learning for the knowledge society - department of education, training and youth affairs

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Learning for the knowledge society:

An education and training action plan for the information economy

Contents

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ISBN 0 642 44901 5

©Commonwealth 2000

This work is copyright.It may be reproduced in whole

or in part for study or training purposes subject to the

inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source and no

commercial usage or sale.Reproduction for purposes

other than those indicated above,requires the prior

written permission from the Commonwealth available

from AusInfo.Requests and inquiries concerning

reproduction and rights should be addressed to the

Manager,Legislative Services,AusInfo,GPO Box 1920,

Canberra ACT 2601 or by e-mail to:

[email protected]

Front cover photo,left front cover,courtesy of

Universityof the Third Age (U3A),ACT

Note:copyright for Flexible Learning for the Information

Economyrests with the Australian National Training

Authority (ANTA).

©2000 Australian National Training Authority

This work has been produced with the assistance of

funding provided by the Commonwealth Government

through the Australian National Training Authority.

Copyright for this document vests in ANTA.ANTA will

allow free use of the material provided that ANTA’s

interest is acknowledged and the use is not for profit.

DETYA No 6465SCHP00A

Printed by J.S.McMillan Printing Group,Canberra phone (02) 6230 6200



F dB k d



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Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Contact Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Learning for the knowledge society: An education

and training action plan for the information economy . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

DETYA information economy strategic plan 1999–2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Learning in an online world – School education action

plan for the information economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Flexible Learning for the Information Economy – A Framework

for National Collaboration in Vocational Education and Training

2000–2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

The Way Forward – H igher Education Action

Plan for the Information Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

5

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Introduction

Learning for the knowledgesociety: An education and

training action plan for theinformation economy

This Action Plan articulates the education and

training industry’s response to the Government’s

Strategic Framework for the Information Economy

(December 1998),in particular to strategic priority 2:

“deliver the skills and education Australians need to

participate in the information economy”.

The Plan has been developed in consultation with

all parts of the education and training sector,

through the Education Network Australia (EdNA)

Reference Committee (ERC).The ERC is an

Advisory Committee of the Ministerial Council on

Education,Employment,Training and Youth Affairs

(MCEETYA) and is recognised by both MCEETYA

and the Commonwealth Ministerial Council for the

Information Economy (MCIE) as the national forum

for policy advice on issues relating to the educational

use of information and communication technologies.

This Action Plan seeks to provide a common agenda

on which all stakeholders – governments,education

and training providers and the private sector –

canwork jointly to achieve common national goals.

It provides a framework of outcomes and key

strategic priorities for education and training in the

information economy.It contains contributions from

all parts of the education and training sector and

includes individual Action Plans for each,which have

been endorsed by the relevant constituencies.

Acknowledgements

The Commonwealth Department of Education,

Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) acknowledges

the valuable input of the education and training

community in the development of the Education

and Training Action Plan for the Information

Economy.The Action Plan is the result of

collaborative effort through the ERC and its

constituents,with significant contributions from the

ERC Information Economy Working Group (IEWG).

In March 2000 MCEETYA supported the broad

directions of the Action Plan and endorsed the

School Education Action Plan:Learning in an OnlineWorld.The Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Action Plan:Flexible Learning for the Information

Economy,and the Higher Education Action Plan:The

Way Forwardhave been endorsed by their relevant

constituencies.

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Contact Details

Schools,VET and Higher Education have also

published their Action Plans individually.Further

information on each Action Plan is available from:

School Education Action Plan

Learning in an Online World

Carol McKenny

EdNA Schools Project Manager

Phone: 0419 814 834

Email: [email protected]

Learning in an Online World is also available on the

Web at www.edna.edu.au/onlineworld.pdf

Vocational Education and Training(VET) Action Plan

Flexible Learning for the Information Economy

Julie Ahern,Executive Officer

EdNA VET Advisory Group

Phone: 03 9412 4401

Fax: 03 9412 4452

Email: [email protected]

Flexible Learning for the Information Economyis also

available on the Web at http://flexiblelearning.net.au

Higher Education Action Plan

The Way Forward

Australian Vice-Chancellors’Committee (AVCC)

Advisor,IT Policy

Phone: 02 6285 8200Fax: 02 6285 8211

The Way Forward is also available on the Web at

www.avcc.edu.au/avcc/itpolicy/actionplan/

Education and Training Action Plan

Learning for the Knowledge Society:An Education and

Training Action Plan for the Information Economy

Online Education and Training Section

Department of Education,Training and Youth Affairs(DETYA)

Phone: 02 6240 7271

Fax: 02 6240 7509

Email:[email protected]

Learning for the Knowledge Society:An Education and

Training Action Plan for the Information Economyis

also available on the Web at

www.detya.gov.au/edu/edactplan.htm

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Executive Summary



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11

Learni ng for the knowledge society

x e c ut i v e S umm ar y

services which enhance the learning experience in

Australia and develop leadership internationally.

How content,applications and services are

delivered is a key element in the value chain for

Australia’s education,training and researchindustries.Australia is a small market and

development costs are high.Education and

training must cooperate with the private sector to

promote an active and productive content and

services delivery market.

Policy and Organisational Framework

• Governments need to develop a comprehensive

policy framework for education and training,

including research and development,thatsupports the information economy and a

knowledge society.Policies at all levels (national,

system and organisational level) must articulate a

vision for the future,provide for a level of

investment to effect change and promote equity

and access,and enable Australia’s education and

training industry to become nationally effective

and internationally competitive.Education and

training organisations must improve their planning

and change management strategies to ensure theagreed outcomes are achieved.

Regulatory Framework

• Telecommunications,intellectual property

management models,online content,e-commerce,

and a range of other regulatory frameworks need

to be in place so that the education and

training industry can operate efficiently and

effectively and become internationally

competitive.Effective copyright legislation is

especially important becausein a knowledge

based society,intellectual property is currency.The

regulatory and technical frameworkswill need to

reflect international developments and should

support and not impede the needs of Australia’s

education and training industry.

Key Strategic Priorities

Key strategic priorities have been identified for the

education and training industry as a whole.The key

strategic priorities are:

People

The education and training sector will:

• Promote the development of generic and

information technology (IT) industry specific skills

through encouraging:

– the integration of ICT skills in all courses in all

parts of the education and training sector;

– improved career advice for students;and

–expanded education and training/industry

partnerships.

• Review and monitor the ICT skills base of

theexisting workforce in the education and

training sector.

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Learning for the knowledge society

• Support a range of professional development

strategies and models that enable a critical mass

of staff in schools,VET and higher education to be

skilled in the pedagogical,technical and managerial

aspects of applying new technologies to learning

and programme delivery.

• Stimulate and disseminate research into effective

professional development using ICT and into the

relationship between the use of new technologies

and improvements in learning outcomes.

• Investigate approaches to address the needs of

students who do not have access to technology-

rich environments at home,through programs

targeted at students experiencing educational

disadvantage.

Infrastructure


• Monitor the supply of,and demand for,bandwidth

across the education and training sector,including

cost factors and international comparisons.

• Examine funding and legislative options for

ensuring that education and training providers

have access to bandwidth at prices comparable to

Australia’s international competitors.

• Maintain up to date information across the

education and training sector that enables optimal

decisions on infrastructure.

• Investigate establishing minimum requirements for

bandwidth and establishing education and training

industry standards for equipment configuration

and numbers at the provider level.

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x e c ut i v e S umm ar y

• Investigate methods of funding,financing and

maintenance including the establishment of

strategic partnerships between education and

training and the ICT industries and service

providers to develop innovative new models forproviding infrastructure and bandwidth to

educational institutions and workplaces.

Online Content,Applications and Services


• Promote the development of an Australian online

education and training content market through

publicly funded projects,national collaborative

efforts and other strategic interventions.

• Support a quality assurance framework for

Australian online education and training content,

including:

– development of technical standards and

information management standards to allow

widespread and easy access to the products,

applications and services;and

– intellectual property rights management.

• Promote EdNA Online as a public domaingateway to Australian education and training

resources and services.

• Investigate the development of an industry

strategy to work out how best to capitalise on

the potential for developing Australia’s capabilities

both for local application, including the public

interest,and for export.

• Stimulate and disseminate research on the

opportunities provided by online services for

innovative content development and its

relationship with pedagogy.

Policy and Organisational Framework

The education and training industry needs a shared

national vision and underpinning principles as a

framework for future actions.The education and

training sector will:

• Develop a cross sectoral policy statement for

endorsement by MCEETYA.

• Continue to support the ERC as the key national

body on information economy issues in the

education and training sector.

Regulatory Framework


• Develop and implement a research agenda on

the actual and likely implications for education

and training of legal and regulatory frameworks

related to the use of ICT in education and

training.

• Devise and implement targeted communication

strategies to inform education and training

stakeholders of the current and emerging

regulatory issues that will impact on the use of

ICT for education and training.

• Establish and communicate its preferred position

in relation to the Government’s legal and

regulatory framework,particularly in the key areas

of copyright and telecommunications.

• Continue to develop its approach to priority

regulatory issues through the ERC.




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educational or administrative functions of AVCC

Members.Prior to revision of the Telecom-

munications Act 1997,AARNet provided access for

some TAFE colleges and schools in a number of areas where there was no alternative network

infrastructure.5

What will infrastructure cost,who should

pay and how?

Responsibility for developing,maintaining and

financing ICT infrastructure is shared between:

• individual students (who are generally left to their

own devices for off-campus access to PC

equipment,modems and other peripheral

equipment);

• providers (which generally take responsibility for

developing and maintaining internal ICT networks

and providing on-site student access to PCs);

• State,Territory and local Governments (and

AARNet in the case of higher education

institutions),which,to varying extents,provide

interconnections between providers and/or within

particular regions;and

• telecommunications providers,ISPs,and to a

lesser extent broadcasters,whose policies (made

within the constraints of a regulatory framework)

largely determine the price and availability of

wide-area and international connectivity.

Large infrastructure investments are being made by

all of these players.Not surprisingly,the question of

how these investments should be paid for is difficult

to resolve.For example:

• Who should pay for off-site student access toPCs and associated equipment?Should publicly

funded providers have the right to require

students to own such equipment and if so who

should pay for it?How would the equity

implications of a policy to require individuals to

own their own PCs and associated equipment

be managed?

• Who should pay for the bandwidth that

education and training providers will need to



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–development of technical standards and

information management standards to allow

widespread and easy access to the products,

applications and services;and

–intellectual property rights management.• Promote EdNA Online as a public domain

gateway to Australian education and training

resources and services.

• Investigate the development of an industry

strategy to work out how best to capitalise on

the potential for developing Australia’s capabilities

both for local application, including the public

interest,and for export.

• Stimulate and disseminate research on the

opportunities provided by online services for

innovative content development and its

relationship with pedagogy.

Action Area 4: Policyand OrganisationalFramework

Key outcome for educationand training

4.1 Commonwealth,State and Territory

Governments put in place an agreed policy

statement which recognises the key enabling

role played by education and training in

supporting Australia’s transition to the

information economy.

There is a need for a national vision in education and

training to provide a framework for governments,

education and training systems and institutions and

stakeholders to pursue future activities.All

governments,education and training stakeholders and

the broader community need to understand the key

role of education and training in the information

economy and to recognise the potential gains of

proactive policy and organisational responses.

The Government’sStrategic Framework for the

Information Economyprovides a whole of

government policy framework for the information

economy and includes the role of education and

training.There is wide agreement that new

technologies have the potential to transform

education and training.We now need to move

towards a national consensus about what

transformations are required and how they might

be achieved.Similarly,all parts of the education and

training sector recognise the importance of ICT in

education and training.We now need to move

towards a nationally agreed policy statement to

provide the vision and direction for education and

training in taking forward this Action Plan.

This Action Area proposes a set of key principles to

underpin a high level joint Commonwealth

State/Territory government statement to address



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regulatory issues that will impact on the use of

ICT for education and training.

• Establish and communicate its preferred position

in relation to the Government’s legal and

regulatory framework,particularly in the key areasof copyright and telecommunications.

• Continue to develop its approach to priority

regulatory issues through the ERC.




DETYA information economy strategic plan

1999–2002



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on e c on om y s t r at e g

i c pl an

Action Area 1: People

What needs to be achieved?

• High overall community ICT literacy levels.

• Capacity on the part of community managers,

decision-makers and leaders to comprehend,

leadand manage ICT-driven change.

• Avoidance of the creation of classes of people

whose life chances and lives are compromised

bylack of ICT skills.

• An adequate supply of people with specialist

ICT skills.

• A highly ICT literate education and training

workforce, especially teachers and educational

leaders/managers.

How can DET YA add value?

• By taking the lead in developing benchmarks

relating to the ICT literacy levels of the

community at large,of leaders and managers and

of people who are,or are at risk of becoming,

‘ICT have nots’.

• By ascertaining how well the needs of thesegroups are being met by existing programs at all

levels of government and acting where

appropriate to fill gaps.

• By working in partnership with industry to

address shortages of people with specialist ICT

skills and to enhance the long-term functioning of

the market for specialist skills.

• By ascertaining how well education/training

workers are being prepared for the information

economy and acting appropriately to fill gaps.

What wil l DETYA do?

Strategy 3

• Assist with the investigation of ICT literacy

benchmarks for the community at large,for

leaders and managers and for people in at-riskgroups,and participate in establishing these where

appropriate.

Strategy 4

• Review what programs are already on offer to

enhance ICT literacy levels,and consider taking

program action where there are gaps in provision,

taking into account the distribution of

responsibilities between levels of government and

education and training.

Photo courtesy of Hawker College,ACT

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Strategy 5

• Work with industry to respond to ICT skills

shortages.

Strategy 6

• Determine how effectively both initial and

ongoing professional development courses are

preparing education and training workers

(especially teachers) for the information economy,

and develop program responses where

appropriate.

How wil l DETYA be able to show ithas succeeded?

• By showing that we know what Australians’ICT

skills in all areas are.

• By identifying adverse trends (eg a fall-off in our

position relative to other countries) if and when

these arise.By showing that we know what is

being done to develop ICT skill levels,and

showing what we ourselves are doing to fill any

gaps.

• By showing that we understand the ICT-related

professional development needs of the education

and training workforce, that we understand what

is needed to meet those needs and by showing

that we are playing an appropriate role in meeting

those needs.

Action Area 2:Infrastructure


• A world class ICT infrastructure for education

and training covering:the equipment end users

need to access and use online services;the

systems and networks that link users within their

own organisations;and the wider links that

connect people and online services around the

world.

• Universality of access to infrastructure to avoid

accentuating the divide between ‘knowledge

haves’and ‘knowledge have nots’.


• By establishing the status of the sectors in regard

to infrastructure availability,what the sector’s

future needs will be and playing our part in

ensuring that future needs are met,taking into

account the wide range of players with

responsibilities in this area.

• By acting as a conduit for the education and

training sector into other Commonwealth

portfolios with intersecting responsibilities,notably

the Department of Communications,Information

Technology and the Arts (DCITA).


Strategy 7

• Take the lead in developing status reports,models

and benchmarks relating to the education and

training sector’s current infrastructure availability

and future needs.

Strategy 8

• Investigate the need and scope for DETYA

portfolio program action to assist the sector to

meet its infrastructure needs.

Strategy 9

• Develop links with all other Commonwealth

portfolios with intersecting responsibilities,notably

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on e c on om y s t r at e g

i c pl an

DCITA, and ensure that the sector’s voice is heard

in all fora dealing with relevant legislation,

regulation and expenditure.

How wil l DETYA be able to show

it has succeeded?• By showing that we have a well-founded

understanding of the sector’s current and future

infrastructure needs.

• By showing that we have a well considered

position on what the role is for program action

by DETYA in this area,having regard to the

broader framework of Commonwealth policy and

the varying responsibilities of the Commonwealth,

States/Territories and individual providers.

• By showing that we have effective links with other

Commonwealth portfolios with intersecting

responsibilities and a clear understanding of their

relevant policies and programs,and that we are

using these links to open up opportunities for

collaborative initiatives and policy development.

Action Area 3:Content, Applicationsand Services


• An education and training sector that has a world

class capacity to apply online services to all

aspects of its teaching,learning,research and

administration.

• A world class capacity to produce content,

applications and services that are capable of

meeting the sector’s own requirements,that give

expression to Australia’s cultural identity locally

while being sensitive to cultural differences

globally,and of earning export revenues.

• A highly sophisticated approach that ensures that

Australia’s education and training sector gets the

best possible value for money in acquiring online

content, applications and services.


• By encouraging collaboration between providers

and systems in the acquisition and production of online services.

• By taking the lead in co-ordinating the

development and maintenance of interoperability

standards,where these have a cross-sectoral

impact.

• By investigating what needs to be done to

stimulate the development in Australia of a world

class educational online services industry,working

with other portfolios with intersecting interests,

and playing our part in taking the action that is

needed.


Strategy 10

• Investigate how best to encourage collaboration

between providers and systems in the acquisition

and production of online services and take action



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A ti A 5

DE T Y A i nf or m at i on




Action Area 5:Regulatory Framework


• Effective involvement in consideration of alllegislative and regulatory issues that impinge on

the effective application of ICT to education and

training.These include (but are not limited to)

copyright,online content,management of the .edu

internet domain space,telecommunications

competition policy,the legal status of electronic

transactions,and privacy/data protection.


• By ensuring that we understand fully the concerns

of the education and training community on

particular legislative/regulatory issues as these

arise.

• By developing and prosecuting well founded

positions in relation to these issues with the

responsible agencies,taking into account the

sector’s views and also displaying an

understanding of the considerations underlying

the Commonwealth’s broader policy framework.


Strategy 15

• Ensure that we understand the sector’s views on

legislative and regulatory matters that impinge on

the application of ICT in the education and

training sector.

Strategy 16

• Develop perspectives on legislative and

regulatorymatters that respond to the

concernsof the education and training

community,taking into account the broader

Commonwealth policy framework,undertaking

research and analysis asnecessary to assist in the

development of positions.

Strategy 17

• Ensure that we have an effective input into the

development of legislation and regulation that

impinge on the application of ICT in the

education and training sector.

How wil l DETYA be able to showit has succeeded?

• By showing how we have drawn

legislative/regulatory issues to the sector’s

attention and gathered their views on those

matters.

• By showing how we have gone about developing

our own positions on these issues.

• By showing how our involvement in legislative and

regulatory matters has produced better

outcomes for the education and training sector.

45

n e c on om y s t r at e gi c pl an


L i i li ld



Learning in an online world

School education action plan for the information economy



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Key action areas Priorities



50


y

The goals of the action plan will be achieved

through integrated approaches undertaken by

stakeholders, individually and collectively,across five

interrelated action areas.

People: Improved learning outcomes for students,

supported by educational leaders,teachers and

administrative staff with the skills and commitment

to use learning technologies effectively

Infrastructure:Access to an advanced information

and communication technology infrastructure that

supports good teaching and learning and delivers

efficiencies in business practices

Content and services:Access to and application of

online resources and services that support

continuous improvement in curriculum practice,in

classroom and distance settings,and in school

administration

Supporting policies:Policies and protocols that

facilitate the uptake and use of information and

communication technologies in schools

Enabling regulation:A legal and regulatory

framework in Australia that supports rather than

inhibits the use of new technologies to enhance

learning

Within the five key action areas,the highest

priorities for the school sector are:

• bandwidth:sufficient bandwidth must be available

at affordable rates,to enable all schools tointegrate online services into their curriculum

practice

• professional development: effective pre-service

teacher education and ongoing development for

all members of the teaching profession are critical

to achieving the student outcomes required

• online content: all school teachers and students

must have access to quality digital education

resources that support curriculum outcomes.

The development of such resources must

support Australia’s unique identity in the global

information economy.

Overarching strategies to achievethe action plan goals

• Strengthen programs for schools to adopt new

paradigms of learning using information and

communication technologies (ICT).

• Commit resources to the three key areas

of professional development, infrastructure

andcurriculum content in a balanced and

integrated way.

• Undertake and disseminate research related to

the links between the use of ICT and learning

outcomes.

• Continue to use the Education Network Australia

(EdNA) framework to maximise the benefits of

new technologies for schools through

collaboration.

Monitoring progress

The National Education Performance Monitoring

Taskforce is addressing the issue of performance

indicators for the achievement of the National

Goals for Schooling,including Goal 1.6,which is the



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Applications and services

Information and communication technologies play a

major role in improving the efficiency and

effectiveness of school administration systems.

Activities such as human resource management,

student enrolments,monitoring of student

achievement,communication within and beyond the

school all require sophisticated systems.Benefits

may be obtained through information sharing across

States and Territories and leveraging advantage inthe commercial market.

Strategies

• Develop and take forward a business plan for

online curriculum content generation,including

the promotion of a viable Australian market and

identification of key priorities for collaborative

action and funding.

• Promote EdNA Online as the gateway to online

materials for Australian education.

• Collate information from school education

authorities about applications that are improving

business practices and delivering efficiencies

andincreased productivity,including the impact

of e-commerce.

4. Supporting policies

Goal

1 National policies for the information economy

and for the education and training industry will

recognise and support the role of school

education in preparing Australia’s future citizens

and workers and in providing equitable access

to the opportunities for learning online.



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Strategies

• Continue to use EdNA as a collaborative



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Telecommunications legislation

This area is addressed in action area 2

(Infrastructure)

Copyright

The school sector supports,through the EdNA

Reference Committee,the passage of the Copyright

Amendment (Digital Agenda) Bill 1999,but

identifies the need for ongoing reform to copyright

legislation.Schools need to access copyright

materials online on reasonable terms and in ways

that continue to support changes to teaching

practice using new technologies.

Other areas that concern school sector interests

include:

• online content regulation (protection against

illegal and inappropriate materials);

• privacy and data protection;

• security of electronic transactions.

mechanism to advocate school sector positions

regarding the legal and regulatory framework

for the information economy.

• Support liaison between the Ministerial Council

for Education,Employment,Training and Youth

Affairs (MCEETYA) Copyright Taskforce and the

EdNA Reference Committee on school sector

copyright issues.

• Maintain liaison with the Australian Broadcasting

Authority and appropriate international bodies

on matters relating to online content regulation.

• Share information across systems and sectors,including through EdNA Online,on issues

of common interest.


Flexible Learning for the



Information Economy

A Framework for National Collaboration inVocational Education and Training 2000–2004



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• First,there needs to be a shared national vision

which complements but does not compete with

the vision of individual enterprises or systems

within the VET industry.



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How to Collaborate?

There is no single preferred way to collaborate

nationally in order to advance flexible learning in

VET.The particular form that national collaboration

takes will be influenced by the nature of a particular

collaborative goal and the strategic agenda of the

VET players.

Collaboration means different things to different

people.It can range from very simple informal

activities such as individuals talking to each other,

building trust and working relationships through

national projects and joint research activities tomore formal collaborations such as the

development of mandatory standards,commercial

partnerships and similar joint ventures.

National collaboration is already a valuable

characteristic of Australia’s VET system,one which

has yielded results in areas ranging from recognition

of training to access and equity initiatives and

including flexible learning.In fact,the national VET

system is itself a collaborative enterprise,recognisingthe devolved nature of VET provision,shared

responsibilities and shared links with industry and

commerce.

There are,however,three pre-conditions if further

national collaboration on flexible learning in VET is

to be successful in moving VET into the information

economy:

e dus y

• Second,there needs to be a formal commitment

by all training authorities to the principle of

national collaboration in agreed areas to achieve

the shared vision.

• Third, there needs to be a robust national

network of committed and talented people

charged with the responsibility of identifying

opportunities for national collaboration and

finding creative ways of responding to them.The

EdNA VET Advisory Group has performed this

function to date,largely on a de facto basis ,andis now well-placed to serve as the national VET

leader for collaboration for flexible learning.

The following framework establishes these three

pre-conditions for creative collaboration for

competitive advantage within the national VET

system.



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strategically selected national activities can

provide a national overlay which adds value to

employer and employee efforts without

substituting for them.

F l exi b l eL e ar ni n gf or t h eI nf or m at



73


– National collaborative activities can also

develop the depth of the national VET skillspool in flexible learning in ways not achievable

at institutional or individual system level.

• The Strategies

Strategy 1

– Use a range of professional development

models to help build a critical mass of VET staff

at national,State/Territory and provider level

who are skilled in the pedagogical,technical and

managerial aspects of flexible learning.

Strategy 2

– Stimulate and sponsor quality research and

dissemination to increase understanding in the

VET industry of pedagogical, technical and

managerial aspects of flexible learning.

Strategy 3

– Encourage VET institutions and systems to

continuously improve the capabilities of their

staff to provide flexible learning services and touse technologies to achieve business objectives.

Strategy 4

– Develop international virtual communities of

interest amongst VET staff in the field of flexible

learning in VET

• Performance Measures

– Percentage of professional development

budgets of State Training Systems and

Registered Training Organisations spent on

developing the flexible learning capabilities

ofVET staff.

– Proportion of full-time,part-time and casual

staff who have participated in formal training

and developmental activities explicitly focused

on implementing flexible learning practices

inVET.

– Extent of national collaboration on professional

development for flexible learning.

– Number of publications in national and

international journals by VET staff on

pedagogical, technical and management aspects

of flexible learning.

– Level of staff participation in VET virtual

communities of interest.

Photo courtesy of OTEN

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Goal 2: Supportive technologicalinfrastructure

• The Goal

– To achieve a national VET system which:

working and peer-to-peer learningwhich help

learners take greater responsibility for shaping

their own learning.

– The future growth and national and



- facilitates affordable access by all

communities, learners and employers toonline services;

- is underpinned by advanced information and

communications technologies;and

- achieves connectivity and associated

interoperability in the application of

technology to delivering training services

and,where required, to its business

processes.

• Why is this important nationally?

– VET is a key hub into the Australian community

and into industry.VET providers will require

access to an advanced information

infrastructure,(including high bandwidth,cable,

fibre optics,satellite and telecommunications) at

reasonable cost to maximise flexible vocational

learning opportunities for all Australians.

– As the report onPreferred Standards to Support

Cooperation in Applying Technology to VET advises,interoperability allows universal access,

promotes the sharing of content and resources

across the VET sector,achieves efficiencies and,

at the learner level,…encourages the

development of teamprocesses,collaborative

international competitiveness of the VET

industry,as with so many other industries,will

depend on substantial investment in advanced

technological infrastructure.

• The Strategies

Strategy 5

– Conduct ongoing review,update and

communication of preferred standards and

guidelines in VET.

Strategy 6

– Forge strategic partnerships to advocate for:

- reduced communications costs for VET;

- access by all VET providers and learners to

adequate levels of bandwidth;and

- access to VET online services from

workplaces and homes.

Strategy 7

– Facilitate ready affordable access for VET staff

and students to the technology infrastructurenecessary to increase the quality and quantity

of VET services available through flexible

learning methodologies.


– The extent to which preferred VET standards

are utilised by State Training Systems.

– Extent and quality of access by VET staff to

globally networked terminals.

– Costs to State Training Systems of data

transmission.

– Costs to VET learners of access to VET online

services.

– Proportion of capital investment targeted to

technological infrastructure.

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Goal 3: World-class onlinecontent development, applicationsand services

• The Goal

Strategy 9

– Sponsor the development a significant body of

nationally developed online content which is

flexible,interoperable nationally and is informed

b d i f d l t i th

F l exi b l eL e ar ni n gf or t h eI nf or m at i



75


– To assist the Australian VET system to

maintain and to expand its share of the

training market within Australia and

internationally.

• Why is this important nationally?

– The delivery of training programs and services

to customers is the core business of VET.The

working futures of over one million individuals,

the businesses within which they work,and the

communities within which they live depend,to

a high degree,on the ability of VET to do its

core business.

In an increasingly competitive domestic market,

and faced with the threat of substantial

international competition using online

technologies,VET must ensure that:

- its programs and services are of high quality

and yet price competitive;

- the complex capabilities required by all

people in an information economy are

developed using the tools and collaborativelearning processes of the information

economy;and

- in the interests of Australian jobs and culture,

Australian providers capture a significant

share of the Australian and international

market in online training products and

services.

• The Strategies

Strategy 8– Establish and promote the use of a quality

assurance framework,including national

protocols for nationally funded projects,for the

development and implementation of online VET

programs.

by and informs developments in other

education and training sectors.

Strategy 10

– Ensure efficient access to and distribution of

flexible learning products and services within

the national VET system.

Strategy 11

– Through an e-VET marketing consortium,

create a demand for Australian online training

products and services in the global

marketplace.

Strategy 12

– Apply an holistic and broad-based approach to

develop online support services which

complement and support direct training

delivery.


– Balance of trade in VET online products and

services.- The proportion of nominal Student Contact

Hours (SCH) assigned to flexible delivery

arrangements which do not require

attendance at an RTO’s premises.

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transactions,data protection,consumer rights

and industry regulation.

– These rules will impact significantly on how

flexible learning is organised and managed in

VET and on the future competitivenessof the


– Representation and influence of the VET sector

in key decision-making forums dealing with

regulatory regimes relevant to flexible learning.

Costofaccess to the Internet toVET

F l

exi b l eL e ar ni n gf or t h eI nf or m at i o



77


VET and on the future competitiveness of the

VET industry.

– The interests of the VET sector must be clearly

articulated by VET itself and fully recognised in

national discussion of the preferred legal and

regulatory framework.

• The Strategies

Strategy 14

– In partnership with other education and

training sectors,facilitate knowledge and

understanding within the VET industry of relevant legal and regulatory issues so that the

VET industry communicates its preferred

position to government,the education and

training community and all participants in the

VET system.

– Cost of access to the Internet to VET

institutions,homes and workplaces.

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P h o t o c o u r t e s y o f C a n b e r r a I n s t i t u t e o f T e c h n o l o g y


The Way Forward

Higher Education Action Plan for the Information Economy



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The regulatory framework should also support and

not impede the needs of Australia’s education and

training industry.In a knowledge-based society,

intellectual property is currency.

Amendments to proposed copyright legislation

The Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Billshould incorporate furtherprovisions thatare



96


should incorporate further provisions that are

critical to the ability of university,TAFE and school

students and staff to continue to exercise rights of

access,reading and fair dealing in the way that the

government intends.Failure to include such

provisions will result in a significant and seemingly

inadvertent change to the balance between the

interests of copyright owners and users.Support

from DETYA and other Commonwealth agencies is

urgently required.

Following the passing of the Bill into law,

consideration will also be given by the AVCC to the

preparation and circulation of guidelines for

universities to follow in developing their intellectual

property policies,particularly in relation to

university ownership of copyright in courseware

and online courseware.

Implementation of the Broadcasting Services

Amendment (Online Services) ActUniversities will need to assess the impact of the

above Act on their technical and administrative

systems over the next few months as the legislation

takes effect from 1 January 2000.

Responsibility

The responsibility for achieving a workable national

legal and regulatory framework does not lie with

one agency or stakeholder alone.

Universities,research organisations,the VET sector,

industry and schools must give easily understood

examples of how changes to current policy and

legislative arrangements would benefit the Australian

economy,and of how existing policies are hurting

them and the economy,to enable State and

Commonwealth Governments to plan positive,

effective change.

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Endnotes:Learning for the knowledge society

1 The Common and Agreed Goals for Schooling in the 21st

Centurystipulate that ‘when students leave school they

should be confident,creative and productive users of newtechnologies including informationand

Endnotes:Flexible Learning for thInformationEconomy

1 A study by Richard Nelson of Colu

York and Nathan Rosenberg,StanfoCalifornia citedin TheEconomist ‘S



new technologies,including information andcommunication technologies,and understand the impactof those technologies on society.’

2 Real Time:Computers,Change and Schooling(NationalSample Study of the IT Skills of Australian SchoolStudents,October 1999)

3 Further information is available at:http://www.aiia.com.au/skillsTaskForce.html

4 Bandwidth Requirements of the Education and TrainingSector,Olaf Moon,August 1999.Measurement forUniversity requirements taken from the Committee of Australian University Directors of Information Technology(CAUDIT) 1999.

5 The Department of Communications,Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) is currently reviewingthe future regulatory arrangements fortelecommunications facilities and services operated bythe AVCC and others.The current exemptions havebeen extended to end December 2000.

6 ‘EdNA Online’(http://www.edna.edu.au) is an extensive,

free,public Website with access to quality resources andservices for the Australian education and trainingcommunity.It vastly improves communication betweenpeers for both students and teachers,especially thoseworking in isolation because of geographical or physicalfactors.It allows improved access to curriculum materialsand provides opportunities for joint exploration of topicsbetween teachers and students.

7 To take one example,the Commonwealth Governmentis providing $1 040 000 under the Science LectureshipsInitiative to the University of New South Wales andLatrobe University to jointly develop a distance andon-line learning program,offering a Bachelor of Sciencein Prosthetics and Orthotics and continuing professionaleducation units in these areas,to meet national needs.

Endnotes:Learning in an on-line world

1 ‘Improving teaching and learning through the use of information and communications technologies:adiscussion paper for the EdNA Schools Advisory Group’(Lifelong Learning Associates,1999)

http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/system/llreport/home.html2 The Adelaide declaration on national goals for schooling

in the twenty-first century (Ministerial Council forEducation,Employment,Training and Youth Affairs,April 1999)h // i l d / / i l l /

California,cited in The Economist,‘SIndustry’,February 20 1999,p 12

2 The New Economy Index,Progressivewww.dicppi.org

3 Cited in The Economist,‘Survey of InFebruary 20 1999,p 22.

4 Porter,M (1998) ‘Clusters and the Ncompetition’,Harvard Business RevieNovember–December 1998,p 90

5 National Office for the Information AStrategic Framework for the InformaIdentifying Priorities for Action

6 Porter,M (1998),‘Clusters and the Competition’,Harvard Business RevieNovember–December 1998,p 89

7 National Office for the Information AStrategic Framework for the InformaIdentifying Priorities for Action

Endnotes:The Way Forward

1 Managing the Introduction of TechnoloAdministration of Higher Education,EInvestigations Program,Higher EducaDEETYA,1997,p 21

2 Bandwidth Requirements for the Aust Training Sector,Australian CommonwEducation,Training and Youth Affairspp11–12

3 High Performance Computing and CoAustralia,Higher Education Division

Series,1998,p 39.4 The Abilene Project is named after

in Abilene,Kansas during the 1860sambitions railhead of the 1800s stawas then the frontier of the United Project establishes a foothold from develop pioneering network technocentury’s railway changed the way plived.The Abilene project will transfresearchers and educators into the

5 The AARNet Board of ManagemenAVCC for the development and imrelevant AARNet service policy,witset by the AVCC and CSIRO.The sincludes the provision of networkinindividualAVCC member institution



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W a yF or w ar d

29 The Determinations in regard to eligible tertiaryeducation institutions cease to have effect on 31December 1999 or on such later date as is determinedby the Minister.The explanatory notes to the legislationstate that:

The ‘sunset’clause(s) will enable the operation of theexemption to be reviewed after some period of operation,following which its continued operation(either as drafted or in a revised form) can be

considered by the Minister.It is expected that,dependingon the outcome of such a review,options before theMinister mayinclude letting the exemption lapse



99


Minister may include letting the exemption lapse,enablingthe exemption to continue for a furtherspecified period,and enablingthe exemption to continueeither in a widened or more narrow form.The Ministermay also consider whether the definition of tertiaryeducation institution is appropriate.

learning for the knowledge society - department of education, training and youth affairs

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