individual consents to the disclosure.

Separately and for reference, APP 8.2 provides for an exception to permit cross-border disclosure of personal information required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order but this exception does not extend to foreign law enforcement agencies.
18.2 What guidance has/have the data protection authority(ies) issued?
As part of the APP Guidelines, the OAIC has provided some guidance to businesses relating to disclosure to foreign law enforcement agencies in connection with APP 8.

For APP 8.2(a), the APP Guidelines mention that an overseas recipient may not be subject to a law or binding scheme where, for example:

the overseas recipient is exempt from complying, or is authorised to not comply, with part, or all of the privacy or data protection law in the jurisdiction; or

the recipient can opt out of the binding scheme without notice and without returning or destroying the personal information.

For APP 8.1(b), the APP Guidelines set out that the APP entity should provide the individual with a clear written or oral statement explaining the potential consequences of providing consent to the cross-border disclosure.
19.1 What enforcement trends have emerged during the previous 12 months? Describe any relevant case law or recent enforcement actions.
Stakeholders in the data space have taken note of a renewed interest in the use of director duties as a tool to hold accountable those at the highest level who fail to practise and implement proper cybersecurity measures. In 2015, Australian Securities Investment Commission ( ASIC) confirmed its stance in its Cyber Resilience: Health Check report, that cybersecurity falls squarely within a director's duties. Increasingly since, directors will need to ensure their own company has appropriate privacy and cybersecurity risk management and measures in place. Under section 180 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ( Corporations Act), directors are required to exercise their powers with a degree of care and diligence expected of a person in their position, including considering all foreseeable risks of harm to a corporation. In the current age of well-publicised, sophisticated cyber threats, the bar for such harm materialising is increasingly low and the recent decision of ASIC v RI Advice Group Pty Ltd demonstrates ASIC's renewed concern to drive the issue home. In this instance, ASIC instigated proceedings against an Australian Financial Service ( AFS) licence holder on the basis that it failed to appropriately manage its cyber security risks. ASIC alleged that the AFS licence holder was subject to a "brute force" attack whereby a malicious user successfully gained remote access to the AFS licensee's server, which contained sensitive client information. ASIC made use of historical forensic cybersecurity reports which raised significant gaps in the company's cybersecurity systems before the incident occurred, which may indicate a failure to remedy a known risk (and thus poor, if any, risk management). The Court agreed with ASIC's assertions, finding that the AFS licence holder failed to have adequate risk management systems in contravention of s. 912A(1)(h) of the Corporations Act. In consequence, the Court ordered the AFS licence holder to engage cybersecurity experts (as agreed between itself and ASIC) to identify what, if any, further documentation and controls in respect of cybersecurity and cyber resilience is necessary for the AFS licence holder to adequately manage any risks. The AFS licence holder was also ordered to pay ASIC's costs of the proceedings, being AU$750,000. Moving forward, Australian directors should take note of such developments and are encouraged to meet their obligations by having the board enquire as to and oversee their company's cybersecurity risk management framework and the measures in place. Beginning a dialogue in the board room about a company's cybersecurity is an effective way to address cyber risk management from the highest level.

In the past 12 months, enforcement actions against entities who systemically and repeatedly breach legislative instruments that protect customer and public data have been on the rise. The self-reporting of breaches is no longer a "get out of jail free" card. For instance, telecommunications giant Telstra received a AU$2.53 million fine from the ACMA in December 2021 for repeated breaches of the Spam Act 2003 (Cth), the Telecommunications Act 1998 (Cth) and the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth). Although Telstra had self-reported its breaches, the ACMA found Telstra had engaged in conduct that breached its obligations as a provider of telecommunications services, which in turn could threaten its customers' privacy as well as public safety. In particular, the ACMA held that Telstra breached the legislations by not correctly designating approximately 50,000 individuals' telephone numbers as being unlisted (or "silent") on the Integrated Public Number Database ( IPND) and not correctly updating personal details on the IPND for approximately 65,000 individuals. These errors and inaction resulted in the potential to adversely impact the privacy and safety of those affected customers. Although self-reporting can assist an entity in reducing the amount of any monetary penalty, it appears that Australian regulators may be becoming less willing to lend a sympathetic ear where has been a gross or repeated mishandling of data.
19.2 What "hot topics" are currently a focus for the data protection regulator?
A big hot topic in this space is the proposed amendments to the Privacy Act. Between 2017 and 2019, the ACCC conducted the Digital Platforms Inquiry, which pulled the curtain on the effect that search engines, content aggregation platforms and social media platforms have on competition and user privacy. To date, the Australian Government has been pushing ahead with a suite of proposed amendments to the Privacy Act as a result of the Digital Platform Inquiry. Among other proposed changes, penalties and means of enforcement for breaches under the Privacy Act are set to increase as follows:

1. (already flagged as a definite) an increase to the maximum penalties that can be awarded by the court and payable by entities subject to the Privacy Act up to the greater of:

1. AU$10 million for serious or repeated breaches (up from AU$2.1 million);

2. three times the value of any benefit obtained through the breach and misuse of personal information; or

3. 10% of the entity's annual domestic turnover; and

2. giving the OAIC the power to issue infringement notices of up to AU$63,000 for body corporates and AU$12,600 for individuals (currently it needs to go to court to impose any fines).

Another hot topic which has been on the data protection regulators' radar is the rise in data graveyards, including in relation to the redundant holding of sensitive information in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The OAIC and state and territory privacy commissioners and ombudsmen have published a set of " National COVID-19 Privacy Principles " in September 2021, which mention that "the Australian community expects that the information they provide to support the COVID-19 public health response will not be retained indefinitely and should be deleted as soon as it is no longer needed". The stockpiling of unused data for no applicable purpose is not just poor data hygiene but a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles. APP 3 limits the collection of personal information to circumstances where it is reasonably necessary to carry out an entity's functions or activities. Moreover, APP 11 denotes that an entity must take active steps to ensure that personal information no longer required (for the notified purpose) is deleted or de-identified. Organisations should take care to destroy any personal information it collected with respect to COVID-19 once it is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected.

Exciting developments are also occurring in the infrastructure space, with the passing of the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure Protection) Act 2022 ( SLACIP Act) on 31 March 2022 and its commencement on 2 April 2022. The passing of the SLACIP Act would constitute the second tranche of the Security of Critical Infrastructure laws ( SOCI Laws). The SLACIP Act introduces a new obligation for responsible entities to create and maintain a critical infrastructure risk management programme. It also introduces a new framework for enhanced cyber security obligations required of operators of Australia's most important critical infrastructure assets - systems of national significance.

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Data Protection Laws and Regulations Report 2022-2023 Australia

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The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) ( Privacy Act), which includes the Australian Privacy Principles ( APPs), is the principal data protection legislation. 1.2 Is there any other general legislation that impacts data protection?

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Great resource, particularly for the younger years, incorporates positive behaviour for learning. Also many opportunities for collaboration, particularly in US. Quest marketplace great for sharing resources and can be tailored for your own classes.

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Linoit, Padlet, or Stormboard.
Useful for storing information about a research topic

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A solar cell is an electronic device which directly converts sunlight into electricity. Light shining on the solar cell produces both a current and a voltage to generate electric power. This process requires firstly, a material in which the absorption of light raises an electron to a higher energy state, and secondly, the movement of this higher energy electron from the solar cell into an external circuit. The electron then dissipates its energy in the external circuit and returns to the solar cell. A variety of materials and processes can potentially satisfy the requirements for photovoltaic energy conversion, but in practice nearly all photovoltaic energy conversion uses semiconductor materials in the form of a p-n junction.

The basic steps in the operation of a solar cell are:

the generation of light-generated carriers;

the collection of the light-generated carries to generate a current;

the generation of a large voltage across the solar cell; and

the dissipation of power in the load and in parasitic resistances.

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A solar cell is an electronic device which directly converts sunlight into electricity. Light shining on the solar cell produces both a current and a voltage to generate electric power. This process requires firstly, a material in which the absorption of light raises an electron to a higher energy state, and secondly, the movement of this higher energy electron from the solar cell into an external circuit.

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Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority

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Young Queenslanders in the 21 st century need to be:

innovators

entrepreneurs

lifelong learners

responsible global citizens.

QCAA General syllabuses are underpinned by the skills students need in the 21 st century:

critical thinking

creative thinking

communication

collaboration and teamwork

personal and social skills

ICT skills.

Resources

The following written resources are provided to strengthen understanding about the skills students require in the 21st century:

The following videos explore the idea of the skills students require in the 21st century:

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Young Queenslanders in the 21 st century need to be: innovators entrepreneurs lifelong learners responsible global citizens. QCAA General syllabuses are underpinned by the skills students need in the 21 st century: critical thinking creative thinking communication collaboration and teamwork personal and social skills ICT skills.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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Here are some platforms where you can start your wiki for free. They are among the best available for teachers :

1- Wikispaces :
This is a free wiki host providing community wiki spaces, visual page editing, and discussion areas. It is my favourite platform and it is the first one I would recommend you try for your class.

2- PBworks
This is another great wiki hosting platform that lets anyone sign up and create a new wiki but the free version is ad-supported.

Examples of Educational Wikis

1- How to Build an Educational Wiki

Webliography
Exemplary Classroom Wikispaces
Tips for Teaching Wikis
The Way of The Wiki
Cybrary Man Wiki Resources
Wikis Connecting Education
10 Best Practices for Using Wikis in Education
17 Interesting Ways to Use a Wiki in The Classroom
50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom

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Teachers Guide on The Use of Wikis in Education

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Here are some platforms where you can start your wiki for free. They are among the best available for teachers : 1- Wikispaces : This is a free wiki host providing community wiki spaces, visual page editing, and discussion areas. It is my favourite platform and it is the first one I would recommend you try for your class.

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You just need 2 buttons- edit and save

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d atchison is a member of Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.