Teachers and ICT Market Research Greg Black CEO, education.au

Objectives of the Research Identify the user needs of educators Identify which sources educators currently access to utilise the services they require Ascertain the preferred methods of delivery of these services Determine the level of awareness of education.au and the services it provides and the satisfaction levels of those who use them Determine how the services provided by education.au could be improved

Methodology The qualitative research was conducted in Adelaide, Melbourne and Murray Bridge in October The quantitative research was conducted via an online survey which was hosted by McGregor Tan Research February to May 2008 with 1127 respondents

Limitations Some bias towards educators already comfortable with technology Under-representation of independent schools and secondary teachers Over-representation of VET practitioners

Research Findings Current use of computers, Internet, on-line services: widespread among all groups – most had computers at homes 85% used computers daily in their work

Research Findings virtually no practical help provided to learn how to use computers, Internet or how to search effectively biggest complaint: we don’t have time to master the systems – time is the biggest barrier most rely on Google - a high number use Wikipedia as starting point

Research Findings Reasons for going on-line: Research, basic administration, communication etc to encourage students to use Internet for research in class – but this is subject to provision/availability of computers mostly for project work and assignments (software to check for plagiarism) teachers use Internet to plan projects and prepare lessons – to get ideas

Research Findings problem for many is that many sites are blocked on school and TAFE computers – can be a problem in some subject areas teachers also use it for professional development some uni lectures delivered on-line to off-shore clients – on-line tutorials VET and university lecturers live a part-time transitory life between home and place of work – limited personal inter-action

Summary It was very apparent that a considerable number of participants lacked confidence in using modern technology, and many said they did not know how to search, other than to Google. This ties in with the feeling expressed by participants that it takes too long to find what they want on the Internet. They added that, with teachers under constant pressure, they did not have the time to properly learn how to use the Internet.

Summary Problems with access bandwidth and related infrastructure need to be addressed Blocking of access to web based services is a serious concern More investment is needed in assisting teachers to embed technology in their teaching More effort is needed by education.au to inform educators about edna and myfuture.