Digital Education Revolution
Encyclopedia
The Digital Education Revolution (DER) is an Australian Government funded educational reform program that was promised by Former Prime Minister of Australia
Kevin Rudd
during the launch of his 2007 Australian federal election campaign in Brisbane
. It was officially launched in late 2008, with the first deployments announced by then Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
and Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard
and then New South Wales Minister for Education and Training, Verity Firth
. The first deployment took place at Fairvale High School
in August that year.
2.4 billion over seven years to:
rejected an offer for extra funding from the Commonwealth Government. The State Government requested additional funds to cover servicing, technical support, upgraded power supplies, software licensing, security and teacher training associated with installing the computers. After failing to secure assistance, the State Government then requested an extension to the 9 October deadline, for applications in the second round of funding. After being denied an extension, the State Government said it had been forced to refuse the offer until the extent of its financial crisis was clarified in the 2008 mini-budget.
The Director-General for Education, Michael Coutts-Trotter, told The Sydney Morning Herald
: "We can't commit at this stage until we can be sure the full cost of implementing the computers can be met. But we are enthusiastic about the program and as soon as the funding is sorted out, we will apply in the third round." The Minister for Education and Training Verity Firth said she expected the State Government to resolve the funding issue ahead of the second round of funding. "NSW can't commit to any infrastructure ahead of the mini-budget," said Firth, "It would be unfair to schools and students to seek new computers only to find that there was insufficient funding for their operating costs from the federal Government" .
In November 2008, after negotiations with the Commonwealth Government at the Council of Australian Governments
(COAG), then Premier of New South Wales Nathan Rees
and the Government of New South Wales secured A$807 million to provide every year 9-12 public high school student with a laptop. The laptops, loaded with A$5,500 worth of programs from the latest Microsoft Office Suite
and Adobe Suite
, are provided by computer company, Lenovo under a four-year contract secured by the state government.
On 26 August 2009 the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard and New South Wales Minister for Education and Training, Verity Firth announced the delivery of the first laptops to secondary schools in New South Wales
. Gillard and Firth visited a Year 9 class at Fairvale High School in Sydney’s west to witness the integration of laptops into the lesson.
In February 2010, the Queensland
Department of Education and Training chief information officer David O'Hagan said that there was a possibility the iPad
could complement laptops used in public high schools in Queensland, "When it [the iPad] becomes available in Australia, the [Queensland] Department of Education and Training will conduct an evaluation to determine its suitability for teaching and learning as well as network compatibility, schools eligible for computers under the federal government's National Secondary School Computer Fund also use this central purchasing arrangement to buy desktop and laptop computers." he said. Apple is a member of the panel of computer suppliers for Queensland state (public) schools (primary and secondary).
, Adobe LiveCycle ES2
, Microsoft Office 2010, and Microsoft Forefront
. In June 2010 a recall of laptop cases was issued after it was found that there was a flaw in the design of the case when several students reported that their screens had cracks. The New South Wales Department of Education and Training's Chief Information Officer
Stephen Wilson said that the filtering system on the laptops is impervious and no student will be able to break through the system. "Our internet filtering is unbreakable. We have a huge proxy array that does all the filtering. We've just brought that in-house and the reason we have done that is we want much tighter control over it, every internet site that's known is actually categorised. If it isn't known, it's blocked. If you go to a site and it's not categorised you can't get to it," said Wilson.
In 2010, the Rudd Government
was again criticised for being too slow to deliver after it was confirmed that "none of the A$100 million budgeted to bring high-speed broadband to schools had been spent". Rudd blamed the delay in delivering broadband to schools on the global financial crisis
, "In dealing with the challenges of the global recession, obviously some changes had to be made because of the impact on government finances," he told Channel 10
, "I accept that and take full responsibility for it."
In August that same year, only 220,000 of the 1 million promised laptops had been delivered. Further setbacks were due in part because of the government's focus on the A$43 billion National Broadband Network
.
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
during the launch of his 2007 Australian federal election campaign in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. It was officially launched in late 2008, with the first deployments announced by then Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. The Deputy Prime Ministership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1968, and the Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime...
and Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
and then New South Wales Minister for Education and Training, Verity Firth
Verity Firth
Verity Helen Firth is the Chief Executive Officer of the Public Education Foundation in Australia and a former politician....
. The first deployment took place at Fairvale High School
Fairvale High School
Fairvale High School is a comprehensive coeducational high school located in Fairfield West, Sydney, Australia. Established in 1969, the school is part of the South Western Sydney School Region and the Fairfield School Education Area.-History:...
in August that year.
Aim
Through the program, the government will allocate A$Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
2.4 billion over seven years to:
- provide laptops to all public high school students in years 9-12 through the National Secondary School Computer Fund
- deploy high speed broadbandBroadbandThe term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
to all Australian schools and quality digital tools, resources and infrastructure that will help support the Australian Curriculum - support increase in information and communication technology (ICT) proficiency for teachers and students throughout Australia to nourish the use of ICT in teaching and learning
- develop projects and research that will assist and support the use of ICT in learning
- enable parents to participate in their child’s education through online learning and access
- support mechanisms that will provide assistance to schools in ICT deployment
Deployment
In September 2008, amidst uncertainty over extra costs involved with the computers, the Government of New South WalesGovernment of New South Wales
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
rejected an offer for extra funding from the Commonwealth Government. The State Government requested additional funds to cover servicing, technical support, upgraded power supplies, software licensing, security and teacher training associated with installing the computers. After failing to secure assistance, the State Government then requested an extension to the 9 October deadline, for applications in the second round of funding. After being denied an extension, the State Government said it had been forced to refuse the offer until the extent of its financial crisis was clarified in the 2008 mini-budget.
The Director-General for Education, Michael Coutts-Trotter, told The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
: "We can't commit at this stage until we can be sure the full cost of implementing the computers can be met. But we are enthusiastic about the program and as soon as the funding is sorted out, we will apply in the third round." The Minister for Education and Training Verity Firth said she expected the State Government to resolve the funding issue ahead of the second round of funding. "NSW can't commit to any infrastructure ahead of the mini-budget," said Firth, "It would be unfair to schools and students to seek new computers only to find that there was insufficient funding for their operating costs from the federal Government" .
In November 2008, after negotiations with the Commonwealth Government at the Council of Australian Governments
Council of Australian Governments
The Council of Australian Governments is an organisation consisting of the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local Government Association. It was established in May 1992 after agreement by the then Prime Minister, Premiers and...
(COAG), then Premier of New South Wales Nathan Rees
Nathan Rees
Nathan Rees MP, , an Australian politician, was the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Australian Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009...
and the Government of New South Wales secured A$807 million to provide every year 9-12 public high school student with a laptop. The laptops, loaded with A$5,500 worth of programs from the latest Microsoft Office Suite
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
and Adobe Suite
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
, are provided by computer company, Lenovo under a four-year contract secured by the state government.
On 26 August 2009 the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard and New South Wales Minister for Education and Training, Verity Firth announced the delivery of the first laptops to secondary schools in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Gillard and Firth visited a Year 9 class at Fairvale High School in Sydney’s west to witness the integration of laptops into the lesson.
In February 2010, the Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
Department of Education and Training chief information officer David O'Hagan said that there was a possibility the iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
could complement laptops used in public high schools in Queensland, "When it [the iPad] becomes available in Australia, the [Queensland] Department of Education and Training will conduct an evaluation to determine its suitability for teaching and learning as well as network compatibility, schools eligible for computers under the federal government's National Secondary School Computer Fund also use this central purchasing arrangement to buy desktop and laptop computers." he said. Apple is a member of the panel of computer suppliers for Queensland state (public) schools (primary and secondary).
The Laptop
In New South Wales, students are being issued with Lenovo laptops no bigger than a sheet of A4 paper. In 2009 the model issued was the IdeaPad S10e, in 2010, the ThinkPad s100e Mini 10 and in 2011, the ThinkPad Edge 11. The laptops also come with pre-installed software, such as Adobe CS5Adobe Creative Suite
Adobe Creative Suite is a collection of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications made by Adobe Systems. The collection consists of Adobe's applications , that are based on various technologies...
, Adobe LiveCycle ES2
Adobe LiveCycle
Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite is a SOA Java EE-based server software product from Adobe Systems Incorporated used to build applications that automate a broad range of business processes for enterprises and government agencies...
, Microsoft Office 2010, and Microsoft Forefront
Microsoft ForeFront
Microsoft Forefront is a family of line-of-business security software by Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Forefront products protect computer networks, network servers and individual devices....
. In June 2010 a recall of laptop cases was issued after it was found that there was a flaw in the design of the case when several students reported that their screens had cracks. The New South Wales Department of Education and Training's Chief Information Officer
Chief information officer
Chief information officer , or information technology director, is a job title commonly given to the most senior executive in an enterprise responsible for the information technology and computer systems that support enterprise goals...
Stephen Wilson said that the filtering system on the laptops is impervious and no student will be able to break through the system. "Our internet filtering is unbreakable. We have a huge proxy array that does all the filtering. We've just brought that in-house and the reason we have done that is we want much tighter control over it, every internet site that's known is actually categorised. If it isn't known, it's blocked. If you go to a site and it's not categorised you can't get to it," said Wilson.
Criticism
In 2008, letters were leaked that revealed that the Minister of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Julia Gillard was told that the policy was not thought through and severely underfunded. There were concerns that the lack of funds would be compensated for by financially crippled families or some computers left in boxes, unopened. The states were noncompliant upon learning that each would have to contribute up to A$3 billion altogether, a contribution that was not mentioned by Rudd or Gillard in the election campaign.In 2010, the Rudd Government
Rudd Government
The Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2010, led by Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry...
was again criticised for being too slow to deliver after it was confirmed that "none of the A$100 million budgeted to bring high-speed broadband to schools had been spent". Rudd blamed the delay in delivering broadband to schools on the global financial crisis
Late-2000s financial crisis
The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...
, "In dealing with the challenges of the global recession, obviously some changes had to be made because of the impact on government finances," he told Channel 10
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
, "I accept that and take full responsibility for it."
In August that same year, only 220,000 of the 1 million promised laptops had been delivered. Further setbacks were due in part because of the government's focus on the A$43 billion National Broadband Network
National Broadband Network
The National Broadband Network is a national wholesale-only, open-access data network under development in Australia. Up to one gigabit per second connections are sold to retail service providers , who then sell Internet access and other services to consumers...
.
See also
- Building the Education RevolutionBuilding the Education RevolutionBuilding the Education Revolution is an Australian government program administered by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations designed to provide new and refurbished infrastructure to all eligible Australian schools...
- Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
- Education in AustraliaEducation in AustraliaEducation in Australia is primarily the responsibility of the states and territories. Each state or territory government provides funding and regulates the public and private schools within its governing area. The federal government helps fund the public universities, but is not involved in setting...