S2.+Justification

=Justification=

//"The national curriculum will be futures-oriented and will outline the essential skills, knowledge and capabilities that all young Australians are entitled to learn, regardless of their social or economic background or the school they attend."//

The fundamental aim of the National Curriculum is to deliver a world-class curriculum to Australian students, to enable our young people to take their place in a globalised world with success and confidence in their ability, for the benefit of all Australians.

Goal 2 of the [|Melbourne Declaration on the Educational Goals for Young Australians] (2008) clearly states the desire for Australian students to be "successful learners". An essential element supporting the achievement of that goal is increasing the effectiveness of the technology already available in schools, to develop new ways of thinking, creativity and innovation.

Web 2.0 technologies have the potential to realise the aims of the [|National Curriculum] through the delivery of collaborative based learning opportunities which cross the social, economic and educational divides of Australia, to provide equal opportunity for all. These technologies will facilitate the "monumental paradigm shift" (Boorsheim, Merritt and Reed, 2008), between traditional literacy and 21st century multiliteracies, to "promote a culture of excellence" and "to provide challenging and stimulating learning experiences and opportunities" (Melbourne Declaration, 2008).

The National Curriculum will be implemented from 2011. The [|foundational documents] from which the curriculum will be written have just been published (May 2009). All curriculum documents in English, Mathematics, Science and History are due for publication between June and September 2010. The Learn2 site is a proactive, rather than reactive, attempt to facilitate "just-in-time" learning to support a seamless implementation of curriculum, through the creative potential of ICT. Numerous stakeholders will need rapid access to information and resources. These include: teachers, administrators, parents and students.
 * Teachers will require access to and the capacity to collaboratively construct current information and resources.
 * Administrators will need to ensure compliance and best practice in assessment and reporting.
 * Parents will need to be cognisant of the essential skills and knowledge their children will be accessing and should be provided with ways of supporting their children in the acquisition of these skills.
 * Students can benefit from the oppportunities web 2.0 technologies provide in the construction and demonstration of their knowledge, skills and understanding. While not users of this site, they are direct beneficiaries of the learning which will take place in this environment.

The advent of the National Curriculum provides opportunities for teachers to work collaboratively in cross sectoral groups to develop resources and pursue topics of interest. This will provide richer and more diverse resources.

Currently, educational practices in Australia are characterised by sectoral responses and organisations such as the various State Departments of Education and the resources they provide including [|TaLE] (NSW), and elearning in the [|Victorian Department of Education.] In addition to the various State departments, the Catholic and Independent sectors (for example the [|Christian Schools Australia]) also operate closed communities. This results in the unnecessary duplication of work and resources - teachers are constantly "reinventing the wheel". With the implementation of the National Curriculum, all these organisations will be developing new programs and resources. With the array of accessible and cost-effective Web 2.0 technologies currently available, it is no longer necessary for these sectoral interests to work independently, but rather they could work collaboratively - without sacrificing their individual identities. Given this, any work posted on the site would need to be subject to a [|Creative Commons] license allowing alteration and amendment to reflect the needs of the wider community of practice of each member.

Each of the State's Teacher Accreditation Authorities require teachers to show evidence of engagement in Professional Development in order to meet the standards, and skills in the incorporation of technology into teaching practice. Learning in an online community will assist schools in the delivery of professional development at no-cost, and provide staff with positive learning experiences that they can access at times which are convenient to them and which will allow experimentation before implementation. From 2009, the Federal Government expected all universities to ensure that all student teachers received ICT training. Learn2 would not only encourage the development and application of skills and knowledge for student teachers, but could foster mentoring in the teaching profession on a scale not seen before in Australia.


 * Learn2 - enabling the teachers and parents of today, to embed the tools of tomorrow, while changing the nature of learning in Australia.**