Group+B


 * __These are the key issues that came out of our group brainstorming session.__**

Access problems. – not enough computer rooms. Difficult to book. Students use up all of their computer credit playing games, etc so can’t always work. Time to learn and to convince other people it is all worthwhile. General increase in demands on teachers – what do we drop in order to give ourselves the time to do this properly? Students having more knowledge than their teachers a concern for some. Some negativity from older, more experienced teachers who are reluctant to try new things. Curriculum full, so fitting Web 2.0 stuff in can be hard. Hardware and software access issues. Network issues too. How do we embed this in our curriculum rather than having it as an ‘add on’. Students themselves can be a barrier – finding things they are passionate about. We need to follow government reporting guidelines as well as fitting this in. Concerns about the amount of time being used to set up for the Netbooks when it may only be for one or two years. Hardware issues – battery life, etc means that not all students do have access all of the time. Challenges in managing this. Expenses associated with internet use, downloads etc a challenge for schools. Some reluctance from teachers who are retiring in the next few years and see little point in spending a lot of time changing now. Network issues make ability to use technology difficult. Need to teach staff that it’s not about working harder but working smarter. Challenge in getting staff to think this way. Challenges with testing data (NAPLAN etc) being used to rate schools and their success. This will be a focus for schools. Lack of support from central administration, for example, with resources like wireless networks, charging stations etc. A need to educate students to follow processes, such as bringing their laptops to school already charged. Getting whole staff on board a must. Often seen as just a grade 5, 6, or year 7 issue. Lack of support for program beyond the trial period. Particularly a problem for schools in lower socio-economic demographics. Finding sites very time consuming. Issues with sites being blocked. Often made the experience frustrating. A need for more PD to educate staff. Turnaround for problems being fixed can be an issue. Taking weeks at the moment. Time to play with the technology to become comfortable enough with it to be able to use it as a ‘normal’ part of teaching.