Survey shows digital woes for teachers
Teachers want more training, better technology and more support to take full advantage of the digital revolution sweeping through the education sector, a survey has found.
Conducted by education.au, a national agency set up to support the integration of technology in teaching, found most teachers were internet savvy and locked into the latest technology but that more investment was needed to transform classrooms for the 21st century.
The survey quizzed more than 1,100 educators, including teachers, tutors and principals and found that while 79 per cent said the internet was an essential part of their work only 36 per cent considered themselves proficient and confident.
An even smaller group (27 per cent) believed the internet was transforming the way they engaged their students within and beyond the classroom.
Educators cited a range of barriers to using online technologies including poor infrastructure and bandwidth, limited access to computers, limited confidence or expertise in computer technology and the increased blocking and filtering of internet content.
Education.au chief executive Greg Black said the survey showed the willingness of many teachers to embrace new technologies to enhance their teaching and professional development.
But he said it also revealed issues blocking the pathway to the future, including fears about cyberbullying and data security and an old fashioned reluctance in some sectors to allow students to use what was seen as fun technology, including mobile phones.
“Of course we need levels of protection, but we’ve got a generation of kids who are saying that they actually have to power down when they go to school,” Mr Black said.
“My fear is not only that we’re putting kids off learning, but we’ll start to make governments question whether or not it’s worth all the investment they’re putting into the digital education revolution.”
World Youth Day, 15 July
This is another one of those internationally significant days that you will find on edna’s Australian Schools Calendar.
World Youth Day is part of the Catholic Church’s week of events for youth and with youth. It gathers thousands of young people from around the world to celebrate and learn about the Catholic faith and to build bridges of friendship and hope between continents, peoples and cultures.
This year’s World Youth Day (WYD08) is the largest youth event in the world and will be held in Sydney from Tuesday 15 to Sunday 20 July 2008. WYD08 will be the largest event Australia has ever hosted. It will attract over 125,000 international visitors - more than the 2000 Olympics. WYD08 will mark the first visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Australia.
Events will occur from Tuesday 15 July until Sunday 20 July, with Pope Benedict arriving Thursday 17 July. There is a very full week of events, involving schools and host families right across Sydney. For many the highlight will be the Evening Vigil with the Pope and sleep out under the stars at Southern Cross Precinct (Randwick Racecourse and Centennial Park) on Saturday night.
More than 165 outside concerts will take place during the week, and people from Sydney and regional centres have been organised into supporting the event as “pilgrim guides”.
The pilgrims will come from all over Australia and overseas, and at least half a million pilgrims are expected. The statistics for catering and accommodation are amazing.
With only one week to go on July 7, the “Olympic Torch” of World Youth Day reached Parramatta on its way through Sydney to the WYD08 Opening Mass. A 3.8 metre Cross, accompanied by an Icon of Our Lady and an Indigenous Message Stick, has been travelling through greater Sydney since 1 July.