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InspirED Australia

 
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What is InspirED?

Particularly over the last decade and across all Australian education sectors, education authorities, schools and universities have all invested heavily in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to enhance learning delivery. This investment has been significant, and initially focussed on providing access to equipment and the internet.  Developing and providing resources for high quality digital learning has also been undertaken.

FutureLab, initiated in the United Kingdom (UK), focused initially on content and applications in the subject areas of science, languages, thinking skills, creativity and citizenship. Such content development was in the context of and aimed at supporting teachers for the 'broadband' age.

Initiating InspirED in Australia reflects a commitment to improving and integrating teaching and learning nationally. A collaborative, managed approach to developing InspirED Australia, will maximise benefits from existing knowledge across all sectors and make a significant contribution to transforming education practice.

Background

The Board of education.au at its September 2006 meeting, endorsed and allocated seed funding to initiate a FutureLab in Australia. Development is being undertaken and education.au will work with a national consortium and include processes and resources which leverage expertise from FutureLab UK. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between education.au and FutureLab United Kingdom (UK) in late 2006 to support this joint work.

The proposed InspirED Australia, seeks to maximise the experience and existing technology focussed resources of FutureLab (UK) to stimulate and disseminate ICT information, collaborative activities, research outcomes and developing pedagogies.

The Australian initiative is designed to establish a vehicle to disseminate both adapted existing resources from a range of sources, including Australian state and sector activities, to facilitate practical prototype testing and to stimulate cross-sectoral activities nationally.

InspirED Australia

InspirED development in Australia will:
  • provide opportunities to avoid the costs and current replicated efforts in ICT research activities which focus on developing and testing innovative learning pedagogies
  • amalgamate the work of a wide range of education stakeholders and provide access to tools and advice
  • optimise return on investment from existing ICT research activities across all sectors, education organisations and states and territories
  • support professional development programs delivered by each state; integrate activities nationally; reduce the gap between student expectations and current teaching practice and both stimulate and integrate cross-sectoral research and industry partnerships
  • encourage discussion and activity across all education sectors and systems
  • extend professional knowledge, enhanced with value-added information evidence from research and examples of innovative practices
  • focus resource development on national integration and support locally identified needs to improve the delivery of learning using technologies
  • identify what education can add to using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in association with IT Industries
  • identify expertise and prioritise research and resource materials
  • provide evidence and a source of expert advice to support decision-making by education professional, decision-makers and leaders
  • align the work of the initiative with priorities of education professionals to stimulate innovation and professional improvement nationally through the defined consortium governance and management structure.

FutureLab United Kingdom (UK)

A not-for-profit organisation established initially in the UK, Futurelab is committed to sharing the lessons learnt from research and development in order to inform positive change to educational policy and practice.

Several elements of the UK FutureLab will be included in the Australian initiative, with selections and adaptations designed for Australian education contexts. A FutureLab was established in 2006 in Singapore which has developed using this approach.

Futurelab is passionate about transforming the way people learn. Tapping into the huge potential offered by digital and other technologies, FutureLab shares and develops innovative learning practices, resources and pedagogy that support new approaches to education for the 21st century.

Working in partnership with industry, policy and practice, Futurelab UK:

  • incubates new ideas, taking them from the lab to the classroom
  • offers hard evidence and practical advice to support the design and use of innovative learning tools and practices
  • communicates the latest thinking and practice in educational ICT
  • provides the space for experimentation and the exchange of ideas between the creative, technology and education sectors.

Visit FutureLab UK website at:   http://www.futurelab.org.uk/