Digital Education Revolution Symposium
The Duxton Hotel, Perth, 12 June 2008

This symposium, organised by ACER, education.au and supported by DEEWR, was a chance for teachers to explore the potential inherent in the Australian Federal Government’s Digital Education Revolution, which will receive AUS $1.2 billion in funding over the coming 5 years. The programme, PowerPoint presentations and podcasts are all available online.

In both the plenary talks and the breakout sessions the message came through that new technologies are leading to major social and cultural shifts, which educators are in a good position to capitalise on. As at most academic conferences these days, presenters stressed the need to focus on the pedagogy and for teachers to work in partership with their students, with the teachers bringing the pedagogical expertise and the students much of the tehcnological expertise. In short, rather than shying away from the technology and the uncertainties it may represent, teachers need to engage with it more fully – and be inspired by the new possibilities it opens up.