Learning For The Knowledge Society

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Learning for the knowledge society:

An education and training action plan for the information economy
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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: Cwealthcopyright@dofa.gov.au
Front cover photo, left front cover, courtesy of University of the Third Age (U3A), ACT
Note: copyright for Flexible Learning for the Information Economy rests 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 ANTAs 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
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Foreword
Technological change is transforming the way we live and work. It is vital that all Australians have opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to prosper in a hightechnology world. Our education and training providers will play a pivotal role in supporting all members of our community to adjust to the new environment and thereby contribute to the development of a vibrant Australian economy, society and culture in the knowledge society. Education and training have never been more important and their importance will only grow as we move into the new century. At the same time, the business of education and training is itself being transformed. We are discovering that, appropriately used, new technologies can help realise further the vision of creating an education and training system that truly serves the needs of all Australians, providing learning opportunities and relationships which nurture the talents, interests and needs of every learner. Turning this vision into reality is posing significant challenges for our providers and for Commonwealth, State and Territory governments. Collaboration between providers, between all parts of the sector and between levels of government forms an essential ingredient of what is needed to meet these challenges. Governments working together, with the education and training sector and with other industries, will both reinforce existing partnerships and encourage new links to maximise the value of the wide pool of expertise and technology in Australia.The initiatives outlined in this Action Plan cover the wide range of issues that need to be addressed.The Plan demonstrates the commitment of the education and training sector to work together to create an education and training framework that is both inclusive and meets the challenges of the new century.
DAVID KEMP MINISTER FOR EDUCATION,TRAINING AND YOUTH AFFAIRS
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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 19992002 . . . . . . . . . . . . 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 20002004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 The Way Forward Higher Education Action Plan for the Information Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
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Introduction
Learning for the knowledge society: An education and training action plan for the information economy
This Action Plan articulates the education and training industrys response to the Governments 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 can work 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 Online World.The Vocational Education and Training (VET) Action Plan: Flexible Learning for the Information Economy, and the Higher Education Action Plan: The Way Forward have 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: cmckenny@bigpond.com 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: j.ahern@a1.com.au Flexible Learning for the Information Economy is 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 8200 Fax: 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: margaret.foster@detya.gov.au Learning for the Knowledge Society: An Education and Training Action Plan for the Information Economy is also available on the Web at www.detya.gov.au/edu/edactplan.htm
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Contents
Executive Summary
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Executive Summar y
Education is recognised by OECD member states as a fundamental key to wealth creation and competitiveness in the current global information economy. A Borderless World OECD 1998 The education and training industry produces skilled people, creates knowledge, provides access for the community to the lifelong benefits of online learning and is an enabling force for all other industries. This Action Plan is a focus for change in the education and training sector. It establishes a framework under which all stakeholders can: develop strategies and implement key initiatives to ensure that all citizens possess broad literacy, numeracy and technological literacy skills for life, work, and lifelong learning and that there are adequate numbers of people with the specialist skills needed by the information and communications technology (ICT) industries and other Australian industries to service the needs of the economy; improve their understanding of the social, cultural and economic impact of the information economy on education, training, research and development; and reconsider the ways that they do business to achieve and maintain their national and international competitiveness.
The Plan identifies outcomes that the education and training industry must achieve if it is to play its enabling role in supporting Australias transition to the information economy and maintain its place as one of Australias major export earning industries. The Plan sets out five interrelated Action Areas under which strategies must be implemented. Each Action Area is equally important and needs to be addressed in an integrated way to achieve the purpose of the Plan.
The Action Areas are:

People Supplying the skills to drive the information economy.This includes the leaders and workers with the vision and skills to develop and manage new approaches to learning and to implement coordinated and timely change. Professional development for teachers, trainers, content developers, researchers and all other workers in education and training is essential to allow them to be change agents to achieve the goals of the information economy. Working with other industries to develop the specialist skills needed will ensure that Australia is able to take its place in the global information economy. Infrastructure Ensuring access at an affordable price to advanced telecommunications and information technology infrastructure including high bandwidth.This includes reliable and sustainable infrastructure support systems within and between education, training and research providers to ensure interoperability. Infrastructure provision and the conditions to allow research and development links between education and training providers and industry are also important to enable the education and training industry to conduct its business efficiently and effectively. Online Content, Applications and Services The sector needs to invest in new approaches to education and training content, applications and
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Photo courtesy of U3A, ACT
Learning for the knowledge society
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Executive Summary
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 Australias education, training and research industries. 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, that supports 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 Australias 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 the agreed 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 because in a knowledge based society, intellectual property is currency.The regulatory and technical frameworks will need to reflect international developments and should support and not impede the needs of Australias 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 the existing workforce in the education and training sector.
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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 technologyrich environments at home, through programs targeted at students experiencing educational disadvantage.
Infrastructure The education and training sector will: 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 Australias 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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Executive Summary
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 for providing infrastructure and bandwidth to educational institutions and workplaces. Online Content, Applications and Services The education and training sector will: 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 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 Australias 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 The education and training sector will: 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 Governments 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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Contents

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Lear ning for the knowledge society:

Education is recognised by OECD member states as a fundamental key to wealth creation and competitiveness in the current global information economy. A Borderless World OECD 1998 This Action Plan is a focus for change in the education and training sector. It establishes a framework within which all stakeholders can: develop strategies and implement key initiatives to ensure that all citizens possess broad literacy, numeracy and technological literacy skills for life, work, and lifelong learning and that there are adequate numbers of people with the specialist skills needed by the ICT industries and other Australian industries to service the needs of the economy; improve their understanding of the social, cultural and economic impact of the information economy on education, training, research and development; and
reconsider the ways that they do business to achieve and maintain their national and international competitiveness. The Plan identifies outcomes that the education and training industry must achieve if it is to play its enabling role in supporting Australias transition to the information economy and maintain its place as one of Australias major export earning industries. It also articulates the education and training industry component of the overall Government Strategic Framework for the Information Economy (December 1998).The Plan has been developed in consultation with all parts of the education and training sector, through the ERC.The ERC is an Advisory Committee of MCEETYA and is recognised by both MCEETYA and the MCIE as the national forum for policy advice on issues relating to the educational use of ICT. Membership of the ERC includes representatives of each State/Territory school and VET systems, non-government schools, higher education, and the Commonwealth.
Critical Success Factors

This Plan details the wide range of actions that are needed to ensure that education and training can discharge effectively the pivotal role it is playing in supporting Australias transition to the information economy. Among these actions, a number stand out as being of especially high priority: providing professional development for teachers, trainers, researchers and all workers in the education and training industry to assist the whole population in the changes required; enabling access to advanced information technology and telecommunications infrastructure including high bandwidth at an affordable price and reliable sustainable infrastructure support services within education, training and research institutions and libraries; promoting cooperation throughout the education and training sector and between governments
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and industry in the development, promotion and delivery of online content, applications and services; developing a comprehensive government policy framework for education and training that supports the information economy and the knowledge society; and encouraging regulatory frameworks that support Australian education and training in a national and international context.
The role of the Education and Training Industry

Education and training is a key industry in the information economy, as a producer, consumer and export earner.The education and training industry produces skilled people, creates knowledge, provides access for the community to the lifelong benefits of online learning and is an enabling force for other industries. Each part of the education and training sector has a role to play in developing the people who will power the information economy. School education provides the foundation knowledge, skills, attitudes and values upon which our children and our future society depends. Schools establish a pathway to lifelong learning for all Australians. Integrating ICT into school educational practice prepares all young people to participate in and contribute to an information society that requires high levels of literacy, numeracy, technological competence and a spirit of creativity and enterprise. Vocational education and training equips Australians for work and enhances workers flexibility and adaptability in the labour market.Vocational education and training encourages workers and enterprises to increase their investment in training. Through its connections with industry, vocational education and training works within the context of global industry competition, international industry standards and new developments in industry which arise from those competitive pressures. Adult and community education has the potential to reach out to all citizens in delivering work related and personal enrichment education and training. Adult and community education is provided through networks of community focal points such as the local schools and libraries and many other adult education colleges, centres and neighbourhood houses.These access points will become increasingly important to education and training, particularly as the necessity for lifelong learning increases. Universities also operate in an internationally competitive environment.They supply the professionals and experts required for many highly skilled occupations, leadership and management. Universities make a major contribution to Australias research and development effort. Higher education is the second largest research and development performer after the business sector. Many of the innovations that have created the information economy have originated in higher education institutions.
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industry to operate effectively is a complex change management process.The process needs to be understood and managed in a holistic manner.The enabling role of education and training is critical to both the public and private sectors. Support for change, and investment in it, needs to be widespread and provided over the longer term to achieve sustainable and effective outcomes. Governments need to play a catalytic role in ensuring that the education and training sector makes the best use of information technology for learning, teaching and research.They make a heavy investment of public funds in the development and maintenance of the sector.Their policies in areas such as telecommunications have a profound impact on the sectors ability to take advantage of ICT.They set the regulatory frameworks for the information economy and have a key responsibility for ensuring that these frameworks enable Australia to be internationally competitive as well as supporting equity of access and equal opportunity for all citizens to participate effectively. Governments need to work with each other, with the education and training sector and with industry to promote collaboration and encourage new links to maximise the value of the new investments required and to exercise a leadership role in the information economy. Effective partnership with the private sector can provide access to a wider pool of expertise and technology, open up new market opportunities and create a climate more conducive to innovation in the application of technologies to education and training. The Action Plan seeks to provide a common agenda on which all stakeholders governments, education and training providers and the private sector can work jointly to achieve common national goals.
A Coherent National Vision

The information economy is already transforming the way we live, work, and think about a wide range of activities and possibilities.The information economy is global, breaking down national, state and territory boundaries in education, training, recreation, and work. It is challenging the ways we have done things in the past and offers opportunities to create better ways of doing things. We must maintain the momentum to retain our place in the world. As a well educated and technologically advanced nation, Australia is well placed to take advantage of the benefits of the information economy. We will be able to convert this potential into reality if we have a coherent national vision for the role which the education and training sector will play and if we make an appropriate national investment in the education and training industry to enable us to realise that vision. Understanding the impact of the information economy on our society, culture and the economy will require a re-think of how we do business and the development of new approaches to learning. Creating effective systems for applying new technologies in education, training, learning and research to enable the education and training
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Key Action Areas

The Plan sets out five interrelated Action Areas under which intended outcomes and key strategic priorities are identified to enable the education and training industry to become a full partner in the industrial and commercial development of the information economy. Each Action Area is equally important and only by addressing each of them in an integrated way will the purpose of the Plan be achieved. A brief description of each Action Area follows. People Education and training must supply the skills necessary to drive the information economy.To do this, the education and training sector needs leaders and workers with the vision and skills to develop new approaches to learning and to implement change. Professional development for teachers, trainers, content developers, researchers and all other workers in education and training is essential to allow them to be change agents to achieve the goals of the information economy. Infrastructure All parts of the education and training industry need access to advanced telecommunications and information technology infrastructure including high bandwidth at an affordable price. Reliable, sustainable and mutually compatible infrastructure support systems within and between education, training and research providers need to be established. Infrastructure provision and the conditions to allow research and development links between education and training providers and industry are also important. All of these are critical to enable the education and training industry to conduct its business efficiently and effectively. Online Content, Applications and Services The education and training sector needs to invest in developing new approaches to learning, and content, applications and services which enhance the learning experience in Australia and develops
leadership internationally. How online content, applications and services are delivered is a key element in the value chain for Australias education, training and research industries. 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 A comprehensive policy framework is required for education and training, including research and development, that will support 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 to enable Australias education and training industry to become internationally competitive. Education and training organisations must improve their planning and change management strategies to ensure the agreed outcomes are achieved. Regulatory Framework Telecommunications, intellectual property management, online content, e-commerce, and a range of other regulatory and technical frameworks need to be in place so that the education and training industry can operate efficiently and effectively and become internationally competitive.The regulatory and technical frameworks will need to reflect international developments and be mindful of support mechanisms in these areas which have been applied overseas.The regulatory framework should support and not impede the needs of Australias education and training industry. In a knowledge based society, intellectual property is currency. Effective copyright legislation is an integral element of this.
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Action Area 1: People

Key outcomes for education and training
1.1 All citizens are able to use technology confidently and creatively to enhance their ability to communicate, create, organise, manipulate and apply knowledge. Managers, decision-makers and leaders throughout the community comprehend the significance of ICT for the activities for which they are responsible and have the capacity to lead and manage organisational change. 1.2 There are adequate numbers of people with the specialist ICT skills, knowledge and research capability to meet the needs of the ICT industries, other industries and the community more generally. 1.3 The education and training industry workforce is able to take full advantage of ICT: Its teachers, researchers, trainers and support workers are able to effectively integrate the new technologies into their activities. Its managers and decision-makers, at all levels, can lead and manage the individual and organisational changes that will be required to take full advantage of ICT. Its providers have access to the skills needed to effectively plan for the development and maintenance of their IT infrastructure.
wasted and Australias capacity to compete in the information economy will be fundamentally compromised. Change leadership is more than new skills it is about being entrepreneurial in manipulating, connecting and generating knowledge, about being expert in how knowledge is created. Citizens ability to use technology confidently and creatively, and leaders ability to envision and manage change Technology-related skills will be useful only to the extent that they build on a broad educational foundation and improve the ways in which people are able to learn and work. Keeping abreast of technological change and developing the skills needed to make effective use of new technologies is one critical element of lifelong learning. All Australians need to be able to access the means of acquiring skills to participate fully in the information economy.The goal must be to make access to opportunities for ICT skills development universal, so as to avoid accentuating the divide between knowledge haves and knowledge have nots.
In an era of intensifying global competition and accelerating economic, social and cultural change, significant changes to the education and training sectors traditional practices will be required in teaching and learning, in research, in the provision of support services and in administration in order to fully tap the potential of ICT. Without those changes, and the visionary leadership required to guide their implementation, the provision of expensive hardware and technical support will be
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Over the longer term, the school system is the most appropriate vehicle for providing citizens with broad ICT-related skills, awareness and competencies which they can build on in later life. State/Territory governments are working to build schools ability to serve in that capacity. Complementary action is underway at the national level. ICT-related skills and awareness now feature in agreed national goals for schooling1.The MCEETYA National Education Performance Monitoring Taskforce (NEPMT) is investigating the use of performance measures for student achievement relating to new technologies, and a survey on school students IT skills has been conducted to assess and report on the extent to which students are developing skills in information processing and computing2. The most effective way of raising students ICT awareness and skills will be to ensure that ICT pervades schools curriculum practice in the same way that it is permeating other areas of community life. Consideration will need to be given to developing ICT literacy for the existing post-school age population and those who slip through the cracks of the school system. The needs of the existing post school-age population should be met by encouraging individuals and their employers (or education and training providers, in the case of students in postschool education) to provide the skills they need to work in the information economy.This requires close cooperation between the formal education and training system and business. Governments can encourage individuals to upgrade their skills through awareness raising activities and, especially, by demonstrating the power and potential of ICT through their own program delivery. Some groups which are currently disadvantaged may be at risk of becoming further disadvantaged if their ICT skills fall short of community norms.These groups include indigenous Australians, the disabled,
the unemployed, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, those who are not in the paid workforce, and people who live in regional areas or at the edge of cities. While the need for change will apply to everyone, the role of managers, decision-makers and leaders will be crucial.They will spearhead the processes of identifying the changes that are needed in their local contexts, engaging their respective communities in the change process and carrying through the adjustments that are needed.They will need to be more than simply competent computer users.They will need a real understanding of what ICT can offer for their areas of responsibility together with an appreciation of the necessity for taking advantage of ICT in order to survive and prosper in an increasingly competitive global environment. The need for specialist ICT skills The ICT industries are significant providers of high value added employment and export income for Australia. ICT specialists are also employed in large numbers in other industries. Each part of the education and training sector has its own role to play in meeting the need for ICT specialists. Demand for ICT skills will continue to rise as Australian business and industry increase their participation in the information economy and as more and more services go online.The ICT industry is concerned that the supply of skilled persons may not be able to meet emerging needs. Shortages of ICT specialists are currently an issue in Australia and globally. Industry accepts that there are limits on the extent to which it can expect the public education and training sector to carry responsibility for developing solutions. Educators and trainers need to work alongside industry to ensure that sufficient numbers of competent ICT specialists are being produced. Industry and government are working together to meet ICT skills needs. Industry has formed an Information Technology and Telecommunications
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(IT&T) Industries Task Force as a means of focussing attention on this issue and identifying how best to respond to it. In February 2000, Senator Richard Alston, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, and Dr David Kemp, Minister for Education,Training and Youth Affairs, announced Commonwealth Government funding of up to $5 million to help establish an Information Technology and Telecommunications Skills Institute, to assist in better meeting industry skill needs.The Government has asked industry to provide matching funding. It is envisaged that the Institute will commence operations in the second half of 2000.3 VET providers and universities work closely with industry, especially in areas of professional development and research. In regional areas, education and training providers contribute to regional development. In the information economy, there is an increasing need to develop these links further. The ability of the education and training workforce to effectively apply ICT Success in the online environment demands new and different skills and attitudes. Like other community sectors, the education and training sector faces a massive challenge in preparing its workforce for the changes that lie ahead and which are already beginning to take place.
For example: The relationship between teaching and learning is changing. ICT is allowing learners to manage, share and create knowledge, using the tools of the information society. Developing high quality online learning materials requires teachers to share the developmental task with professionals from a range of non-teaching disciplines and perhaps also with learners. Research is changing. ICT is enabling enhanced communication among researchers, and between researchers and the wider community, vastly enhancing researchers access to information, providing powerful tools for addressing research problems, enabling wider and faster publication of research results and enabling remote access to, and hence sharing of, research infrastructure by multiple, geographically disparate research communities. These changes are taking place in an environment in which competition between providers is increasing within and between each part of the Australian education and training sector, and with international providers.This means that taking action to use ICT effectively is a necessity, not an option. Progress in developing the requisite new skills is taking place, but not at the pace or depth required to support a major shift in practice.The key challenge is to diffuse knowledge and understanding from early adopters to the workforce as a whole. The ability to respond quickly to changing conditions is a critical source of competitive advantage in the information economy.To a significant extent, the education and training sectors ability to adjust quickly to the demands of the information economy will set the pace of adjustment for the community as a whole. It is therefore important that the sector meets the challenges both quickly and well.
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The outstanding priorities are generic and specific skills enhancement, professional development, and addressing potential student disadvantage. The industries of the future are knowledge based industries and teachers, trainers and researchers are a key part of these developments. Effective change requires effective change agents.Teachers, trainers, researchers and all workers in the education and training industry need to have the skills to both lead and participate in change. The education and training sector will: Promote the development of generic and 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 the existing workforce in the education and training sector. 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. 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 technologyrich environments at home, through programs targeted at students experiencing educational disadvantage.
Action Area 2: Infrastr ucture

2.1 All education and training providers have affordable access to an advanced ICT infrastructure including high quality end user equipment and high capacity networking within and between provider institutions, to: support effective models of teaching and learning; enable Australia to maintain world class research and research training; and foster competition within the education and training industry and open up opportunities for the industry both within Australia and overseas.
Whether on- or off-campus, all participants in the education and training sector need access to high quality, reliable, sustainable and affordable ICT infrastructure that is capable of supporting the most up-to-date tools available for learning and knowledge creation.This includes: the equipment that 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 provide connections to people and online services around the world. Universality of access to
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infrastructure will be important to avoid accentuating the divide between knowledge haves and knowledge have nots. Citizens will require access to ICT to support lifelong learning. Strategies to ensure that this outcome is achieved need to address the following questions: What infrastructure does the education and training sector require, now and in the future, to play its part in the development of the information economy? Does the education and training sector have the infrastructure it needs? Does limited access reflect a lack of installed capacity, pricing or regulatory constraints, or other impediments? What will it cost to develop and maintain a world-standard ICT infrastructure for education and training, who will pay and how? What infrastructure does the sector require? In August 1999, DETYA commissioned a consultants report4 on the education and training sectors bandwidth requirements to provide input to the National Bandwidth Inquiry. The report makes it clear that the sectors bandwidth requirements are high and growing. For higher education, the growth could range from 50% to 130% per annum over 19992004. Growth is estimated at 50% in 1999.The rate of growth will be determined to a significant extent by pricing regimes. For VET providers and schools it is estimated that each provider with more than 200 students will require at least 128 Kbps in 2000, 256 Kbps in 2001 and 2 Mbps by 2004. Education and training is one of the largest users of bandwidth in Australia. In the coming years, new applications such as virtual classrooms combining video conferencing with electronic whiteboard and documents will place heavy demands on bandwidth. The sectors bandwidth requirements may be exceeded only by the requirements of the TV and movie industries.
How adequate is the sectors infrastructure? Advice provided by the education and training sector, and confirmed in the consultants bandwidth report, entitled Bandwidth Requirements of the Education and Training Sector, indicates that limits on access to ICT infrastructure is a key impediment to the education and training sectors participation in the information economy. While higher education and VET providers generally have access to adequate computing resources and communications facilities to carry out individual study and research and an increasing (but still limited) amount of online programme delivery they lack the universal facilities necessary for teaching complex applications, developing and using new technology (such as video classrooms) for teaching and research purposes, especially in multi-campus institutions, and for research projects which require high levels of dedicated bandwidth.The consultants bandwidth report found that current Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and VET networks are not adequate, particularly outside the major cities. While most universities are well advanced in using internet technology through the Australian Academic and Research Network (AARNet), there are 5 regional universities which have no broadband access. Universities have argued for an increase in Australias supercomputing facilities and associated research programs so that Australia can capitalise on the benefits of being linked to cutting edge international research and is able to support leading edge industry development in Australia. High bandwidth is crucial to getting the best value from any supercomputing investment. All State/Territory systems and the nongovernment schools have programs in place to connect schools to the Internet. However, the situation varies across jurisdictions. Many schools lack adequate computer resources for the individual use of students. While an increasing number of Australian schools have internet
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connections that enable multiple classroom use, the majority still have only single line dial up access and some, particularly in remote areas, have none at all. In many schools that are increasing their online activities, 64kbps connections are proving inadequate, especially for the larger schools. Non government schools are facing the same challenges as public schools. The community based Adult and Community Education (ACE) providers are also unable to meet growing ICT needs. All community providers would benefit from shared access to technology which is available in public institutions such as schools, libraries and TAFEs. Student access off-campus will become increasingly important as more and more education and training is delivered online. Data on students off-campus access to personal computers (PCs) and associated equipment is not available at present. Disparities in access and cost between urban and rural and regional areas present key equity issues as well as issues for regional and industry development. The lack of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) within local call areas of rural and remote parts of Australia make internet access exceedingly costly in comparison to regions with local access to ISPs.This affects a considerable proportion of businesses as well as the education and training community. Cost issues were identified in the consultants bandwidth report as needing further attention. Why are there shortfalls in infrastructure availability? For the most part, shortfalls in infrastructure do not appear to reflect limitation in installed telecommunications capacity, and existing limitations are in the process of being overcome.There appear to be few technical limitations to installed telecommunications capacity for the national optical fibre trunk networks. Under the Commonwealth Government Universal Service Obligation (USO), a 64 kbps Integrated Services Digital Network
(ISDN) service is available on demand to 96% of Australians. For the remaining 4%, the USO requires availability of an on-demand Internetbased asymmetric satellite service that delivers a satellite downlink comparable to 64 kbit/s (plus reimbursement of 50% of the price of purchasing the necessary satellite receiving equipment). A number of carriers have firm commercial plans to launch such services in the near future. However, the education and training sector considers that pricing and regulatory issues are limiting significantly its capacity to take up online services. If the education and training sectors uptake of online services is constrained, then so also will be Australias rate of transition to the information economy because of the pivotal role that education and training will play in that transition. In terms of pricing, the existing policies of the telecommunications carriers will make it very expensive for the education and training sector to meet the expected growth in demand for bandwidth. In some instances, current policies are forcing universities to develop their own wide area networks or install microwave links activities that do not fall within the ambit of their core business because, to do so, is currently more cost effective than using carrier telecommunications infrastructure. In terms of regulatory issues, the Australian ViceChancellors Committee (AVCC) advises that the treatment of its online service provider, AARNet, under the Telecommunications Act 1997 makes it very difficult for AARNet to deliver services to TAFE, schools and other government and nongovernment (not-for-profit) organisations, even where this would reduce overall demand for funding on State and Commonwealth Governments. This is producing unintended outcomes in a range of areas, for example in multi-sector institutions.The arrangements also make interaction with business and industry through shared infrastructure costly and difficult. AVCC Members are only allowed to use AARNet for or in connection with research,
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educational or administrative functions of AVCC Members. Prior to revision of the Telecommunications 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 to PCs 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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support their online activities? Should costs be shared with other telecommunications users, for example through an extension of USOs and price concessions for educational users? Alternatively, should the supply and pricing of ICT infrastructure be left entirely to the market? If costs are to be met by the education and training sector, how should they be shared between Government funding agencies (Commonwealth and State/Territory), individual providers through the use of their existing government grants and other revenue sources, or individual students through access charges? The education and training sector considers that some form of government intervention (either through preferential tariffing policies for education and training or through direct subsidies) is needed in view of the sectors pivotal role in the development of the information economy. Some funding vehicles may be more effective than others in supporting the development of ICT infrastructure investments, their subsequent maintenance and their integration within the overall fabric of infrastructure provision at the provider and systemic levels. Infrastructure investments often require significant levels of funding.To the extent that responsibility for allocative decisions is devolved to local agencies or individual providers, the onus is on them to make provision for such investments through the prudent use of government or other funding sources. Central agencies need to ensure that funding incentives promote investments that are appropriate and cost-effective. In this context, a particular question is whether it is desirable for central funding authorities (at government and/or provider levels) to retain some earmarked funding to support strategic investments, or whether all funding should be devolved to end user areas. The multiplicity of players in the bandwidth arena raises coordination issues, as does the need to reconcile a range of different policy objectives (relating, for example, to telecommunications, competition policy, industry and regional
development and social equity). Governments face a considerable challenge in ensuring that their policies and programmes in these different arenas all face in the same direction, to address the education and training sectors needs in a cohesive way while also recognising wider policy considerations.

The outstanding priority for action in this area is bandwidth at an affordable price to carry out learning, teaching and research.This has been identified as critical by every part of the education and training industry. While some work has already been done on this area, we need a greater understanding of the likely future bandwidth requirements of the sector from the needs of schools to the highest levels of research and development. The education and training sector will: 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 Australias 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. 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 for providing infrastructure and bandwidth to educational institutions and workplaces.
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Action Area 3: Online Content, Applications and Ser vices

3.1 Australias education and training sector has an advanced capacity to apply online resources, applications and services (online services) in ways which support: new paradigms of teaching, learning and research; continuous innovation and improvement in curricula; and better and more efficient support services and administration. 3.2 Australia has an advanced capacity to produce a significant body of online education and training services that are capable of meeting its own requirements, of expressing Australias unique cultural identity and of earning export revenues.
Online services may embrace: Applications and resources to support teaching and learning including course materials designed for online delivery, learning resources for students, support materials for teachers, services that enhance the accessibility of online material by aggregating and indexing it (such as EdNA Online)6; Applications and resources to support research activity; Student support services such as online career guidance information; Applications and services to support the efficient and effective business operations of education and training in an online environment, such as assessment and reporting systems, institutional administration and course management and delivery systems. Online services are providing the foundation for a transformation in teaching and learning and all other aspects of the business of education and training. In many cases they will be saleable internationally, opening up major opportunities for Australia to earn export revenues. Education, training and research are becoming increasingly competitive on a global scale, and increasingly significant as enablers of the success of Australias other industry and community sectors. The education and training industry is keen to take up the opportunities that are on offer in developing online content, applications and services.The education and training industry considers that Australia should capitalise on its key education and training areas of national advantage to promote our cultural identity both within Australia and internationally. The education and training sector is moving to take advantage of ICT on a range of fronts, but progress overall is patchy and far more needs to be done. What is needed is an environment in which the
The ICT revolution offers enormous opportunities for the education and training sector.This potential will only be realised if ICT is used to deliver online services in ways that allow the sector to work better, more accessibly and more cost-effectively.
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sector is encouraged to take up and effectively apply ICT as rapidly and comprehensively as possible. Success in this area will depend to a significant extent on matters dealt with elsewhere in this Plan. A physical infrastructure capable of supporting online services needs to be developed and sustained. Education and training workers and their managers need to comprehend the potential of ICT and be empowered to make use of it.The broader policy and regulatory environments need to be conducive to the production and uptake of ICT, particularly in relation to the protection and trading of intellectual property. Further requirements need to be met if Australia is to effectively apply and produce online services: Understanding the market A better understanding needs to be developed of the market segmentation in the education and training market and in making decisions about what needs to be created and what could be customised.The scope of online services is quite different to many existing education content and services. A better understanding of the key areas of value added elements in this new market will be essential. Collaboration Online services are frequently expensive to acquire, produce and maintain. Acquisition, production, maintenance and usage need to take place on a large scale to spread fixed costs across large user populations. One way to keep unit costs down is for providers to collaborate in acquiring7 and in producing online services. Standards The interoperability of online services emanating from different sources, both locally and internationally, should be maximised. Quality Assurance Mechanisms need to be investigated which facilitate consistency of learning outcomes when education and training is delivered beyond the institution or extends beyond a single part of the education and training sector.
Creativity and innovation ICT opens up a myriad of new possibilities. We need to encourage a diverse range of creative approaches. Domestic diffusion Online services produced in Australia should be widely accessible within Australia. International saleability We need to develop a strong international clientele for Australian produced online services in order to enhance the affordability of those services within Australia. We will be protecting our cultural identity locally while projecting it abroad, generating significant export revenues.

The key priority for the education and training sector will be to develop greater collaboration across the whole of the education and training industry and with other industries in acquiring, creating, marketing and financing online content, applications and services. The education and training sector will: 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:
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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 Australias 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: Policy and Organisational Framework

Key outcome for education and 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 Australias 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 Governments Strategic Framework for the Information Economy provides 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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Australias future in the information age and the important role of the education and training sector in that future.These are: 1. Education and training is a key engine of the information economy Awareness raising When making policies, enacting legislation and planning at government and organisational level, key decision makers in government, industry, the education and training sector and the community need to understand the key role that the education and training sector plays both as an industry in its own right; and as an enabling system within the information economy. 2. Education and training is a key participant and leader in the information economy Education and training is a strong participant in the information economy and should be positioned to provide leadership. Policies and activities should be made with this principle in mind. 3. Innovation should be encouraged and stimulated Governments, education and training and industry need to work collaboratively to create an environment which removes barriers and creates incentives for innovation in learning and research, to enable the education and training industry to compete globally. 4. Equity, market orientation and competition policy need to be balanced All citizens need the skills and access to infrastructure to participate effectively in the information economy.The education and training sector can be a key way of realising the equity and public interest objective at the institutional, regional and individual learner level.The public interest can be represented through a range of policies promoting equity but functioning within the framework of competitive markets. Policy makers use strategic intervention in periods of rapid social and economic transition to ensure
the education and training industry is able to effectively perform its central role. Such intervention should ensure that leading edge developments or identification of gaps in market coverage are not missed through lack of resourcing. 5. Collaboration and strategic alliances need to be encouraged In the information economy, the creation of new knowledge and its speedy application to the design and delivery of new products and services is at a premium. Informal and formal links between independent suppliers, customers and competitors can provide a knowledge-generating network in which shared problems can be solved through collaboration, even within an intensely competitive environment. Creative collaboration involves multiple linkages at all levels involving the whole community, including: developing collaborative national frameworks for cooperation at policy and planning levels including agreed national policy statements, quality planning frameworks, technology planning and implementation frameworks for the education and training sector to participate effectively in the information economy.The ERC is an excellent example of this. balancing competition (eg between State and Territory Governments or between institutions) and cooperation and partnership within the education and training industry which can help to develop flexible, open markets and accessible trade routes, promote innovation and improve productivity. recognising the scope for the extension of collaboration at community level (eg libraries, rural transaction centres) to assist both in an equity and industry development focus. developing viable strategic alliances with industry to achieve a leadership role in the global information economy and to gain the financing required.
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6. Governments have a role in investing for the future Governments have a key role in investing for the future either by providing funding and/or in developing other mechanisms to promote leading edge initiatives or in filling gaps where there is lack of market interest. Governments also have a public interest role. Governments are the principal source of policy direction for education and training in Australia and the major providers of education and training. Education and training funding policies need to be developed which take into account the major long-term up-front and ongoing investment required to ensure that the education and training industry can play its part alongside other industry sectors in the information economy. Funding policies are needed which take into account the changing nature of the learning enterprise, (stimulated by constantly changing technologies and new opportunities for flexible delivery) and which recognise the importance of recurrent investment in ICT infrastructure and professional development. Funding these initiatives is expensive. It will require all governments and the education and training industry to examine all options including the extent to which current funding mechanisms are conducive to the requirements of the information economy.The education and training sector will need to consider minimising duplication of effort where national cooperation could yield better and more cost effective results.
Similarly all governments need to identify the extent to which current resource allocation policies and administrative arrangements within each part of the education and training sector inadvertently impede collaboration. All governments and the education and training industry will need to move from a funding policy paradigm which is government dependent to a financing paradigm which seeks various options for financing the longer term investments required. 7. There needs to be effective strategic planning at organisational level At the organisation and enterprise level, education and training providers and research bodies need to incorporate the necessary frameworks for managing organisational change and continuous improvement approaches into their strategic planning.The new frameworks must enable them to function effectively in the information economy and to implement ICT strategies at local level using effective and efficient online business practices. Information and communications technology issues need to be an integral part of their policy development and planning processes. Planning at the local level needs to address equity considerations including a recognition that access and equity policies and new learning technology policies should be mutually reinforcing. 8. Research and Development and evaluation are required Undertaking quality research will be a key to effective policy development, analysis and implementation. Comprehensive information about the use of ICT in education and training, including international benchmarking, is needed to ensure that Australia is competitive with regard to the use of ICT in education and training.This information will provide the base to guide current and future investment policies.
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Action Area 5: Regulator y Framework

Key outcome for education and training
5.1 The education and training industry is an active player in influencing future regulatory initiatives and the special requirements of the education and training industry are recognised in the development of regulatory frameworks given its key enabling role in the information economy.
Developing viable benchmarking methods, stocktakes and evaluation criteria at systemic, local and organisational level will be important in increasing understanding of the education and training needs for the information economy and the effectiveness of initiatives. Developing performance indicators which are meaningful and accessible for the whole of the sector will be particularly challenging but would enable the sector to decide how best to introduce and support change.The education and training sector could consider developing a performance information framework capable of providing information to guide the continuous improvement of policy and management of the use of online technologies in teaching and learning.
Market rules are being established by governments to facilitate the information economy in areas such as intellectual property, telecommunications, online content, privacy, electronic transactions and data protection.These rules and regulations will impact significantly on how education and training is organised and managed and how learning takes place. Setting a suitable regulatory framework is a vital step in building the confidence of the education and training community, industry and consumers. The establishment of an effective and efficient regulatory framework which meets the needs of the education and training sector will assist in enhancing Australias competitive advantage in the global information economy. The education and training sector at all levels needs to have an understanding of the major legal and regulatory issues affecting its performance and needs to communicate its preferred position to governments, the education and training stakeholders and the broader community more generally. The regulatory framework needs to support education and training in its enabling role. Governments need to consult with the education and training industry about regulations impacting on the sector.The sector is concerned that agencies involved in developing elements of the regulatory

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.
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framework for the information economy may not routinely consider the impact of their work on the education and training industry. As a consequence, unintentional barriers are created which have an impact on the performance of the sector within the information economy. The regulatory framework in Australia should: ensure affordable access to information resources; remove legal and regulatory barriers to the effective delivery of education and training using information technology and encourage flexible arrangements for education and training; and ensure open world trade in Australian products and services. Copyright The issue of copyright is the key priority area for the education and training sector.The sector considers this area of the regulatory framework to be crucial to the effective and efficient delivery of education and training in the future. In principle, the education and training sector supports amendment to copyright legislation to recognise changes which the online environment will require in the delivery of education and training. However the education and training sector considers the proposed Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Bill 1999 can only be the first step in updating copyright legislation to take into account the online environment. Formal processes will need to be set in place involving the education and training community, to further develop the legislative base to give Australia a digital copyright regime which is capable of properly balancing the interests of users, creators and investors into the future. Telecommunications The issue of telecommunications regulation is also of central concern to the education and training community.This issue is dealt with under Action Area 2 Infrastructure.
The following regulatory areas are also priorities for the education and training sector: online content; domain names, in particular the management of the .edu domain space. Online Content The Government is developing a national regulatory framework for online services, involving a co-regulatory regime for service providers at the Commonwealth level and regulation of content providers/users by the States and Territories.There is a need for ongoing consultation with the education and training sector about the impact of this framework on the sector and how to address these special requirements (eg access to information) in implementing the legislation. The sector recognises the need to balance policies at the local level to reflect the new regime while allowing for the range of information to be accessed by all who are seeking it. As such, the education and training sector is of the view that the regulatory regime for online content needs to put the control of online content as close as possible to the user. The education and training sector needs to be kept informed and actively consulted concerning ongoing developments. It will also actively seek to influence developments through the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) and the Australian Broadcasting Authority and continue to monitor international developments in this area. Domain Names Given the importance of maintaining and promoting Australias reputation and prestige in education and training, the regulation of the .edu second level domain space is an important matter for the sector. It is anticipated that an entity with representation from all parts of the education and training sector will be formed, capitalising on existing expertise, which would be recognised by virtue of the commitment and support of the key stakeholders in the education and training sector.
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Electronic Transactions The education and training sector signals its ongoing support for developments in: electronic transactions; privacy and data protection. The sector supports Government initiatives to use the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 as a model for national uniform legislation to put electronic commerce and paper based commerce on an equal footing.The sector recognises that enactment of this legislation will alleviate the uncertainty surrounding the legal status of electronic communications. The education and training sector recognises the need to ensure awareness by the education and training community about a range of electronic transaction issues which will impact on the conduct of their business operations.The education and training sector currently carries out many back office functions which would lend themselves to electronic transactions including enrolments, payment of fees, assignment submission and the posting of results.The sector recognises that it will need to develop business models for transactions in an information economy which are compatible with wider business practice including: an understanding of its requirement for electronic transactions in an information economy; fostering the development and supply of a range of cost-effective and affordable technologies and services for users; an understanding of trade practices requirements and consumer protection; and encouraging financial institutions to offer a range of secure and affordable online services for the education and training sector. The sector will also need to be kept informed of, and adapt to, developments in the use of authentication technologies and services for
transactions and ensure appropriate standards of encryption in relevant products and services. Privacy and Data Protection The education and training sector supports the development of appropriate safeguards to protect student and teacher privacy in the web publishing environment, and in respect of other transactions which take place through education and training providers/institutions.

DCITA, through NOIE, has been oversighting policy work to develop a regulatory framework for the information economy.The regulatory framework must support the education and training sector in its enabling role in the information economy. The education and training sector will: 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
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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 Governments 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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Contents
DETYA information economy strategic plan

19992002
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DETYA infor mation economy strategic plan 19992002

Purpose
To contribute to DETYAs vision of achieving excellence in helping all Australians achieve in a learning society by supporting the effective application of information and communications technologies (ICT) to all aspects of education and training.
This Strategic Plan dovetails with Learning for the knowledge society: An education and training action plan for the information economy. It defines the part that DETYA, as one of the many players who share responsibility for education and training, will play to advance the strategic directions identified and agreed to in the Action Plan.
Why does the information economy matter?

The term information economy is used as a shorthand way of describing the changes to social and commercial life being ushered in by advances in information and communications technologies (ICT).These changes are coming about because ICT are dramatically enhancing our ability to manipulate information and communicate across what once were boundaries of all kinds.They are requiring us to reconfigure our economic, social, cultural, political and organisational structures and relationships, together with their supporting legal and regulatory frameworks. We maximise our chances of benefiting from the imperative for change by approaching it pro-actively rather than reactively. The development of the information economy has profound implications for education and training. In broad terms, these fall into two categories. The first category is external. It relates to the role that education and training will play in assisting Australians to make the transition to the information economy. Our success as a nation in the next century will depend to a very significant degree on the performance of our education and training systems.This includes the role that ICT is playing in promoting the further development of education and training as a major, globally competitive, export earning industry in its own right. The second category is internal It relates to the way in which ICT are transforming education and training itself teaching and learning, research and administration.These transformations have wide and deep ramifications for how the education and
Benchmark for success

To be recognised as an excellent promoter, facilitator and coordinator of information economy policy development and implementation.
The strategic plan in context

This Strategic Plan describes what DETYA will do to assist the education and training sector to make the adjustments that are needed to enable the sector to position itself and the Australian community to make an effective transition into the Information Age. It should be read in conjunction with two other information economy planning documents. The first is the Governments Strategic Framework for the Information Economy. This document sets out what needs to be done to advance the information economy agenda across all community sectors. It identifies education and training as the second in a list of eleven areas in which detailed action plans are required. The second is Learning for the knowledge society: An education and training action plan for the information economy. This document was produced pursuant to the release of the Strategic Framework. It provides strategies for enabling education and training sector as a whole to play its part within the wider information economy agenda. It has been agreed to by Commonwealth and State/Territory Education Ministers.
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training sector organises itself and for government policies and regulatory frameworks. If our education and training providers are to remain globally competitive, and in this way to provide Australians with the support they need to meet the demands of the information economy, then one of the things they will have to do is apply ICT effectively to their own processes.
Promoting sharing of information and experience on all matters relating to the information economy, within Australia and internationally. Taking program action to advance the information economy agenda, where such action will add value to actions being taken by others, for example by promoting a faster rate of change than would otherwise occur.
How can DETYA add value?

We need to be clear how DETYA can best add value. We share our involvement in information economy issues with many other players at both the Commonwealth and State/Territory levels, as well as with our peer agencies internationally. We share a number of issues of concern with areas such as Health and Regional Services in the public sector and with the private sector. At the Commonwealth level, a number of players are involved in implementing policies, laws, regulations and programs that impinge directly on our portfolio interests. Divisions of responsibility among the players are not always clearly defined. Opportunities for collaboration are proliferating, but so also are the risks of wastage through duplication or lack of co-ordination. In general terms, DETYA will add value by: Taking the lead in developing and maintaining an information economy action plan that is agreed to by the education and training community. Maximising policy and program synergies with other Commonwealth agencies whose activities and perspectives affect the information economy agenda, and ensure that the activities of other agencies are informed by an understanding of the central role that education and training plays in the information economy. Providing a framework that promotes ongoing co-ordination on matters such as standards, protocols and information sharing, within the Australian education and training sector, and between the sector and other players, both within Australia and internationally.
Areas in which action is needed

DETYA is already playing a key role in developing an agenda for action in the educational use of ICT that is agreed by all education and training stakeholders.The Plan has been developed in consultation with a working group of the 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. The Action Plan forms one of a series of plans developed in the wake of the release in January 1999 of the Governments Strategic Framework for the Information Economy. The Action Plan defines an agreed agenda on which all stakeholders governments, education and training providers and the private sector can work jointly to achieve common goals.The Plan is built around five broad, interrelated Action Areas. These are: 1 People 2 Infrastructure 3 Online content, applications and services 4 Policy and organisational frameworks 5 Regulatory framework
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By supporting co-operation with and among other parties with an interest in information economy issues relating to education and training.
What will DETYA do?

Strategy 1 Enhance the development of structures and processes that achieve co-ordination and enhanced awareness within DETYA in relation to information economy related issues, policies and programs, and enable the provision of high quality, proactive advice to the Minister. This Strategic Plan puts forward strategies to guide DETYAs contribution to this agenda. The ensuing pages cover overarching strategies first and then deal with each of the Action Areas in turn. In each case, the key questions that are addressed are: What needs to be achieved? How can DETYA add value? What will DETYA do? How will DETYA be able to show it has succeeded? Strategy 2 Enhance the development of structures and processes that promote co-operation, co-ordination and awareness among all parties with an interest in information economy issues relating to education and training. Assess the extent to which the Action Plans intended outcomes can be achieved by amendments to the guidelines of DETYAs existing programs. Set in place procedures to ensure that the development of guidelines for future programs takes the information economy agenda into account.
Overall strategies
What needs to be achieved?
Embedding the goals of the Education and Training Action Plan for the Information Economy in DETYAs policies, programmes and activities. A high standard of co-operation and coordination between DETYA, States and Territories, other Commonwealth portfolios, other organisations in the public and private sectors and with other countries on information economy issues relating to education and training.
How will DETYA be able to show it has succeeded?

By showing how the information economy agenda is being addressed through all of our programs and what we are doing to make sure that information economy issues are addressed systematically in all of our new program development. By pointing to high quality advice that we have provided to the Minister on issues relating to the educational use of ICT. By pointing to structures, processes and activities that we have initiated or are supporting, that are successfully promoting the cause of greater co-operation and co-ordination in the prosecution of issues relating to the educational use of ICT.

By ensuring that it is, itself, well co-ordinated and strategically focussed in its approach to information economy related issues.
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Action Area 1: People

High overall community ICT literacy levels. Capacity on the part of community managers, decision-makers and leaders to comprehend, lead and manage ICT-driven change. Avoidance of the creation of classes of people whose life chances and lives are compromised by lack 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.
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 will 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-risk groups, 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.

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 these groups are being met by existing programs at all
Photo courtesy of Hawker College, ACT
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Action Area 2: Infrastr ucture

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.
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.

By establishing the status of the sectors in regard to infrastructure availability, what the sectors 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).

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.
What will DETYA do?

Strategy 7 Take the lead in developing status reports, models and benchmarks relating to the education and training sectors 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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DCITA, and ensure that the sectors voice is heard in all fora dealing with relevant legislation, regulation and expenditure.

By showing that we have a well-founded understanding of the sectors 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, Applications and Ser vices

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 sectors own requirements, that give expression to Australias cultural identity locally while being sensitive to cultural differences globally, and of earning export revenues. A highly sophisticated approach that ensures that Australias 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.
What will DETYA do?

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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in the light of that investigation, taking into account the distribution of responsibilities between the Commonwealth, States/Territories and individual providers. Strategy 11 Take the lead in stimulating a more systematic approach to the development of interoperability standards relating to online content. Strategy 12 Take the lead in developing an examination of what is needed to stimulate the development in Australia of a world class industry in online educational content, applications and services, and take appropriate action in the light of that investigation.
Action Area 4: Policy and Organisational Framework

Clear commitment by Commonwealth and State/Territory Ministers for Education to the information economy agenda, to underpin future policy and program development in relation to education technology. A comprehensive research and development strategy to help fill the many knowledge gaps that face us as we attempt to develop policy in this area.

By working with the ERC to develop a MCEETYA policy statement which recognises the key enabling role played by education and training in supporting Australias transition to the information economy. By taking the lead in developing a research and development strategy that will underpin information economy policy development at Commonwealth and State/Territory levels.
How will DETYA be able to show that it has succeeded?

By showing that we have a well founded understanding of how best to encourage collaboration between providers and systems in the development of online services, and that we are taking appropriate programme action in the light of that understanding. By showing that we have succeeded in developing an effective approach to the development and maintenance of interoperability standards relating to online content. By showing that we have succeeded in getting the economic, social and cultural importance of online educational services widely recognised within an industry development framework, and that we are taking appropriate action to advance that cause.
What will DETYA do?

Strategy 13 Draft a policy statement on the educational use of ICT in consultation with ERC and submit the agreed version to MCEETYA for signoff. Strategy 14 Develop a research and development strategy in consultation with ERC and submit the agreed version to the ERC for signoff.

By a policy statement that has been signed off by the ERC and MCEETYA. By a research and development strategy that has been developed and endorsed by the ERC and is being used to guide project funding within DETYA.
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Action Area 5: Regulator y Framework

Effective involvement in consideration of all legislative 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 sectors views and also displaying an understanding of the considerations underlying the Commonwealths broader policy framework. 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.

By showing how we have drawn legislative/regulatory issues to the sectors 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.
What will DETYA do?

Strategy 15 Ensure that we understand the sectors 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 regulatory matters that respond to the concerns of the education and training community, taking into account the broader Commonwealth policy framework, undertaking research and analysis as necessary to assist in the development of positions.
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Contents
Learning in an online world

School education action plan for the information economy
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Lear ning in an online world

School education action plan for the infor mation economy
For educators, the challenge is how best to change and improve the quality of teaching and learning in order to contribute to Australias development as an equitable, imaginative and economically strong knowledge society.1 Education Network Australia (EdNA)
Introduction
National goals for schooling The National goals for schooling in the 21st century2 set out an agreed vision by all Australian governments for high quality schooling.The National Goals recognise that young people are entering a complex society, where current and emerging technologies provide expanding opportunities for learning and for engaging in local and global issues. Goal 1.6 specifically addresses student outcomes in the use of new technologies. However, educators acknowledge that information and communication technologies have the potential to transform all aspects of school education and to contribute to the achievement of all learning goals. The capacity to manage, share and create knowledge is a fundamental requirement for Australias prosperity in a global economy. School education provides the foundation for the knowledge society and for the development of citizens who are creative, confident and enterprising. Strategic framework for the information economy3 The schooling sector is integral to planning for the education and training industry as a whole. As the largest sector and the sector that lays the foundation for lifelong learning, school education plays a fundamental enabling role in the growing information economy.The sector has a universal obligation to the children of Australia, to ensure that all young people enter the coming century with the necessary skills, knowledge and understandings. Schools are also major participants in the developing information economy, as they increasingly operate online to improve their effectiveness and efficiency.
Acknowledgments
Learning in an online world was developed during 1999 by the Education Network Australia (EdNA) Schools Advisory Group. Development and publication was supported by the EdNA Schools Project, funded by the Commonwealth through the Department of Education,Training and Youth Affairs.
EdNA Schools Advisory Group (1999 membership)

Chair: Martyn Forrest (Tasmania) Deputy Chair: Neil Jarvis (Western Australia) Members: Barry Woolacott/Narelle Hargreaves (Australian Capital Territory) Bruce Rigby (Victoria) Garry Putland (National Catholic Education Commission) Garth Newton (New South Wales) Gary Barnes/Jenny Galligan (Queensland) Gerry White/Jillian Dellit (education.au limited) Hazel Day/Nick Webb (National Council of Independent Schools Associations) Jan Gough-Watson (Commonwealth) Peter Croger (Tasmania) Peter Simmonds (South Australia) Vic Czernezkyj (Northern Territory) Executive Officer: Carol McKenny
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Purpose of the action plan

Learning in an online world provides: a shared national vision which complements, but does not compete with, the outlook of state systems goals and strategies which support achievement of both the National goals for schooling in the 21st century and the outcomes of the Education and training action plan for the information economy4 a framework in which all stakeholders Commonwealth, State and Territory governments, government and non-government school education authorities and individual schools and their communitiescan use to take change forward. understand the impact of those technologies on society.2 All schools will seek to integrate information and communication technologies into their operations, to improve student learning, to offer flexible learning opportunities and to improve the efficiency of their business practices.
Responsibilities
Within their areas of constitutional responsibility, all Australian governments contribute to the development of a strong school education sector, able to play its key role in driving a vibrant information economy and knowledge society. All governments share responsibility for funding school education and need to ensure that public funds are spent efficiently and effectively. All education authorities share responsibility for achieving the goals of this action plan and for taking strategies forward.The Commonwealth has a particular role to play in establishing the legal and regulatory framework for the information economy, for telecommunications policy and, in collaboration with school education authorities, for pre-service teacher education.The States and Territories, supported by the Commonwealth, have responsibility for school infrastructure, teacher professional development and the development of curriculum. All Australian school education authorities, government and non-government, have a commitment to collaboration, through Education Network Australia (EdNA), to maximise the benefits of online technologies for education and training.
The school education vision

Across all States and Territories, the Commonwealth and non-government school education authorities, there is a shared vision of: improving student outcomes through the effective use of information and communication technologies in teaching and learning supporting the progressive transformation of schools, their culture and practices within an evolving knowledge society equity of access to the educational benefits of learning technologies ensuring that the goals of schooling drive the choice and use of technologies ensuring that substantial and continuing investments in infrastructure, professional development and curriculum products are well founded and fruitful.
School education goals for the information economy

All students will leave school as confident, creative and productive users of new technologies, including information and communication technologies, and
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Key action areas

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
Priorities
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 to integrate 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 Australias unique identity in the global information economy.
Overarching strategies to achieve the 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 and curriculum 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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first goal of this action plan. All State and Territory education authorities are monitoring progress against the achievement of the second goal of this action plan, as learning technology programs are rolled out. Progress in each of the key action areas will be reviewed annually through the EdNA Schools Advisory Group (SAG).
purposefully and critically and that they are able to continue to adapt and learn throughout their lives. In enabling all students to develop skills that will sustain lifelong learning and active citizenship, schools have a particular role to play in ameliorating educational disadvantage. Many students, including large numbers of indigenous students, do not have a technology-rich environment at home. Such students and others, such as those with learning difficulties and students who live in remote areas, need targeted measures. Because of the particular importance of technological skills in the information economy, schools must actively promote equity of access to such skills. Schools must also prepare young people for new forms of work and work organisation. Information and technological literacy are now essential pre-requisites to work in almost any career. School to work pathways must be strengthened to support the requirements of Australian industry, including the ICT industries. School leaders and teachers Students will only achieve the outcomes required if school leaders and teachers: are committed to a vision for the integration of new technologies into practice; have the skills to use the technologies appropriately and effectively.
Key action areas

1. People
Goals 1 All students will have access to educational programs that provide a technology-rich experience and environment for developing required skills and attitudes for lifelong learning. 2 All students will leave school with the employment-related skills needed in the information economy and an increased percentage will commence pathways to employment in the ICT industries. 3 All teachers will be competent users of information and communication technologies and able to apply these technologies to improve student learning. 4 All educational leaders will understand how information and communication technologies impact on learning and will have the confidence and capabilities to lead and manage the changes required to maximise the benefits of these technologies in school education. 5 New technologies will be integrated into school practice in ways that strengthen relationships between schools and their communities. What is needed to achieve the goals Students Young people take readily to new technologies and to rapid technological change.The role of schools is to ensure that young people use technologies
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Progress is taking place, but not at the pace or depth required to effect major change.Teachers are developing basic ICT skills, but the main challenge of integrating new technologies into teaching practice still lies ahead for the bulk of the profession. School leaders need to recognise where teachers are along the spectrum of adoption of technologies and address their needs in practical, progressive ways. A recent US report, Professional development: a link to better learning,5 indicates that currently US schools spend 5% of their technology budgets on professional development for IT.The report suggests that major change will not occur until this proportion increases to 30%. A comprehensive approach that addresses the needs of pre-service teachers, teachers at various stages of their careers, school leaders and school support staff needs to be undertaken, supported at all levels: by local schools and communities by State and Territory and non-government education authorities nationally. School communities The increasing devolution of decision making to schools has strengthened the importance of links between schools and their communities. Schools are working with parents and the wider community to provide access to ICT through the school and engage parents in supporting the learning of their children.This is particularly important in rural areas, where the school is often the only online access point for the community. Involving and supporting the whole community has been shown to yield results in areas of educational disadvantage. Such approaches need to be applied in areas where children do not have computer and Internet access at home. Providing access to parents, for example, and supporting online access
for the local community enables schools to better support the achievement of their students. Strategic partnerships between schools and local and national businesses should also be extended. These partnerships can provide advantages to schools in the acquisition of hardware and software, provide entrepreneurial opportunities for students and strengthen school to work pathways. Strategies For students Address the needs of students experiencing educational disadvantage, for example, through programs that strengthen links between schools and their communities. Improve career advice to students, including raising awareness of business and industry requirements for ICT skills and of the opportunities for employment in the ICT industries. Extend programs in the senior years of schooling that provide specific skill training for the ICT industries and promote transition from school to work in these industries. For teachers Introduce strategic initiatives into teacher pre-service education to improve the ICT competence of commencing teachers. Develop teacher competency standards in using ICT in curriculum practice and incorporate teacher ICT standards into human resource management within education authorities and individual schools, including recruitment and promotion practices. Strengthen teacher professional development, including: incentives for teachers to undertake professional development
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moving from programs on basic skills to those emphasising the integration of technology into classroom practice the development and promotion of effective models of professional development at the local school level. Monitor the percentage of total ICT funding spent on professional development and provide incentives to increase this percentage. Underpin programs with research into effective professional development models and the sharing of good practice, for example, through EdNA Online. For leaders Incorporate ICT planning and change management skills into person and job descriptions for senior personnel at all levels of the school education enterprise. Target aspiring school principals to promote their understanding of the key role ICT plays in changing learning environments and improving learning outcomes. Expand the provision of school leader programs for integrating ICT into practice, focusing particularly on whole school planning and change management. Underpin programs with research into effective professional development models for school leaders and the sharing of good practice, for example, through EdNA Online. School communities
2. Infrastructure
Goals 1 All school education providers will have access to adequate levels of bandwidth to support teaching and learning and business processes. 2 School sector telecommunications costs will be comparable with Australias international competitors. 3 The hardware, technical tools and technical support will be provided to integrate information and communication technologies into school curriculum practice and to provide services to students in open and distance learning. What is needed to achieve the goals Every school must be able to access and afford connections to online services that enable them to teach young people effectively.Teaching and learning that effectively utilises technology requires access to a telecommunications service that provides schoolwide permanent, high speed, networked, multiplecomputer connections. Governments need to consider appropriate interventions, within a deregulated telecommunications market, to ensure that infrastructure is in place for schools to prepare Australias young people to participate in and contribute to the information economy.The cost per student should be competitive in the global marketplace.
Maximise opportunities for schoolbusiness partnerships that support the schools educational goals and enhance students transition from school to work.
Photo courtesy of Open Training and Education Network (OTEN)
Strengthen schools educational programs by providing increased computer and Internet access to parents and the wider community.
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School children, wherever they live, are entitled to education facilities and services that prepare them for the information society. Differential access to services and differential costs for services, particularly between metropolitan and rural areas, must not be allowed to disadvantage particular groups of young people. Access to reliable and sustainable infrastructure within the school is as important as telecommunications services into the school. With the increasing use of multimedia, communication and administrative management systems in schools, a complex and integrated set of hardware and software systems, accessible from many locations within and beyond school boundaries, is required. The complexity of infrastructure systems and the ongoing need for expansion gives rise to concerns about issues such as sustainable growth, maintenance, technical support, building architecture and pedagogy.There is a widespread view that schools need expert network managers in-house or readily available. Infrastructure decisions need to be informed by research into the classroom organisation and computer and network configurations that best support the learning process. More also needs to be done to capitalise on opportunities for collaboration between schools, local businesses and community groups in providing schools and the community with improved access to ICT resources and network facilities. Strategies The Commonwealth consider policy options within the telecommunications legislative and regulatory framework to ensure bandwidth for school education that is: commensurate with the current and emerging needs of schools accessible from all parts of Australia, both urban and rural
available at a cost that enables schools to participate in and contribute to the information economy. State and Territory governments and education authorities review current telecommunications arrangements and investigate options for greater efficiencies. Undertake studies to collect and collate data on current and projected telecommunications usage and costs in school education and provide comparisons with international data where available, to provide baseline data for a longitudinal study. Commission a national study through MCEETYA on internal school ICT infrastructure needs and develop guidelines for ICT standards in schools. School education authorities consider increasing investment in internal school infrastructure and technical support for the integration of ICT into school classrooms. The Commonwealth consider a short-term injection of funds by the Commonwealth to modernise school buildings and facilities across Australia to accommodate new technologies.
3. Content and services

Goals 1 A viable market will be established for the generation of quality online curriculum content for Australian school education. 2 All students will have access to quality digital education materials that support Australian school curricula and that optimise opportunities provided by new technologies for learning. 3 EdNA Online will support access by educators and students to high quality public domain online resources and services relevant to Australian curricula. EdNA Commercial will provide access to relevant commercial online products and services.
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4 Schools and schooling systems will provide education services using efficient and effective online business practices. What is needed to achieve the goals Online content Government and non-government school education authorities, together with the Commonwealth, need to support the development of a viable education marketplace that will supply the online resources and tools needed to support teaching and learning across all curriculum areas.This requires a comprehensive strategy to stimulate an Australian market for the generation of quality online curriculum content. The strategy will involve: a commitment by education authorities to collaboration across the nation; a definition of online curriculum content that recognises a continuum of digital products, using new technologies to add value to learning; an educational and commercial rationale; establishment of a business plan that includes a market analysis and identification of strategic interventions required by governments; establishment of a quality assurance framework, including: information management standards intellectual property rights management agreed pedagogical approaches research and evaluation. The strategy should recognise that information and communication technologies make possible new forms of curriculum design and implementation and provide powerful tools for resource creation, improved access to information and learning tools, and enhanced interaction amongst learners, teachers and content experts. All education authorities and the Commonwealth should continue to collaborate to ensure access to high quality online resources that already exist and are coming on stream. EdNA Online is the vehicle for aggregating online resources from all education jurisdictions and making them available through its search and browsing tools. EdNA Online also provides tools for the distributed management of its resources and for supporting networks of education professionals.The EdNA metadata standard is the agreed Australian education standard for resource discovery.
Applying these tools to the development of major, quality assured online learning materials to support Australian curriculum is expensive.There are major savings to be made through collaboration across States and Territories for the development of materials in agreed priority areas. Resource development should make maximum use of the capacity of technology for modularisation, customisation and user adaptation. At the other end of the spectrum, it is easy and cheap for skilled teachers and students to generate materials that can be published and accessed through the Internet and intranets. While much of this material operates within peer networks and is ephemeral, such activity is very powerful in transforming classroom practice. All education authorities should support projects that promote the intersection between content development and professional development.The provision of software tools, peer support and examples of leading practice underpins a cycle of innovation and continuous improvement.
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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 in the 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 and increased 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 Australias future citizens and workers and in providing equitable access to the opportunities for learning online.
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What is needed to achieve the goal Australian school education stakeholders need to continue to articulate a vision of the future, recognising the necessary transformation of schools from industrial age paradigms and values to those more appropriate to leading the creation and growth of a knowledge society in Australia through the education of our youth. The role of school education needs to be recognised within the policy framework for the education and training industry in the information economy. A policy statement for schools should be an essential part of any wider statement that articulates the role of the education and training industry in the information economy and society, as a whole, as well as identifying the role of each sector.The statement should draw on the work of this action plan and be endorsed by MCEETYA. Changes in the delivery of school education using new technologies should also inform policy decisions on school funding.The funding quantum and funding models need to address the ongoing investment needs of the sector to ensure it plays its part in powering the information economy. Strategies Continue to use EdNA as a collaborative mechanism for advocating school sector issues at the national level. Ensure that the school sector is strongly represented in the development of any national policy statement on the role of education and training in the information economy. Support the work of the National Education Performance Monitoring Taskforce in developing performance indicators for information technology outcomes. Involve specific consideration of ICT issues in discussions of Commonwealth funding for schools for the next quadrennium.
Establish access and equity policies and new learning technology policies that are mutually reinforcing. Share information across systems and sectors, including through EdNA Online, on issues of common interest.
5. Enabling regulation
Goal 1 Australias legal and regulatory framework for the information economy will: enable schools to conduct their business effectively and efficiently provide adequate protection for those involved in teaching and learning online. What is needed to achieve the goal Governments need to consult with the school education sector when regulations that may impact on the sector are being considered.Those responsible for school education policies and operations also need to have a sound understanding of the major legal and regulatory issues affecting the sector and be able to communicate the preferred position of the sector to governments and the community more generally. Key issues for the school sector are telecommunications legislation and copyright.
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Strategies Continue to use EdNA as a collaborative 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.
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.
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Contents
Flexible Learning for the Information Economy

A Framework for National Collaboration in Vocational Education and Training 20002004
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Flexible Lear ning for the Infor mation Economy

A Framework for National Collaboration in Vocational Education and Training 20002004
EVAG has been the lead national body to facilitate national collaboration for flexible learning in VET for more than three years and has been responsible for facilitating national collaboration in a range of significant areas. EVAG was established in 1996 as a sub-committee of the EdNA Reference Committee (ERC). Its role was to advise the ERC on VET sector perspectives and responses to national policy issues related to the use of online technologies and on strategic development of the EdNA Directory Service in relation to the needs of the VET sector.
Background
In August 1999, the Australian National Training Authority Chief Executive Officers (ANTA CEOs) endorsed the Flexible Learning for the Information Economy: A Framework for National Collaboration in Vocational Education and Training 20002004.The Framework has been developed by the Education Network Australia Vocational Education and Training Advisory Group (EdNA VET Advisory Group or EVAG) and represents a strategic plan for the fiveyear National Project allocation for Flexible Learning. It is designed to support both accelerated take-up of flexible learning modes and to position Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) as a world leader in applying new technologies to vocational education products and services. The Framework is supported by an annual implementation plan, and the plan for 2000, Strategy 2000, was endorsed by ANTA CEOs in September 1999. It identifies specific initiatives and an allocation of resources within each of the five Goal areas identified in the Framework.
Implementation of the Framework

EVAGs key focus for the next phase of development will be to lead national collaboration for flexible learning in VET and to ensure that this Framework for National Collaboration is vigorously pursued. The Flexible Learning for the Information Economy: A Framework for National Collaboration in Vocational Education and Training 20002004 is available for downloading at http://flexiblelearning.net.au The EdNA VET Advisory Groups Terms of Reference can be found at: http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/publish/vet/index.html
Role of the EdNA VET Advisory Group

In broad terms, EVAG is a strategically-focused group of senior VET personnel advising ANTA CEOs, the ANTA Board, Department of Education Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) and the EdNA Reference Committee on national issues related to the directions and priorities for flexible learning in VET, with particular reference to online technologies.
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Acknowledgments
The Flexible Learning for the Information Economy: A Framework for National Collaboration in Vocational Education and Training 20002004 has been prepared by the EdNA VET Advisory Group. The EdNA VET Advisory Group would like to thank Kaye Schofield, Kaye Schofield & Associates, for her inspiration and enthusiasm in facilitating the development of the Framework for National Collaboration on behalf of the EdNA VET Advisory Group. Members of the 1999 EdNA VET Advisory Group: Ms Meredith Sussex (Chair) Mr John Banham, NSW Mr Mike Brough,TAS Mr Chris Eccles, ANTA Mr Charles Henderson, QLD Ms Lesley Johnson, ANTA Mr Murray Judd, DETYA Mr Peter Le Cornu, ACT Mr Rodney Spark,VIC Mr Neil Strong, SA Ms Lee Upton, NT Mr Gerry White, Education.Au Ltd Mr Stuart Young, WA Assisted by: Ms Julie Ahern, EVAG Secretariat Mr Jack Gilding, Executive Officer, EVAG Mr Nic Pearl, ANTA
Foreword
As the once elusive concepts of information economy and knowledge society, become our reality, the meaning of the word learning is in a state of transformation. Where once we thought of learning as something that took place at specific times in our lives through formal education, we increasingly understand learning as an open-ended, continuous aspect of life as we embrace the practice of life-long learning. Where once we thought of learning as a transference of knowledge and information from the teacher to the student in a rather passive relationship in accordance with fixed predetermined steps, we now expect interaction between learner and teacher on the topics of learning within dynamic and best-fitting schedules of exchange. Finally, where once we expected learning to take place in classroom environments, we now understand it as being amenable to a variety of settings, from a couch in our living room to the factory floor work bench, to the desk in our office. At the same time as the meaning of learning changes, so does the significance of pursuing and not pursuing learning. In keeping with the information economy and knowledge society analogies, we are moving into a world where knowledge is our currency and the terms information rich and information poor are increasingly indicative of our material wellbeing and societal status. Against this background, it is clear that how our vocational education and training sector responds to the demands created by the information economy will have an important impact on the size of any potential divide between information rich and information poor. Vocational education and training needs to embrace the new meaning of learning in every aspect of its operations. It needs to be accessible at different
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stages of clients lives and it must have the mechanisms to recognise and value peoples experiences as knowledge. Education and training delivery must be through the mediums appropriate to the clients learning preference and convenient in relation to the competing demands in the learners life. To use a now well-known slogan, clients should be able to access the training they want, where, when and how they want it. It is therefore with great pleasure that we present the Flexible Learning for the Information Economy, A Framework for National Collaboration in Vocational Education and Training 20002004, as an invaluable tool to guide us into this new age. This document is the culmination of work begun in 1995 to make the flexible delivery of vocational education and training a reality for all Australian learners and to assist Australia to be recognised as the global leader in applying new technologies to vocational education and training products and services by 2004. It is the outcome of an extensive collaborative exercise involving States and Territories, the Australian National Training Authority and the Commonwealth Department of Education,Training and Youth Affairs, through the EdNA VET Advisory Group (EVAG). ANTA CEOs endorsed this Collaborative Framework in the latter half of 1999. We commend the work of EVAG and look forward to implementing this Framework with you to position our VET sector as a world leader in the application of new learning technologies to vocational education products and services in the new millennium. Meredith Sussex Chair EdNA VET Advisory Group Moira Scollay Chief Executive Officer Australian National Training Authority
The Big Transition

Australia, like all other nations, is in the midst of a profound transition from the old mechanised economy to the new information economy.The general trends are clear, the stakes are high and the task is urgent. Vocational education and training is a vital sector of education and training. At the same time it functions as both a value-adding and enabling service industry. In the information economy, knowledge will be the international currency of trade. Because of its closeness to enterprises and workplaces, and because of its location at the interface between theory and practice,VET is uniquely placed to develop, disseminate and apply vocational knowledge in ways which value-add to the online environment and enhance the productivity of Australian firms. As an enabling service industry,VET has a fundamental role to play in enabling Australias successful transition to the information economy. There are two dimensions of this role. First ,VET must develop the workforce skills needed by the new and emerging industries of the information economy so as to increase enterprise and national competitiveness and individual work opportunities.These workforce skills are not
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confined to the information technology and telecommunications industries but are relevant for all Australian industries that wish to thrive in the 21st century. In a recent study of how 15 different countries support innovation, those countries which sustained large numbers of competitive and innovative firms were better at turning out welltrained people with all the skills their industries needed.1 Increasingly, these skills will become more sophisticated and will need to be developed in the workplace on a just-in-time and just-for-me basis, in response to fast changing work practices and preferences. Learning to learn will become the bedrock capability of both individuals and organisations. To fulfil this role well, and in the context of a renewed commitment to lifelong learning,VET must look outward. As a service industry it must work relentlessly to understand and respond to the aspirations of its individual and business customers. As a major consumer of new technologies, it must work more closely with the other education and training sectors schools, higher education and adult and community education. And it must reach out beyond the education and training industry to other industries from which it can learn. Second,VET must use the tools of the new economy innovative ideas and technology embedded in its products and services to move away from the old industrial mass-production approaches to teaching and learning, to offer convenient and customised products and services to an expanded national and international customer base. It must be capable of translating a good idea into a new training product or service that more and different customers want. It must become an admired creator of new knowledge about vocational learning and online services, as well as continuing to be a big user of information. As with other service industries such as retail, legal, medical and financial services, it must exploit to the fullest the potential of new and emerging technologies to help it transform the way it does its business.
In short, business as usual is not an option for the wider Australian community or for VET systems. Steering and managing this transition at all levels of our society is one of the great challenges we face as a nation as we enter the 21st century, and an especially urgent challenge for the VET sector.
A World-Class Start
VET in Australia has every reason to be proud of the work it has done to date to embrace the challenges of the information economy. Reforms to structures, organisations, policies and business processes have made VET products and services today far more flexible and more responsive to their customers and more capable of customisation than they were a decade ago. Progress in the application of information technologies and communications to vocational education and training has been world-class in many respects. The National Flexible Delivery Taskforce was established by the Australian National Training Authority Board in mid-1995 to provide advice to the Board on how national action could help make vocational education and training more flexible.The 1997 Flexible Delivery Implementation Plan gave practical effect to the outcomes of the Taskforce, and annual Flexible Delivery Action Plans have led flexible delivery forward nationally over the past two years.
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The establishment of the EdNA VET Advisory Group (EVAG) and the broadening of its role has provided a valued vehicle for advancing the flexible delivery goal at national level. EVAG has advised ANTA CEOs on strategic national directions in flexible delivery with particular reference to online technologies. It has also facilitated co-operation between State and Territory VET systems to achieve more effective and efficient use of information and communications technologies and related content and professional development. Achievements within each State and Territory Training System have been considerable through a range of innovative communication and multi-media strategies and projects all focused on achieving flexible delivery goals. Most States now have TAFE online in some form and the others are well on the road to this goal.They all use information and communications technologies to value-add to VET products and services and in back-office functions. Individual training providers are carving out strong reputations for flexible delivery. At the national level, especially through the cooperative action stimulated and supported through EVAG, there have also been real results. The adoption of a National Technology Standards Policy (1997) and Preferred Standards to Support National Cooperation in Applying Technology to VET (1999).
The development of Multimedia Toolboxes for Training Packages. Two Flexible Delivery physical and online conferences and workshops, NET*Working 97 and NET*Working 99. The establishment of LearnScope and the Flexible Delivery Fellowships, as strategies to provide professional development for flexible delivery. A modest but focused strategy for communicating and marketing flexible delivery initiatives. Through EVAG, the VET sector has assisted the EdNA Reference Committee to develop the Education and Training Action Plan which will serve as the education and training industrys commitment to the Commonwealth Governments Strategic Framework for the Information Economy. Online Networks in VET: a project to research and document the issues involved in establishing, developing and facilitating effective online networks in the Australian VET context. Choosing and Using Technologies in Education: a research and publishing project which mapped current literature and resources to provide a practical guide for practitioners and managers. The completion of a number of Research and Documentation projects, commenced in 1997 and managed by States and Territories through EVAG.These included: Functional Specifications for an Online Delivery Platform: a report on the functional requirements for an online delivery platform through which online products and services could be more readily transferred, and which formed a reference point for the future development of the Preferred Standards. Readiness of VET Clients for Flexible Learning through Online Delivery: an analysis of the readiness of VET clients for flexible learning
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through online delivery which established strategic policy directions to conceptualise the relationship between client and delivery. TAFE Teachers Online: an analysis of the current and future professional development needs of TAFE teachers and the development of web resources for use by teachers to self-assess their training and skill requirements.
To really achieve the full economic and social benefits of the information economy, digital technologies, particularly the Internet, will need to be as wide-spread as the telephone.The overarching policy task for all VET stakeholders is therefore to encourage the use of the Internet and information technologies where possible and when appropriate to the needs of learners. While technological developments are driving change within VET, there is an even more important driver the needs of individual and industry clients for more flexible learning options. While there remains a good deal of uncertainty about just how clients will want their training services delivered in the information economy, there is no doubt that service delivery must be ever more flexible and continuously transformed to meet rising client expectations. The message is simple. We must maintain the flexible learning momentum.To do this we must continue to innovate, accelerate the pace with which we apply the new technologies to vocational learning, grow the market for the resulting training products and services and improve their quality continuously. Australias history is littered with examples of how we have led the world in knowledge creation and know-how, only to be overtaken on the home track by other more entrepreneurial nations which have been quicker to see an opportunity and smarter at exploiting it. This must not happen to flexible learning in VET. We must see ourselves now and in the future as truly world class. We must remain at the cutting edge in the application of new learning technologies to both theoretical and practical VET learning. We have a golden opportunity to become the world leader in designing and facilitating flexible vocational learning. Global learning traders will beat a path to our door, not to sell but to learn and buy from us.
We Must Maintain the Momentum

While VET has made excellent progress, we cannot rest on our laurels or become smug about our achievements. We simply cannot afford to doze off. Success in the information age goes hand in hand with speed. People now speak of Web-years, (three months of the normal year), because of the speed with which the Internet changes. Data transmission costs and computer costs are falling rapidly. Cars that took six years from concept to production in 1990 now take two years.2 Customers have acquired a taste for speedy responses made possible by new technologies.They expect the same speedy responses from training organisations as they expect from search engines, finance companies, pizza deliveries or architects.They have also become far more sensitive to quality and price differences between products and services. The convergence of telecommunications and other media, made possible and driven by greater bandwidth, will facilitate the development of a wider range of online services than is now available and create demand for new products and services designed to be irresistible to customers. However, the information economy is not just about the Internet, central though that is. Other technology breakthroughs such as voice recognition, smart cards, expert systems and those not yet imagined will continue to impact in various ways on the business of VET.
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The admirable track record of Australian VET indicates this is achievable. Our future success will come down to a question of our strategy and collective will.
advantage, and one not to be shared with competitors in either the private or public sectors. State Training Systems can no longer be confident that they will continue to dominate within their geographic jurisdiction. It is unrealistic to expect State Training Systems to turn their backs on this idea that interstate competition in the field of flexible learning products and services is vital to their future. Indeed it is their right to pursue this competitive agenda.The question is whether this is the real war or just the first battle in a new world where the industrial-age boundaries between domestic and global competition will become increasingly meaningless in an online environment. However, there are many instances when national collaboration rather than competition could be considered to be a preferred strategy for State Training Systems: When the level of investment in the research, development and application of new learning technologies needed by an individual State Training System is beyond its current financial capability. When the critical mass of users (staff or learners), necessary to justify the level of investment, is simply not present or likely to emerge quickly enough. When an individual State Training System does not yet have the depth and breadth of pedagogical or technical skills needed to apply new technologies to the vast spectrum of theoretical and practical vocational learning by an increasingly diverse customer group. When the human and financial resources needed to market technologically sophisticated products or services in the international marketplace is limited within an individual State or Territory. When policies or regulations which affect the progress of flexible learning in VET lie outside the
Intelligent Competition + Creative Collaboration = Competitive Advantage

Competition between State and Territory governments can be healthy for the VET business and for the information economy more broadly. Healthy competition develops flexible, open markets and accessible trade routes, promotes innovation, rewards achievement and improves productivity. Each State and Territory has its own strategic agenda for the information economy, reflecting its unique history, culture, assets, capabilities and its own economic, social and political priorities. Each State and Territory Training System will reflect this agenda when planning for flexible learning in VET. Like other segments of the service sector,VET is being driven to change by, amongst other factors, competition enabled by information and communications technologies and supported by a pro-competition regulatory environment. Some see their ability to provide flexible learning opportunities using new learning technologies as a core capability, a fundamental competitive
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jurisdiction of the State Training System. National policies on bandwidth, net censorship and Copyright Law are just three significant examples of this. When all State Training Systems face similar problems and consider it more efficient and in the mutual interest of all to search for a solution together. Increased competition to recognised VET from in-house online corporate training operating outside the national training and recognition frameworks is one such problem. When State Training Systems regard international VET providers and global publishing houses, rather than other State Training Systems, as the main competitive threat to VET. For many in VET, cut-throat domestic competition tends to divert VET from the more significant international competitive challenge which will accelerate as our technological infrastructure becomes more sophisticated. From this perspective, domestic collaboration is a necessary pre-condition for successful international competition. These are just a few of the many sound, pragmatic reasons why State Training Systems wish to join with others in different ways at different times to accelerate the take-up of flexible learning in VET through the use of information age technologies, and thus serve their customers better. At the same time, Registered Training Organisations will have their own approaches to achieving a competitive advantage through flexible learning and these may or may not be the same as those of State Training Systems. From a provider perspective, competitive advantage is a key goal in the face of stiff competition not only from other VET providers but increasingly from other education and training sectors. Maintaining and increasing market share, expanding the market for VET and improving the quality of service delivery are key objectives shaping a providers competitive strategy.
However, collaboration is an increasingly essential characteristic of the information economy, even in a fiercely competitive environment. Collaboration is no longer an alternative to competition. It is fast becoming a fundamental strategy through which organisations can achieve competitive advantage. In the information economy, the creation of new knowledge and its speedy application to the design and delivery of new products and services is at a premium. Informal and formal links between independent suppliers, customers and competitors provide a knowledge-generating network in which the whole delivers results greater than the sum of its individual parts. Shared problems can be solved through networked collaboration, even within an intensely competitive environment. Collaborative learning is the key. In her book Regional Advantage, AnnaLee Saxenian of the University of California (Berkeley) explored why the Boston region, which once seemed set to rival Silicon Valley in California failed to nurture innovation and become a world class industry cluster. Her view is that the companies in the Boston area were too concerned with their own sovereignty. Too proud of their technical competence, too reluctant to share ideas with others, and too insular to new technologies and ways of doing business that were happening elsewhere.3 These lessons need to be appreciated more fully by stakeholders in Australias VET system. Creative collaboration cannot be confined to government agencies. It involves multiple linkages at all levels involving suppliers, customers, educational institutions and enterprises spanning the public, private and community sectors. Identifying specific areas where the competitive advantages of collaboration outweigh the advantages of head-to-head competition is a key strategic task for State Training Systems and for Registered Training Organisations. It depends on their assessment of exactly where their competitive
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advantage lies in a technological infrastructure, in human resources, in learning products, in creating learning environments, in creating value-adding services for learners, in customising international VET products and services for a local market and so forth. It also depends on their assessment of the markets in which they intend to operate and the degree of market specialisation they wish to pursue. Different stakeholders will inevitably arrive at different answers depending on their current position and their business plans. From this analysis has emerged the need for a framework to support national collaboration which will progress flexible vocational learning while recognising that competition from within VET and from other industries will continue to transform VET at every level.
These five change risks need to be well managed and addressed within a framework for national collaboration for flexible learning in VET.
A Catalytic Role for Governments

Governments have played the fundamental role in building a co-ordinated VET system in Australia and in helping it respond to changing customer needs. They have identified and separated their traditional roles of regulator, investor, purchaser and (through TAFE) supplier of VET. More importantly, they have been engaged over the past decade in the task of transforming VET from simply a sector of government to a vigorous service industry that it is able to operate flexibly in a market environment. In the information economy, the old, sharp lines between who does what are becoming ever more blurred and governments now have new roles to play.4 It is the role of governments to provide an environment conducive to investment in new technology, to the formation and growth of new enterprises, and to the acquisition of information technology skills and knowledge.5 These new roles will require government action at both the macro-economic and micro-economic levels. It involves a range of strategic tasks. Governments both national and local have new roles to play. They must ensure the supply of highquality inputs such as educated citizens and physical infrastructure. They must set the rules of competition by protecting intellectual property and enforcing antitrust laws, for example so that productivity and innovation will govern success in the economy. Finally, governments should promote cluster formation and upgrading and the buildup of public or quasi-public goods that have a significant impact on many linked businesses.6 VET produces quasi-public goods and services which have a significant impact on businesses
Flexible Learning is a Change Process

Creating the worlds best system for applying new technologies to vocational education and training is, at its heart, a complex change management process. Change projects around the world often produce disappointing results for five main reasons: 1 They do not approach change in a holistic manner. In a successful change program, four key elements people and their skills; work practices; business processes and systems; and organisational structures, roles and policies all need to be linked together to achieve the goal. 2 The skills base which is developed to support change is neither deep nor broad. 3 Lack of ownership by those responsible for managing and implementing change. 4 Inflexibility in planning or strategy or management, so that opportunities are not seized when and where they arise. 5 Support for change is not provided over the long-term to achieve sustainable and continuous change.
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throughout Australia.The VET industrys success in developing a highly skilled Australian workforce, and its success internationally as a substantial exporter of VET services, depends on the ability of Australian governments, working collaboratively, to create the conditions in which the cluster of VET enterprises around Australia can collaborate as an industry to productively compete and innovate continuously. This role is essentially a catalytic one for governments. At the same time, the old, sharp lines between education and training sectors are also being blurred.VET is, in many ways, at the cutting edge of flexible learning. It has a responsibility and an opportunity to forge practical associations with other education and training sectors to advance its own strategic interests as a sector and as an industry while, at the same time, serving the national interest.
It therefore makes good sense for VET to think outside the government envelope.VET needs to develop its national collaborative agenda for flexible learning through selective association with ethical businesses which have core capabilities related to the development and application of new technologies or which are key suppliers of goods or services upstream or downstream of VET. The benefits of private-public collaborations are already evident in the co-operation between VET and multi-media development companies in the creation of Multimedia Toolboxes for Training Packages. Nevertheless, proposals for private-public sector collaboration sometimes cause anxiety in VET. In particular, many VET stakeholders fear that such collaboration is incompatible with the wider public interest, including the social obligations of government.True, there are risks such as the appropriation of publicly owned intellectual property by the private partner, but there are risks associated with any significant activity.The trick is to follow due processes and establish appropriate systems of risk management. Moreover, the risks of public-private collaboration are generally outweighed by the advantages which can include bringing market disciplines faster to the allocation of public resources; public sector access to a wider pool of know-how and technology; transfer of some risk to the private sector; overcoming public sector financing constraints; and opening up new market opportunities for publicly funded services. In addition to these efficiency gains, public-private collaboration will help the VET industry look outwards, avoid insularity and stagnation and create a climate more conducive to innovation in the application of technologies to vocational learning.
Partnerships Between the VET industry and the Private Sector

The private sector has a key role to play in our transition to the information economy. The private sector is driving, and will continue to drive, the transition to the information economy.7
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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. 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 , and is 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.
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 to more formal collaborations such as the development of mandatory standards, commercial partnerships and similar joint ventures. National collaboration is already a valuable characteristic of Australias 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, recognising the 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:
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Framework for National Collaboration in Flexible Lear ning in Vocational Education and Training 20002004
The Flexible Learning Mission
To help our industries and citizens make a rapid and successful transition to the Information Economy by adding value to Australias VET system of flexible learning
partnerships between the VET system and the private sector. 5 Leveraged investment: National funds will be invested astutely to leverage additional public and private sector investment for maximum impact. 6 Employee involvement: Collaborative Framework projects will maximise the involvement of VET staff at all levels to foster broad staff ownership of flexible learning practices. 7 Demand driven: Collaborative Framework projects will be driven by client demand, integrating current practices with new forms of delivery.
The Flexible Learning Vision

By 2004, Australia will be recognised as the global leader in applying new technologies to vocational education and training products and services.
Goals
To achieve the flexible learning vision, State Training Systems will work together and with the Commonwealth, the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) and Education.Au Ltd to achieve results in five areas of strategic importance nationally. 1 Creative, capable people: To build a critical mass of VET staff who are able to use flexible learning approaches to accelerate Australias transition to the information economy. 2 Supportive technological infrastructure: To achieve a national VET system which facilitates affordable access by all communities, learners and employers to online 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. 3 World-class online content development, applications and services: To assist the Australian VET system to maintain and expand its share of the training market within Australia and internationally.
Guiding Principles
The work undertaken through the Framework for National Collaboration in Flexible Learning over the period 2000-2004 will be guided by seven principles: 1 Shared benefit:The Collaborative Framework will deliver demonstrable benefit to all States and Territories. 2 Strategic use of new learning technologies: Investment in new learning technologies through the Collaborative Framework will be strategically targeted to increase the capacity of VET systems and providers to deliver accessible, flexible and client-focussed training. 3 Accelerated take-up:The Collaborative Framework will accelerate the application of flexible learning methodologies within the Australian VET system. 4 Strategic partnerships: Partnerships between VET agencies and other public sector agencies will be actively pursued, paralleled by strategic
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4 Enabling policies: To ensure that all nationally agreed policies and protocols for VET are designed to facilitate the uptake and usage of flexible learning by the VET industry. 5 Problem-solving regulation: In partnership with other education and training sectors, to advocate that the legal and regulatory framework in Australia provides adequate protection for VET learners; removes legal and regulatory barriers to the effective use of information technology in VET and fosters open world trade in Australian VET products and services.
who have difficulties accessing traditional institution-based training; increase in overall rates of participation in VET) 4 Increased investment in flexible learning projects (evidenced by dollar investment by ANTA; dollar investment by other public sector bodies; dollar investment by the private sector) 5 Increase in the number of overseas online VET enrolments and revenue earned from those enrolments (evidenced by participation rates of overseas online VET enrolments; dollars earned from overseas online VET enrolments; international sales and/or franchising of online training products and services) 6 Accumulated examples of how the Collaborative Framework has accelerated the use of flexible delivery methods and improved the quantity and quality of flexible learning in VET (evidenced by commissioned case studies) The capacity to undertake this measurement is limited by current measures and sources in relation to flexible learning outcomes.The Collaborative Framework will give early attention to the development of a more robust suite of measures by which the VET sector could account for its performance in providing flexible learning for all.
Measures of Success
Achievement of the following outcomes will demonstrate the extent to which the Collaborative Framework is successful in facilitating the application of new technologies to VET products and services. 1 High level of learner and employer satisfaction with quality, quantity and outcomes of online programs and services (evidenced by student satisfaction survey results; employer satisfaction survey results) 2 Increased participation in learning away from an institutional setting (evidenced by participation rates in off-campus delivery) 3 Increased participation in VET as a result of the use of online technologies (evidenced by increased participation of specific target groups
Goal 1: Creative, capable people

The Goal To build a critical mass of VET staff who are able to use flexible learning approaches to accelerate Australias transition to the information economy Why is this important nationally? Embedding flexible learning firmly within the VET system requires a good balance between the breadth and depth of the VET skills base. The primary responsibility for developing the broad flexible learning capabilities of VET staff lies with their employers and individual staff themselves. However, as with other industries,
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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. National collaborative activities can also develop the depth of the national VET skills pool 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 to use 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 of VET 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 in VET. 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 technological infrastructure

The Goal To achieve a national VET system which: - facilitates affordable access by all communities, learners and employers to online 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 on Preferred 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 team processes, collaborative
working and peer-to-peer learning which help learners take greater responsibility for shaping their own learning. The future growth and national and 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 infrastructure necessary to increase the quality and quantity of VET services available through flexible learning methodologies. Performance Measures 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 online content development, applications and services

The Goal 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 collaborative learning 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.
Strategy 9 Sponsor the development a significant body of nationally developed online content which is flexible, interoperable nationally and is informed 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. Performance Measures 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 RTOs premises.
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- Extent of use of information and communications technology by RTOs in the delivery of VET programs, applications and services, as demonstrated by independent national survey/s. - Number and significance of strategic alliances between the national VET system and private sector suppliers of content and services.
Goal 4: Enabling policies

The Goal To ensure that all nationally agreed policies and protocols for VET are designed to facilitate the uptake and usage of flexible learning by the VET industry. Why is this important nationally? Flexible learning, by its very nature, is not a stand-alone objective. It influences and is influenced by all developments within the VET system and by interaction with other education and training sectors. Government resource allocation or purchasing models can act as an incentive or disincentive to flexible learning. Conversely, the need to accelerate flexible learning has implications for how purchasing or resource allocation models are conceived.There are similar two-way impacts in areas such as capital investment policies, quality assurance systems, recognition policies, access and equity policies and so forth. As an essential strategy to achieve the overarching objectives of the national VET system, the impact on flexible learning of VET policies and protocols must be considered systematically. The Strategies Strategy 13 Assess the implications of online delivery for key VET policies and advise the ANTA CEOs on them. Performance Measures Extent to which VET policies encourage/ facilitate providers and systems wishing to use online technologies and other flexible learning techniques to meet training needs.
Goal 5: Problem-solving regulation

The Goal In partnership with other education and training sectors, to advocate that the legal and regulatory framework in Australia - provides adequate protection for VET learners; - removes legal and regulatory barriers to the effective use of information technology in VET; and - fosters open world trade in Australian VET products and services. Why is this important nationally? In a nation moving rapidly to market-based approaches to regulation, the impact of the legal and regulatory framework being established for the information economy is of fundamental interest to the education and training sector generally and to VET specifically. Market rules are being established by governments (the Commonwealth government in particular) to facilitate the information economy in areas such as telecommunications, intellectual property, privacy, electronic
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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 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.
Performance Measures Representation and influence of the VET sector in key decision-making forums dealing with regulatory regimes relevant to flexible learning. Cost of access to the Internet to VET institutions, homes and workplaces.
Photo courtesy of Canberra Institute of Technology
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Contents
The Way Forward

Higher Education Action Plan for the Information Economy
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The Way For ward

Higher Education Action Plan for the Infor mation Economy The Challenge
Given the flexibility and means to do so, universities will be the fundamental drivers for the Australian information economy, which is largely knowledgebased.Todays higher education students will become tomorrows leaders, innovators, managers and researchers.They will shape Australias place within the world economy. In recent years higher education institutions, along with government and the rest of the community, have strained to come to grips with new issues arising from rapid developments in information technology and communications (IT&C).Time and resources to explore the new issues have been limited. Further policy work is required on technical and policy options that will enable universities to give students access to cutting edge information technology, research training and advanced applications that are essential for the information economy. Without this Australia runs the risk of: significantly reducing direct export earnings from education earnings and indirectly from other industries; becoming a major importer of skills, intellectual knowledge, IT infrastructure and computer applications; being less attractive to investors and industry seeking affordable, advanced information technology infrastructure and skilled people to work within and take advantage of this infrastructure; losing its reputation as an advanced economy with highly developed research skills, institutions and workforce; and losing its best minds to other countries.
Within this context this paper seeks to: briefly describe the background to higher educational involvement with information technology and communications; demonstrate the initiatives currently being undertaken by Australian universities to maximise their participation in the information economy; and identify strategic directions that would enable Australia to be at the forefront of developments in the information economy.
Background
Historically, Australian higher education institutions have been fundamental drivers in the development of information technology in Australia. Universities have combined high-level technical skills with advanced research, pioneering technologies and high-quality infrastructure. In 1989 AARNet was one of the first academic computer networks in the world and its existence and the skills of its technicians enabled Australia to be an early adopter of Internet technologies and applications. Australia is renowned for its software programming skills and for innovative niche hardware. Australian higher education institutions have also made a major contribution to Australias broader research and development effort. Many of the innovations that have created the information economy in Australia originated either from higher education institutions or from people with advanced research skills and intellectual capacity trained by them. In recent years universities have experienced severe resource constraints, but despite this universities have endeavoured to provide students and researchers with access to the cutting-edge tools and infrastructure that allow for further knowledge creation.
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Existing Initiatives
Universities are early adopters of commercial computer applications, using them for administrative, research and teaching purposes. E-mail was used by academic staff well before its broader acceptance. Spreadsheets and office applications are widely used, and statistical and other packages are frequently tested within universities at an early stage. Australian universities are using the Internet to deliver quality distance education to students within Australia and overseas. In some Australian universities a majority of students take courses through distance education, which increasingly involves using the Internet for tutorials, lodgement of assignments, delivery of course material and communication between students and their lecturers. Such students are increasingly being drawn from professional organisations and industry. Administrative systems within universities are complex, covering academic, financial, administrative and legal matters. Australian universities have some of the most advanced systems in the world and initiatives are being made to extend these and to test new technologies. For example, Adelaide University and the Australian Defence Force Academy (University of NSW) are both working with Telstra to trial the use of rechargeable telephone card technology for multiple purposes, including student ID, library borrowing, photocopying, security, and student payments. Industry has drawn on universities both as a source of skilled staff and to provide training and further education to existing staff as the need for life-long education increases. Such training includes management courses and specially-tailored industrybased courses. Partnerships are emerging for the delivery of specific programs where industry has neither the skills nor means to deliver high-quality education programs to its employees. Higher education institutions have also been incubators for new technologies, products and
applications, as well as testbeds for these as they move towards the marketplace. Sydney University academics have developed software relating to share transactions for the Australian Stock Exchange. Sydney University, the University of Technology Sydney and the University of NSW have been involved in the Australian Technology Park, which provides complex design and modelling using small advanced computers for a range of industries, saving time and development costs in the transition from prototype to final product. Higher education institutions provide students, research professionals and academics with the skills to exploit and advance new technology more quickly than any other sector of the economy as they are constantly seeking to apply new technologies to the work at hand.
Strategic Priorities
Although higher education institutions continue to make major commitments to new information technologies, significant opportunities are going untapped, and critical issues of a technological and policy nature need addressing by universities, by industry and by policy makers in order for Australia to remain an internationally competitive economy. These strategic priorities can be addressed under the five interrelated Action Areas outlined in the
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Education and Training Action Plan for the Information Economy: People Infrastructure Online Content, Applications and Services Policy and Organisational Framework Regulatory Framework
academics for developing and delivering courses. Consequently, Australia risks falling behind its overseas peers and competitors, threatening our access to advanced computing initiatives and early implementation of new hardware, software and applications.This in turn could lead to a reduction in staff skills compared with our overseas competitors. A further concern is that the preparation by Australian universities of its graduates for work within the information economy is often so effective that many are recruited overseas.This leads to a drain on the national skill base and within universities in particular. Restrictions on linkages between universities and other institutions are also preventing certain natural linkages from being fully developed. For example, while universities are heavily involved in the education, research training and teaching of hospital and medical staff, they are unable to easily develop infrastructure linkages which would improve ongoing teaching and research. Strategic priorities Encouragement of universities to ensure that their graduates enter the workforce with the competencies needed, including information literacy skills and lifelong learning skills. The development of specialised courses and online materials that integrate information technology with mainstream disciplines will strengthen Australias position as a leader in education, both online and overall.To avoid falling behind other advanced economies, Australia must ensure that: graduates enter the workforce with the information technology literacy and lifelong learning skills needed in the information economy; and advanced IT skills and applications are applied in disciplines such as biotechnology, marine science and chemistry so that Australia can make new advances in areas of strategic importance to the economy.
People
Context Education in Australia is a multi-billion dollar export industry of vital importance to our economy. As well as being a consumer of information technology products and services, education is a major provider of services using information technology and communications. Australian universities are using information technologies to improve administration, research, and teaching and learning.1 Individual universities, lecturers, academics and trainers each respond to their responsibility to develop the broad flexible learning capabilities required in the information economy in their own way.There is evidence, however, that information technology applications have not penetrated university teaching at more than a superficial level, and that the level of expertise and practice is not yet sufficient to ensure that their wider use is considered viable by
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Collaboration between universities should be encouraged, particularly where resources are limited and no one university can meet what is required; for example, the AVCC believes that the resources needed for advanced computing (sometimes referred to as high performance or supercomputing) are so specialised that some of them will have to be centralised through the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing (APAC). Provision of adequate numbers of graduates who can design and develop the systems and technologies needed to position Australia within the global information economy. Australia is renowned for producing graduates with high-quality software development and programming skills. Australian industry exports many products developed with their skills.The demand for such skills needs to be carefully monitored, and universities provided with the means to develop new courses quickly in response to the changing needs of industry. Information technology is also being applied to existing industries to improve productivity and reduce costs. Demand for skilled IT personnel will continue to grow, and there is some concern that it may not be able to be met. Research and development personnel within universities, research institutions and industry are also having to develop both strong IT skills and expertise in particular areas of science and industry.The development of new multi-disciplinary degrees linking advanced IT skills to particular disciplines is one option being explored by some universities.The potential to develop more information technology graduates is also a priority for Australian universities. Cooperation with industry to develop modularised, flexible teaching and learning resources to support lifelong learning, possibly in an industry or online rather than campus based setting. Industry is increasingly accepting that the public education and training sector cannot carry the total
responsibility for solving the shortage of IT skills. Not only are the lead times between identifying a need and the ability of the sector to develop courses and put students through them often too long, but some skills are so narrow that they need to be developed on-site. Longer-term issues regarding the skills required by individual graduates and the likely workforce requirements for such skills, on the other hand, can only be met by careful collaboration between educators, trainers and industry personnel. Universities will seek to cooperate with industry and professional bodies to: review the skill and knowledge requirements in each profession; review current courses leading to professional accreditation to ensure they have sufficient content in relation to computing, information technology and information systems; develop modularised, flexible teaching and learning resources to support lifelong learning; review and amend current enrolment policies and limits to ensure adequate numbers of graduates can be attracted and trained to design and develop the systems and technologies needed to position Australia within the global information economy. Professional development programs to meet skill shortages and ensure staff continue to have their skills upgraded to take advantage of new opportunities presented by new technology. For universities to be able to supply the skills necessary to drive the information economy, they must: have staff with the vision and skills to make use of new technology, new applications and new approaches to learning; and provide professional development for lecturers, administrative staff, technical assistants, researchers and other staff to allow them to be change agents in achieving the goals of the information economy.
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Ensure that women are fully involved in the use and development of information technology in higher education As in some other technical disciplines, there is a danger that women will remain under-represented in the use and development of IT&C in universities, both as students and as staff. Adequate steps must be taken to ensure that women can take full advantage of the promise of information technology for higher education teaching and research. Responsibility While universities have the primary responsibility for professional development of their staff within their resource constraints, the preparation of graduates for the workforce through well-designed course or subject materials is the shared responsibility of universities, industry and government. being run out not just to universities but also to schools at a fraction of the cost of acquiring capacity from a carrier. The Australian Academic and Research Network (AARNet) was founded in 1989 to improve research through linking Australian scholars with each other and with overseas researchers and through access to global information resources. AARNet interconnects eight Regional Network Organisations (academic and research networks), one in each of Australias six states and two main territories. Universities and other major Commonwealth research organisations such as the CSIRO connect to their nearest RNO either by private microwave radio systems or by leased telecommunications links. Microwave connections are currently cheaper than connection through the telecommunications infrastructure of major carriers. Connection rates of most universities to their RNO vary between 34 and 155 Mbps (megabits per second).The high cost of connection via carrier infrastructure precludes five universities from being connected to Regional Network Organisations by broadband connections.These universities are connected by leased lines at approximately 2 Mbps. AARNet members are linked to the Australian domestic and international Internet via major Internet service providers both in Australia and overseas.The highest cost component of AARNet connectivity is currently trans-Pacific capacity.This is causing a dampening of demand; however, the transPacific costs are expected to reduce significantly in
Infrastructure
Context The academic community was an early implementer and adopter of computer networks, using them for data transfer and e-mail long before the introduction of the World Wide Web.There is evidence that Australian education computer facilities and networks are falling behind overseas peers and competitors, particularly in regards to access to adequate advanced information infrastructure, including high bandwidth.2 In contrast to Australia, federal governments and industry in a number of G7 and other countries have provided millions of dollars towards the development of new advanced networks such as the Next-Generation Internet, Internet2, the Very-high-speed Backbone Network System (VBNS), and CANARIE (Canadas Optical Internet Initiative). In Canada, optical fibre is
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Much of this may well be possible through online education. In some cases university staff will require training from colleagues in other disciplines as the significance of new applications discovered in one discipline for others becomes clear.
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the next 1218 months as new high-capacity undersea cable links are deployed. AARNet is capable of carrying voice and video services as well as data. Network performance is acceptable for most current applications and is reinforced by service-level agreements with Optus. Certain applications, however, will require dedicated and/or other quality-of-service characteristics that are problematical for AARNet to deliver.3 This will remain the case unless significantly more affordable bandwidth is made available and other workgroup, institutional and regional network upgrades are implemented. In addition, users outside of AARNet, such as those at TAFE and research and production facilities within industry, may need to access course materials such as multi-media courseware, applications or data from with the AARNet community; these users are dependent on the performance of their organisations network and their connection to the Australian or global Internet. Given that some multimedia applications may require up to 10 Mbps, the inadequacy of current arrangements is clear. How Australian universities and research organisations can make such an investment and provide the necessary advanced information and communications infrastructure to their communities and clients is a key issue both for them and ultimately for Australia. In the USA, the universitybased organisation behind the Abilene and Internet2 projects, the University Corporation of Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), receives considerable project funding from the federal government (Internet2) and from industry (Abilene4). Australia is probably the only country in which the academic and research network has been user-pays since its inception, with limited direct Government financial assistance.5 Working out ways to address the current shortcomings of Australias higher education advanced information infrastructure will require careful comparison with information technology funding and legislative arrangements in other advanced economies,
especially as they apply to universities and the research community.6 The demand for bandwidth within Australia will grow exponentially as new applications and more data are carried on AARNet,7 but unless the current pricing model changes universities will simply not be able to afford the extra bandwidth. International linkages, with new services about to remove capacity constraints, are also too expensive for the higher education sector.The impact of the recent agreement between the Australian Advanced Internet Research and Education Program (AAIREP) and Internet2 to collaborate on new technologies and communications applications8 will depend at least in part on the cost to the partnership of access to the new high capacity cable networks to the USA. The recent establishment of the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing (APAC) has provided the opportunity for unique, cooperative university facilities, i.e., high performance or advanced computers, to be used to meet the research needs of industry. However, APAC, like AARNet, will need to overcome weaknesses in the national infrastructure in order to provide researchers in some universities with access to the equipment they need to conduct their research.9 There is evidence that some academics are selecting which university to work for on the basis of access to infrastructure. In the longer term this could marginalise some universities, reducing their opportunities to attract quality staff and consequently affecting the standard of their teaching and research. All universities recognise the need to keep their information technology current.They are employing various technologies (such as Thin Client) to reduce costs while also maintaining up-to-date software and hardware.
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collaborative initiatives between industry, educational and research institutions are necessary. Collaboration should focus on the development of new advanced networks networks (linked to existing networks) as a proving ground for new applications, services and technology. In particular, the AVCC urges the government to emulate many of the programs funded by the US, Canadian and European governments, including those aimed at advanced infrastructure development (i.e., networks that can perform at much greater levels than todays commercial Internet), advanced applications development, and research into technologies that will enable advances in infrastructure and applications (e.g., Quebecs Strategic Priorities Analysis of current facilities and IT infrastructure in post-secondary vocational and higher education institutions and research organisation In order to enable effective planning of infrastructure development, a coordinated national approach to the identification of existing and planned IT&C facilities and infrastructure in postsecondary vocational and higher education institutions and research organisation is required. One vehicle available to the Commonwealth to achieve this is the Major Research Facilities Working Party of the Coordination Committee on Science and Technology (CCST). It is recommended that the Working Party ensures that such a survey is undertaken under its terms of reference and that the results be provided to relevant Commonwealth agencies and committees, MCEETYA, the ERC and the AVCC. New collaborative arrangements between, industry, research organisations, education and training organisation and Commonwealth and State Governments For Australia to regain its international competitiveness in advanced information and communications infrastructure developments, deployment of dark fibre to Schools project10). One such initiative could be the establishment of a non-profit, industry-led consortium, similar to CANARIE,11 of private sector organisations, education, training, university and research institutions and the Commonwealth Government, to plan and accelerate the development and deployment of next generation networking technology and applications in Australia. Advanced Computing Many of the applications initially run on advanced computers will migrate to PCs in the future. An increase in Australias advanced computing (or supercomputing) facilities and associated research programs is needed so that Australia receives the benefits from applications moving from advanced or high performance computers to PCs, and from being linked to cutting-edge research in other countries. To achieve this the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing (APAC) will need to work with the Commonwealth and State Governments to access sufficient funds to ensure its advanced facilities and research programs reach and maintain world top 10% standard.12 DETYA has already provided $19.5 million for the establishment of APAC, but the AVCC believes that arrangements
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for the funding of advanced computing should be reconsidered in order to: allow for funds from both the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) and DETYA to be used to purchase hardware that will meet common but not exclusive aims of both programs,13 and make more cost-effective use of Commonwealth funds. The AVCC believes that the quantum of funds should not be reduced.The university partners of APAC will be contributing considerable funds, equipment and human resources each year to APAC. Growth of a world class infrastructure Every university must be able to access and afford world-class advanced information technology, including increasing amounts of bandwidth, so that they can: support general and advanced research that will allow for the discovery and development of new knowledge, products and applications; provide access both on- and off-campus for students, researchers and industry partners to increase service and knowledge delivery both within Australia and overseas. Almost all courses offered by Australian universities use information technology, and some are almost entirely dependent on information technology both for delivery and for storage and use of existing data; attain the high-level international linkages that are fundamental to the maintenance of Australias internationally competitive research capabilities and its ability to compete in the global education and research markets; ensure subjects and courses with few enrolments and/or higher costs of strategic importance to Australia, such as Bio-informatics, are retained and conducted through shared online resources; and
enable information to be stored and easily retrieved for use by industry, researchers and managers. This could be achieved by the establishment of mirror sites, improved technologies, and secure transaction environments to quickly improve access to products and services for overseas and Australian clients, and by streamlining funding arrangements for research in cooperation with industry and other research organisations to develop advanced information technology infrastructure and tools. Responsibilities The overseas experience is that central governments play an irreplaceable role in providing financial resources, setting major policy and legislative arrangements, and securing the cooperation of industry for further developments.14 State and local governments can also play a role. In the same way that all tiers of government within Australia share responsibility for major infrastructure, such as roads, the information highway is no different in requiring public funding for the public good. The deviation of a small proportion of government funds from other infrastructure spending to advanced information technology and communications infrastructure and project funds has the potential to boost the Australian economy and generate important new products. Existing university and research structures (such as AARNet) can assist with the development of an advanced information infrastructure, but ultimately the policy, legislative and funding framework is in the hands of the Commonwealth Government.
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Online Content, Applications and Services

Context Universities have traditionally been at the cutting edge in the application of information technology. It is therefore no surprise that universities have generated large amounts of course material online and are already using video classrooms and conferencing despite bandwidth limitations. However, to date there has been no national survey of content produced by the Australian higher education sector, nor of the range of other information technology services and applications available to and used by universities. There is little doubt that there will be an explosion of online material (requiring greater bandwidth and improved hardware) as a result of: the need to deliver professional development programs in a more cost-effective, user-friendly and timely fashion than current face-to-face arrangements; increased use of video, sound and data-hungry graphic applications to deliver course material in real time (rather than one-off broadcasts such as radio or TV); increased numbers and size of web pages and data linked to educational and other sites; the expectations of students to have access to streaming delivery of live or recorded video and sound across the Internet, allowing any user to view such content on their local machine, wherever they may be in the world, in real time (TV or radio for the Internet if you like); pressures on space, teaching time and facilities such as laboratories and libraries, leading to the need to provide alternatives; and the participation of more mature, employed, fulltime or part-time students who do not have the flexibility to attend lectures at a particular time and venue.
The latest developments in technological infrastructure provide the foundations for bringing together learning platforms and supporting information resources into an integrated national grid.This will allow economies of scale, both in terms of common core teaching and in terms of multiple distributed access to a central provider for courses with low local demand. The challenge for our educational, research and cultural institutions is to ensure that Australia is not swamped by content from other countries with superior infrastructure and programs encouraging the development of content drawn largely from their own cultures. Having said this, Australia is well placed in a number of areas to bring together learning platforms and supporting information resources. For example, a regional university specialising in postgraduate training in viticulture could mount the course online and develop links through the national information infrastructure to supporting materials located both in Australia and overseas. Alternatively, a metropolitan university with high undergraduate enrolments in first-year economics could distribute online units on a contractual basis to any number of universities with the links to appropriate support materials held in the national information grid. Higher education institutions are also using IT&C to pioneer new areas of research. Complex applications and programs are being developed and used to support cutting-edge applied and basic research.Tools to facilitate co-authoring and electronic project management of research projects are essential but slow to be implemented. Electronic networks for the rapid dissemination of research results are already of critical importance in many areas of research. Special equipment (e.g., massive data libraries, advanced computers, high-powered microscopes, and wind tunnels) can be accessed remotely if the infrastructure and applications are
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capable of handling the data and other requirements. New and better applications in these areas are needed to assist researchers. Applications and services are also being developed to support business and administrative operations. Institutional administration, course management, statistical reporting, student services and libraries in nearly all universities are being overhauled, with new developments being implemented rapidly. Improved interworking of office systems, including administrative systems and multimedia communication, is possible but not being widely implemented. In order to remain internationally competitive, IT&C will need to be taken up and applied as rapidly as possible within all Australian universities.To achieve this, in addition to issues identified elsewhere in this paper (such as infrastructure and development of IT skills by university personnel), the policy environment must encourage the uptake of IT&C in all spheres of university teaching, research and administration. There is evidence that Australian universities are now making significant investments in educational technologies, but the level of these investments is difficult to determine. In some cases universities appear to be waiting for information technology to infiltrate their teaching. In other cases universities appear keen to adopt new modes of delivery in order to improve services to students and to save on the expensive printing and mailing costs incurred by older methods. One issue universities are working to resolve in the online environment is that of copyright in courseware produced by staff. While universities may not be able to agree on guidelines to cover the ownership of copyright in published works,15 agreement will more likely be reached on the importance of universities retaining copyright in courseware produced by staff, particularly online courseware. Guidelines for developing online
courseware will necessarily be complex; the AVCC is planning to develop these. Australia is also cooperating in the development of international standards for online content (for example, the Instructional Management System or IMS). Universities will need to keep across such trends if their courses and services are to remain internationally competitive. Issues such as copyright, international market opportunities, opportunities for bulk acquisitions or collaborative infrastructure, establishment of standards and quality assurance must also be addressed positively.The Commonwealth Government plays a key role in all these areas. A national strategic framework that ensures appropriate investment in technological and information infrastructure is essential in order to match students, researchers, managers, administrators and resources, irrespective of geographic location. Strategic Priorities EdNA Digital Database It is proposed that EdNA develop a national digital database that: identifies existing curriculum and other digital resources at local, system and national level to avoid expensive duplication of human and other resources;
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demonstrates how academics in a range of subjects are applying information technology to courses, educational software and resources; and encourages Australian firms, associations, institutions, museums, libraries, archives, educational institutions and other organisations to digitize text, images, audio and video material and incorporate it in attractive websites for display on the World Wide Web through an EdNA Digital Collections server. As a collection, these websites would demonstrate the growing pool of skills, talent and content available to the Australian education sector and multimedia industries. Under this proposal universities would to continue to support EdNA Online as a service that provides access to quality online resources and services, developed either by individual institutions or collaboratively and managed as a distributed system that: registers and identifies existing resources at local, system and national level; provides information to prospective users about how existing information can be used with relevant permission and clearances; provides intellectual property-rights management for materials and services developed by individual institutions; and establishes technical standards and protocols that support information exchange and access to content (in conjunction with the IMS initiative).
substantial policy issues relevant to the higher education sector. The outcomes of the Strategic Framework for the Information Economy should provide a whole-ofgovernment policy framework for issues involving IT&C and the education and training sector, but other policy developments may delay the resolution of key issues. Several of these are outlined below. The proposed framework within the Governments Green Paper on higher education research16 is intended to benefit all parties participating in the generation and application of research, and the implications for IT&C should be considered.The paper states that: It is the legitimate and necessary role of Government policy to ensure that there is an environment conducive both to excellence in research and to the application of research outcomes in the wider national interest.This goes partly to the Governments role as funder, in providing the resources needed for high-quality research which meets national benefit or public interest criteria. It goes also to the Governments role in promoting public awareness and understanding of the importance of research to Australia, and in informing public debate on scientific or research-related issues of community interest or concern. Not least, it goes to the structure of incentives within the public policy framework; to the design and structure of funding programmes; to the promotion of excellence, including through competition; and to the encouragement of a national culture of enterprise and innovation.17 The Green Paper proposes reforms that are designed to encourage universities to pursue a more integrated, systematic and strategic approach to planning their overall research efforts to forge more effective links both within their own institutions and with other institutions and industry; to better relate their strategies for the conduct of research and for the delivery of research training.18
Policy and Organisational Framework

Context The introduction of the Telecommunications Act 1997 has affected the organisational and policy framework within which Australian higher education and research institutions operate.The legislative and regulatory framework is of such importance that it is dealt with elsewhere. However, there are other
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The ramifications for the Research Infrastructure Block Grant Scheme and the proposed Linkage Element are unclear.19 The National Bandwidth Inquiry will also have an impact on IT&C in higher education.The Inquirys work is intended primarily to provide an authoritative analysis of issues relating to the current and future capabilities of the Australian telecommunications network to deliver adequate infrastructure support for a full information economy.The major area of focus should be the backbone telecommunications data networks and links within Australia, and between Australia and other countries (the trunk network).20 The recently announced review of the nations science base, including funding mechanisms, characteristics to support leading-edge industry research, and the contribution it can make to economic development, will also have a significant impact.The review has implications for universities, as DETYA is the largest single funding provider for science in Australia. AARNet also provides some of the IT&C infrastructure needs of several nonuniversity research organisations, and changes to funding mechanisms may affect AARNet, Cooperative Research Centres, the CSIRO, ANSTO
and other research organisations with the need for access to advanced IT&C infrastructure. Within the Commonwealth Government there already exist potentially powerful policy and program coordination mechanisms for addressing key policy and funding issues. Prominent among these are: the Australian Information Economy Advisory Council (AIEAC);21 the Online Council (OC);22 the Ministerial Council for the Information Economy (MCIE);23 the Coordination Committee on Science and Technology (CCST); and the Prime Ministers Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC). The Coordination Committee on Science and Technology (CCST) complements the work of the Prime Ministers Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC). It provides input, where appropriate, to the meetings of PMSEIC or its Standing Committee, to advise on matters of concern that may require a whole-of-government response.24 Currently the Committee has two working parties: The Major Research Facilities Working Group set up in July 1998 to report on the prioritisation and coordination of funding for Australian access to major research facilities.The Working Group has representatives from ISR (Chair), ARC, NHMRC, AGSO, CSIRO and ANSTO. The CCST University-Industry Interaction Working Group established in late June 1998 to consider the wider aspects of university-industry linkages.25 Both of these Working Groups have reported to the CCST.The recommendations of the Major Research Facilities Working Group are to be
Photo courtesy of Canberra Institute of Technology
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referred to the Chief Scientists Review of the Science Base.The Final Report of the UniversityIndustry Interaction Working Group has been referred for consideration at the National Innovation Summit, to be held in February 2000. Non-Commonwealth Government organisations have also been developing policy options. In the higher education sector, the AVCC issued a discussion paper in 1996 that explored, along with other issues, the need for A Vision of Education.26 The paper noted that: a richly interconnected and highly leveraged network of computing resources, tools and information resources that provide students and teaching staff with unprecedented access across disciplinary, institutional and national boundaries is emerging through the use of the information technologies. The evolving national and international network infrastructure allows access by students and teachers to each other and to alternate centres of expertise. The implications for education could be enormous. Some commentators see the impact of IT on education being as important a watershed as the invention of writing or the printing press. We now appear to be entering the Information Age which is characterised by the electronic transmission of information. The paper also remarked on the need for a shared vision of what education and training should be in the 21st century. It noted that, unlike other countries, Australia does not have a central coordinating and funding body specifically for IT in higher education. It argued that serious consideration needs to be given at the highest level to establishing a coordinating and funding body under the joint auspices of DEETYA and the AVCC to coordinate all national activities and initiatives in the sector.The paper went on to suggest that such a body might have responsibility for development of national policies on the application of telecommunications technologies, expansion of networks (to K-12 schools,TAFE, etc.), and the establishment of software and communications standards.
Although such a body has not materialised, the level of discussion regarding IT&C infrastructure between the higher education sector and the various levels of government has improved over the last two years, particularly through preparation of the Expert Group Report for the development of APAC27 and the establishment of the Higher Education Information Technology Consultative Forum (HEITCF).The EdNA Reference Committee has also been established by Ministerial Council on Education, Employment,Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) in part to provide advice to Ministers on major policy issues associated with the use of computer networks in the delivery of education in Australia. Because of the genesis of EdNA as an education directory service, this function is still being developed, and relies on the input of committee members who are frequently extremely busy and have only minimal support infrastructure. Considerably more work has to be done, and perhaps some expert consultancies or policy papers have to be undertaken, to make the ERC and MCEETYA more effective as policy forums. An alternative forum to MCEETYA may be required, as sought by the AVCC in its paper. In this context, a valuable role could be played by the National Scholarly Communications Forum (NSCF), formed in October 1993 by a group of organisations concerned to ensure that Australia obtains maximum benefits in the rapid transition to forms of electronic communications for publishing, libraries, education and the business of government. The NSCF is sponsored by Australias four learned Academies: the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Its membership comes from a wide range of bodies representing academics, independent researchers, writers, librarians, publishers, together with specialists in copyright and in the new digital technologies.
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The Way Forward
The aim of the NSCF is to disseminate information about changes to the context and structures of scholarly communication in Australia and to make recommendations on what a broad spectrum of participants see as the best developmental policies. To this end, it organises a series of Round Tables where relevant issues are debated, future strategies are proposed and outcomes are recorded through a variety of forms of publications. Strategic Priorities Planning, development and implementation of new infrastructure It is recommended that the ERC commission a report on options for, and obstacles to, the development of shared infrastructure by schools, TAFE, universities and other non-profit organisations with a view to exploring superior Internet services to regional areas and organisations. It is also recommended that a concurrent report be prepared for the ERC on options for the development of fibre networks, which could service the education and training sector more costeffectively than current arrangements. To facilitate both reports, the AVCC would be prepared on behalf of the ERC to convene a working party of technical and legislative experts from within universities, the VET sector and schools to prepare a framework for the reports and select suitable people to prepare them. Review of Commonwealth funding programs The AVCC recommends that the Commonwealth government revise existing programs involving funding to universities and industry to ensure that they are complementary and to encourage effective synergies between them: for example, REIF, the Technology Diffusion Program and the Testing and Conformance Infrastructure Initiative.
Regulatory Framework
Context The Telecommunications Act 1997 introduced a new era for the organisational and policy framework within which Australian higher education and research institutions had to operate.28 It has been argued by the Commonwealth Government that the benefits to Australian businesses and consumers of the post-July 1997 regulatory changes are now clearly measurable, with expanded investment and employment in the telecommunications sector; greater choice of telecommunications services; greater responsiveness to the needs of customers; improved quality of service; and lower prices for telephone calls (especially long-distance calls). However, the experience of higher education institutions has been that of increased costs, unwillingness by carriers to explore new technologies in cooperation with research institutions and universities, and reduced options for cooperating with industry, other parts of the education and training sector, and non-profit organisations. Under the Act, special exemptions from legislative obligations were given to eligible tertiary education institutions by Ministerial Determination. As AARNet is a private network, the AVCC has a written access policy based on current legislation and the Ministerial Determinations: AVCC Members may use AARNet for, or in connection with, their
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research, educational or administrative functions.The existence of these Determinations demonstrates if nothing else that the Commonwealth Government has a crucial role to play in the development of policy and organisational frameworks for the establishment of the infrastructure that influences the uptake of flexible learning opportunities.29 Legislation in other countries has taken a different approach, with strong incentives from both federal and state governments for the education and training sector to maximise use of the Internet and other new applications: for example, the development of CANARIE in Canada and various programs in the USA that make connectivity cheaper and easier to arrange for schools, libraries, hospitals and educational institutions. The AVCC believes the existing Ministerial Determinations make it very difficult for universities, TAFE, schools and other government and nongovernment (not-for-profit) organisations to share communications infrastructure, even where this would reduce overall demand for funding on State and Commonwealth Governments. In addition, current arrangements make interaction with business and industry through shared infrastructure costly and difficult. Whereas university staff and students and officers of the CSIRO are permitted direct access to AARNet and therefore to each other, the organisations outlined above are not allowed to use AARNet even if they share the same geographical location. For higher education and research institutions outside the limited AARNet network, especially in
regional centres, opportunities for accessing suitable IT&C infrastructure are limited. Carrier changes are frequently more than higher education institutions can afford, and they are unable to cooperate for the establishment of regional facilities with other institutions, such as TAFE, hospitals and State and Commonwealth Government agencies and departments, because of current legislative requirements. Government funding programs and policies are frequently counter-productive, as they artificially segment research from industry development and assistance. Universities are obliged to establish expensive separate IT&C facilities and networking arrangements when the same infrastructure could effectively serve research and industry development needs. With many advanced IT&C systems and facilities being connected to AARNet, and AARNet in turn being connected to the Australian and global Internet, organisations without direct access to AARNet could access advanced IT&C facilities and systems via their respective Internet service providers. However, while this method of connection would probably be adequate to access basic facilities, connections with the dedicated and sufficient bandwidth and other quality-service parameters required for some applications are less likely, at least in the short-term. (These issues are canvassed at length in National Bandwidth Inquiry A Submission to the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.) The constraints placed upon the education and training sector under current legislative arrangements will in the longer term be detrimental both economically and technically to Australian education, research, training and industry. Australia will be unable to compete with countries such as Canada and the United States because carrier charges will be too high both within Australia and between Australia and overseas research partners.
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The Way Forward
Another impediment to the information economy is the proposed arrangements for copyright under the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Bill, introduced into Parliament in September 1999.This Bill was referred to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, which is currently considering submissions from both copyright owners (representatives of authors, publishers, broadcasters, etc.) and copyright users (schools, universities, libraries, information technology managers and consumer groups). The proposed legislation was welcomed by the university sector as providing the opportunity to specifically address and clarify the basis upon which educational institutions can make use of copyright material in electronic form.The capacity to leverage off existing investment in information technology in support of education and research in Australia is essential in maintaining the sector as a major export industry (currently Australias eighth largest). Access to information and the exemptions for fair dealing underpin an information-rich education and research environment, without which Australia will limit its capacity to be an innovative clever country in the digital age. The Exposure Draft released earlier this year outlined a copyright regime that would, if implemented in legislation, maintain the appropriate balance between the rights of copyright owners and users. A number of the changes put forward by the university sector, to better protect the rights of access to and use of materials in both hard copy and digital form by staff and students, have been adopted in the Bill. However, the most recent version of the legislation contains provisions of deep concern to universities.These changes no longer maintain the balance between the rights of copyright owners and users. If implemented, they will suit copyright owners and large commercial interests in the United States and Europe, but disadvantage Australia, particularly the education and training sector. Considerable additional costs
will be incurred by schools, vocational education institutions and universities. In a related area, the AVCC has also raised concerns about the jurisdiction and procedures of the Copyright Tribunal, an inquiry into which is currently being conducted by the Copyright Law Review Committee (CLRC).The AVCC has brought a number of concerns to the attention of the CLRC. Another piece of Commonwealth legislation, the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act 1999, may also have a profound impact on universities.The aim of the Act is to protect children from illegal and highly offensive material online.The difficulty for universities is that some students and other users of their library resources are under 18, and preventing access to prohibited material from public terminals may place unreasonable demands on the technical and administrative systems of universities.The implications of the Act are yet to be assessed by universities, and will depend in part on the procedures put into place by the Australian Broadcasting Authority to implement the legislation. Strategic Priorities Reconsideration of the legislative and regulatory framework for telecommunications The Higher Education sector recommends that the Commonwealth urgently reconsider the telecommunications legislative and regulatory framework, so that Australias information technology infrastructure: meets the current and emerging needs of universities, industry collaborators, other major research institutions such as ANST, DSTO and the CSIRO; and can enable affordable access to universities by students, industry and researchers from all parts of Australia and from overseas.
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The regulatory framework should also support and not impede the needs of Australias education and training industry. In a knowledge-based society, intellectual property is currency. Amendments to proposed copyright legislation The Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Bill 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) Act Universities 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 Century stipulate that when students leave school they should be confident, creative and productive users of new technologies, including information and communication technologies, and understand the impact of those technologies on society. Real Time: Computers, Change and Schooling (National Sample Study of the IT Skills of Australian School Students, October 1999) Further information is available at: http://www.aiia.com.au/skillsTaskForce.html Bandwidth Requirements of the Education and Training Sector, Olaf Moon, August 1999. Measurement for University requirements taken from the Committee of Australian University Directors of Information Technology (CAUDIT) 1999. The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) is currently reviewing the future regulatory arrangements for telecommunications facilities and services operated by the AVCC and others.The current exemptions have been extended to end December 2000. EdNA Online (http://www.edna.edu.au) is an extensive, free, public Website with access to quality resources and services for the Australian education and training community. It vastly improves communication between peers for both students and teachers, especially those working in isolation because of geographical or physical factors. It allows improved access to curriculum materials and provides opportunities for joint exploration of topics between teachers and students. To take one example, the Commonwealth Government is providing $1 040 000 under the Science Lectureships Initiative to the University of New South Wales and Latrobe University to jointly develop a distance and on-line learning program, offering a Bachelor of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics and continuing professional education units in these areas, to meet national needs.
Endnotes: Flexible Learning for the Information Economy

1 A study by Richard Nelson of Columbia University New York and Nathan Rosenberg, Stanford University California, cited in The Economist, Survey of Innovation in Industry, February 20 1999, p 12 The New Economy Index, Progressive Policy Institute, URL: www.dicppi.org Cited in The Economist, Survey of Innovation in Industry, February 20 1999, p 22. Porter, M (1998) Clusters and the New Economics of competition, Harvard Business Review, NovemberDecember 1998, p 90 National Office for the Information Economy (1998), A Strategic Framework for the Information Economy Identifying Priorities for Action Porter, M (1998), Clusters and the New Economics of Competition, Harvard Business Review, NovemberDecember 1998, p 89 National Office for the Information Economy (1998), A Strategic Framework for the Information Economy Identifying Priorities for Action
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Endnotes:The Way Forward

1 Managing the Introduction of Technology in the Delivery and Administration of Higher Education, Evaluation and Investigations Program, Higher Education Division, DEETYA, 1997, p 21 Bandwidth Requirements for the Australian Education and Training Sector, Australian Commonwealth Department of Education,Training and Youth Affairs, August 1999, pp 1112 High Performance Computing and Communications in Australia, Higher Education Division occasional Paper Series, 1998, p 39. The Abilene Project is named after a railhead established in Abilene, Kansas during the 1860s. In its time the ambitions railhead of the 1800s staked a claim on what was then the frontier of the United States; the Abilene Project establishes a foothold from which to explore and develop pioneering network technology.The links of last centurys railway changed the way people worked and lived.The Abilene project will transform the work of researchers and educators into the next millennium. The AARNet Board of Management is responsible to the AVCC for the development and implementation of relevant AARNet service policy, within the parameters set by the AVCC and CSIRO.The scope of this body includes the provision of networking services to the individual AVCC member institutions and CSIRO, managed under the auspices of the AVCC. Numerous models exist. For example, the United Kingdoms academic and research network, JANET, is funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher Education Funding Councils for England (HEFCE), Scotland (SHEFC), Wales (HEFCW) and the Department of Education for Northern Ireland (DENI). JANET is managed and developed by UKERNA under a Service level Agreement from the JISC. SuperJANET is the broadband, or high speed, part of JANET.The name was coined in 1989 for a new initiative aimed at providing an advanced optical-fibre broadband network for the higher education community at an affordable price.The SuperJANET projects (IIII) have transformed the JANET network from one primarily
Endnotes: Learning in an on-line world

1 Improving teaching and learning through the use of information and communications technologies: a discussion paper for the EdNA Schools Advisory Group (Lifelong Learning Associates, 1999) http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/system/llreport/home.html The Adelaide declaration on national goals for schooling in the twenty-first century (Ministerial Council for Education, Employment,Training and Youth Affairs, April 1999) http://www.curriculum.edu.au/mceetya/nationalgoals/ A strategic framework for the information economy (National Office for the Information Economy, December 1998) http://www.noie.gov.au/projects/information%5Feconomy/ strategic%5Fframework/dec98_strategy.htm Education and training action plan for the information economy (Department of Education,Training and Youth Affairs, May 2000).To be available at www.detya.gov.au/edu/edactplan.htm Professional development: a link to better learning: the CEO Forum School Technology and Readiness (StaR) Report (February 1999) http://www.ceoforum.org/reports.cfm?RID=2
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handling data to a network capable of simultaneously transporting video and audio as well as data. Another example is DANTE (Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe Limited), a not-for-profit company established by the national research networks in Europe. Another European example, the TEN-155 network, is co-funded under a joint initiative of the ESPRIT, Telematics for Applications and ACTS programmes of the European Commission and is a direct result of the Quantum project. CANARIE and UCAID offer other models, but all have external government funding in common over and above normal operational budgets for universities. National Bandwidth Inquiry A Submission to the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Committee of the Australian University Directors of Information Technology, 1999 (CAUDIT) Australian Universities to Connect to US Internet2, Media Release, AVCC, 17 September 1999. High Performance Computing and Communications in Australia, Higher Education Division Occasional Paper Series, 1998, p. 39ff. http://www.canarie.ca/eng/outreach/publications/news/Co mmSept99.pdf CANARIE Inc. is Canadas advanced Internet development organisation. It was established in 1993 and has been working with government, industry, and the research and educational communities to enhance Canadas advanced Internet infrastructure, applications development and use. High Performance Computing and Communications in Australia, Higher Education Division Occasional Paper Series, 1998, p. 13ff, indicates that Australia has fallen well behind other developed and developing economies in recent years. The Technology Diffusion Program conducted by DISR has the potential to provide funds for high-performance computing. However, in the past, DISR has been reluctant to allow the hardware purchased with program funds to be used for research, even though there is evidence that better hardware could be purchased and improved results obtained if collaboration with DETYA/ARC funding programs was allowed.This could potentially save the Commonwealth funds, allowing APAC or its members to better target applications and make more effective use of all funds. Further examples of government support for advanced information technology and communications developments are the Next-Generation Internet,VBNS and Information Technology for the Twenty-First Century (IT2) initiatives of the US Government. IT2 is a proposed $366 million FY 2000 multiagency Federal information technology research and development initiative.The IT2 initiative has three components: (1) Long term IT research; (2) Advanced computing for science, engineering, and the Nation; (3) Research on economic, social, and workforce implications of the Information Revolution.The IT2 initiative will be coordinated jointly with the High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) programs and the NextGeneration Internet (NGI) initiative. The issue of ownership of copyright in monographs and journal articles written by university staff in the course of their employment, and the related issue of paying copyright royalties to copyright owners for the use of journal articles in teaching, is a difficult one on which to
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obtain consensus across the higher education system. It is acknowledged that, to prevent staff from being exploited by publishers, it is desirable that academics not assign their copyright to publishers without obtaining advice or guidance from the university. However, it is also acknowledged that it would be difficult to gain support from academics for such a policy, as their tenure and promotion depends on their being published in top journals. New Knowledge, New Opportunities: A Discussion Paper on Higher Education Research and Research Training, The Hon. Dr David Kemp MP, Minister for Education,Training and Youth Affairs, June 1999 Ibid., Section 3.18. Ibid., Section 3.10. Ibid., Section 7.23, states that the funding available under the RIBG programme will be transferred to granting agencies with the expectation that those infrastructure overheads formerly funded through RIBG will be covered by grants. In Section 7.4 the paper also says the Linkage element will provide support for the development of research ventures involving national and international collaboration between institutions and/or collaboration between institutions and other parties, such as industry partners and the CSIRO. Funding will primarily be of a seeding nature.The programme will also support strategic investment in the collaborative use of infrastructure. National Bandwidth InquiryTerms of Reference, Media Release, Senator Richard Alston, 9 December 1998. The Australian Information Economy Advisory Council (AIEAC) is a new advisory group created to provide high level industry and community input to Government decision making on information industries and information economy issues. The Online Council (OC) is a Commonwealth, State and Territory ministerial body created to address a wide range of issues affecting the development of the information economy and to promote consistency in the use of information and communication services in government.The Council is chaired by Senator Alston, and includes senior ministers from State and Territory governments and a representative from the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA). The Ministerial Council for the Information Economy (MCIE) is a high-level Commonwealth body established by the Prime Minister to coordinate a whole-ofgovernment action agenda for Australias participation in the information economy. Details of the Terms of Reference and membership of CCST can be found at http://www.science.gov.au/ccst/ Terms of Reference for CCST Major Research Facilities Working Group can be found at http://www.science.gov.au/ccst/mrf.html and UniversityIndustry Interaction Working Group Terms of Reference at http://www.science.gov.au/ccst/univ.html Exploiting Information Technology in Higher Education: An Issue Paper, AVCC, October 1996. High Performance Computing and Communications in Australia, Higher Education Division Occasional Paper Series, 1998 Bandwidth Requirements for the Australian Education and Training Sector, Australian Commonwealth Department of Education,Training and Youth Affairs, August 1999, pp. 1112.
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29 The Determinations in regard to eligible tertiary education institutions cease to have effect on 31 December 1999 or on such later date as is determined by the Minister.The explanatory notes to the legislation state that: The sunset clause(s) will enable the operation of the exemption 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, depending on the outcome of such a review, options before the Minister may include letting the exemption lapse, enabling the exemption to continue for a further specified period, and enabling the exemption to continue either in a widened or more narrow form.The Minister may also consider whether the definition of tertiary education institution is appropriate.
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Learning for the knowledge society:

Learning for the knowledge society:

DAVID KEMP MINISTER FOR EDUCATION,TRAINING AND YOUTH AFFAIRS

School Education Action Plan

Vocational Education and Training (VET) Action Plan

Higher Education Action Plan

Education and Training Action Plan

The Action Areas are:

Photo courtesy of U3A, ACT

Key Strategic Priorities

Learning for the knowledge society:

Lear ning for the knowledge society:

Critical Success Factors

Learning for the knowledge society

The role of the Education and Training Industry

A Coherent National Vision

Learning for the knowledge society

Key Action Areas

Action Area 1: People

Learning for the knowledge society

Learning for the knowledge society

Key Strategic Priorities

Action Area 2: Infrastr ucture

Learning for the knowledge society

Learning for the knowledge society

Key Strategic Priorities

Action Area 3: Online Content, Applications and Ser vices

Photo courtesy of U3A, ACT

Learning for the knowledge society

Key Strategic Priorities

Action Area 4: Policy and Organisational Framework

Learning for the knowledge society

Learning for the knowledge society

Photo courtesy of U3A, ACT

Action Area 5: Regulator y Framework

Key Strategic Priorities

Learning for the knowledge society

Key Strategic Priorities

DETYA information economy strategic plan

DETYA infor mation economy strategic plan 19992002

Why does the information economy matter?

Benchmark for success

The strategic plan in context

DETYA information economy strategic plan

How can DETYA add value?

Areas in which action is needed

What will DETYA do?

How will DETYA be able to show it has succeeded?

How can DETYA add value?

DETYA information economy strategic plan

Action Area 1: People

What will DETYA do?

How can DETYA add value?

Photo courtesy of Hawker College, ACT

Action Area 2: Infrastr ucture

How can DETYA add value?

How will DETYA be able to show it has succeeded?

What will DETYA do?

DETYA information economy strategic plan

How will DETYA be able to show it has succeeded?

Action Area 3: Content, Applications and Ser vices