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Computers for Teachers

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25,000th laptop

25,000th laptop delivered

A Pimlico State High School teacher received the 25,000th laptop as part of Smart Classrooms’ $70 million Computers for Teachers program.

Marking the start of the school year, Education and Training Minister Rod Welford this month dropped into Townsville making the special presentation to Year 8 teacher Christy Guinea.

Second phase underway

The Computers for Teachers initiative is now in its second phase, delivering another 11,105 laptop computers to teachers over the next 6 months. A total of 27, 193 laptops have now been delivered to 1025 Queensland state schools.

Not yet involved in the Computers for Teachers project? Prepare for the rollout in advance.

The Computers for Teachers web community is now available.

Overview

Every teacher within Queensland with a permanent teaching load of 0.4 full time equivalent (FTE) will be provided with a laptop computer as a tool of trade. TAFE teachers will also be provided with laptop computers.

The benefits of providing teachers with laptop computers were proven last year through the Computers for Teachers Trial (new window) 295k . Results indicated that exclusive access by teachers to laptop computers led to enhanced teaching practices and student learning.

The roll out of computers will be staged and integrated with the deployment of the Smart Classrooms Managed Operating Environment (MOE V2.0). Schools will need to have MOE V2.0 installed before their teachers receive the computers.

Schools will be provided with a basic wireless networking infrastructure, which they can choose to expand.

The Lenovo/IBM R61 14 " ThinkPad was selected as the preferred model for the initial rollout.

Access to professional development

An integrated program of professional development and training, involving a blend of online and face-to-face learning, will be provided.

The professional development and training involves two packages:

My Discovery Pack will help teachers use the ICT initiatives being rolled out. It will also prepare teachers to apply for the ICT Certificate
My Digital Pedagogy Pack, currently under construction, will help teachers embed ICT into teaching and learning. It will also prepare them to apply for the ICT Pedagogical Licence.

Undertaking these packages will help teachers:

enhance their digital literacy
engage the current digital generation of students
personalise learning
spark innovation in learning.

Timeline of key aspects

Date	Key aspect
July 2007	Phase 1 roll out starts
July 2008	Phase 2 roll out starts
July 2009	Phase 3 roll out starts
July 2010	Phase 4 roll out starts

Government supports future generations

The more the merrier, with ICT Pedagogical Licence submissions

The Federal Government has further demonstrated its commitment to 21st century learning by delivering Round Two of the National Secondary School Computer Fund Initiative.

Visiting Caboolture State High School, Deputy Prime Minster Julia Gillard announced that Australian schools are set to receive a $141 million computer package.

Part of the Digital Education Revolution, this round will see more than
141, 600 new computers delivered to Catholic and independent secondary schools across the country.

A total of 363 schools in Queensland will benefit from the project in this round.

The project, costing a total of $2 billion over six years, also includes more than $300,000 for 26 schools in flexible funding for students with disability.

Since the initiative’s launch, the Rudd Government has approved funding for almost 260,000 new computers in state, Catholic and independent secondary schools across the country.

As previously announced, the Government will cover legitimates costs to install and maintain the new computers purchased through the National Secondary School Computer Fund.

It also provides for online curriculum material, professional development for teachers and development for web portals for parents.

At the conclusion of Round Two, including the supplementary process, all schools in Australia will have been given the opportunity to obtain funds to reach the target ratio of 1:2 computers to students.

For more information on the National Secondary Schools Computer Fund see the Digital Education Revolution website.