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School ICT Index

Overview

The School ICT Index provides schools with a future-orientated framework that can guide them towards best practice in using ICT for school improvement.

It identifies standard measures that are being used to track the integration of ICT into learning in a way that meets student, school and community needs now, and in the future.

The index is designed around the four ICT drivers. The index will help state schools plan, measure and report on their progress in realising the goal of Smart Classrooms: to make ICT integral to learning.

The exponential growth in the use of ICT in all aspects of our society is not waning. The index can accommodate the future introduction of ICT infrastructure and measures that are not currently available.

Individual schools can use their annual School ICT Index Reports in the development of their subsequent School ICT Plans.

To find out more, explore this webpage and the School ICT Index information sheet. (new window) 1006k

What the School ICT Index offers schools

Through the School ICT Index, schools can identify and plan their attainment of the Department's benchmarks for making ICT integral to learning.

By using the index, they can evaluate their practices to locate the current position of their ICT journeys on the Department's preferred pathway. This will enable all schools to decide on the best strategies to move forward.

The aim is to help schools ensure their ICT infrastructure and the ICT knowledge, skills and abilities of their teachers meet their current and future needs.

Rather than being solely about ICT, the index encourages schools to review their planning to embrace 21st century teaching and learning.

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The School ICT Index levels

A level	Schools focus on developing the use of ICT by teachers, their access to ICT professional development, and the support and infrastructure needed to nurture an environment conducive to making ICT integral to learning.
AA level	Schools broaden their focus to consider utilisation across a wider school environment.
AAA level	Schools introduce a wider community focus to their planning, helping them deliver access to their information and learning 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Schools need to achieve every A target measure before attaining planning level A. Similarly, schools need to achieve every AA or AAA target measure before being categorised at these levels.

How the levels are calculated

Responses to the annual School ICT Census and other school surveys are used to determine each school's progress towards the planning levels.

What is measured between levels is similar. Frequently, only the percentages are different. This raises the bar so schools continually plan and innovate to make ICT integral to learning as time transpires and new technologies become increasingly pervasive.

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Main objective

The main objective of the School ICT Index is to provide a planning framework that enables schools to measure and report on their progress towards integrating ICT into teaching and learning.

Achievement of the objective

The objective is attained by:

identification of the selected target measures for use in each of the four drivers constituting the index
establishment of the benchmark levels for each of the target measures
aggregation of data from sources such as the School ICT Census and School Opinion Surveys
distribution of individual School ICT Index Reports.