IMS Global: Perhaps
a good place to start would be giving us a brief description of The
Le@rning Federation. What is it and what is its purpose? How is it
funded?
ST: The Le@rning
Federation (TLF) initiative is a result of agreements by all education
Ministers in Australia and New Zealand to collaborate in developing
online curriculum content and to support infrastructure for all
Australian and New Zealand schools. The Initiative is in its third
Phase. Phase 1 of TLF was a feasibility phase. Phase 2 (2001 to 2006)
was a major content development phase which included the design and
development of infrastructure and specifications to support and
distribute the content. Phase 3 has broader objectives with an eye on
establishing sustainable processes to extend achieved benefits of TLF
beyond 2009. This Phase includes further content and infrastructure
procurement, programs to support implementation across the schools
sector, and research to investigate the effectiveness of TLF digital
content within a teaching and learning context.
Produce
a pool of online material in areas of high priority, namely:
Innovation,
Enterprise and Creativity
(Prep
to year 10)
Languages
Other Than English
(Prep
to year 10)
Literacy
(Years
5 to 9)
Numeracy
and Mathematics
(Prep
to year 9
Science
Years
(Prep
to year 6, years 9 & 10)
Studies
of Australia
(Prep
to year 10)
Produce
the online material within a framework for distributed access to state
and territory gateways.
Develop
online materials that:
Represent
the best education available or conceivable in the twenty-first century.
Will
engage teachers and students in the construction of learning and in
creative and critical thinking.
Support
the growing innovations, enterprise, and knowledge economy priorities
of state, territory, and Commonwealth governments in Australia.
Encourage
a marketplace for high quality public and private online curriculum
content.
The
objectives for Phase 32 have been expressed
as targets and values:
Targets:
A
further 4,000 items of high quality, globally recognized, online
curriculum content for all Australian and New Zealand schools.
A
workable framework, standards, and structure for the sharing of online
curriculum content between jurisdictions within Australia and New
Zealand and with other countries.
An
interoperable framework to enable sharing and peer-reviewing of
teacher-initiated online resources.
Brokered
arrangements with vendors to support distribution and use of online
curriculum content in schools.
Consolidated
schooling sector support for a local education digital content industry.
Values:
The
value of learners constructing knowledge, being active in the learning
process and building on prior learning.
The
extension of opportunities for all students to develop to their fullest
individual potential through new pathways for learning afforded by
digital content.
Education
as a foundation for citizenship, public life, and active, productive
participation in our democracy and community, with an imperative of
developing habits, skills, and understanding for such active
participation.
Creativity,
initiative, and enquiry at all stages of life for all members of the
community.
Schools
as communities of learners in which children work with adults and each
other, within, between, and beyond schools, in the richest and most
stimulating environment possible to become intelligent, responsible,
and competent members of society.
The
development of cultural understanding, common experience, and the
innovative potential of difference across our diverse communities
through a significant body of high quality Australian and New Zealand
materials available to all children.
The
diversity of students as a foundation of a productive, creative, and
democratic society for the twenty-first century.
A
common body of materials that can be applied in flexible ways within
different jurisdictions, supporting distributed access and drawing on
the strengths of each system.
The
collaboration that is fundamental to Australia's Federation, and the
capacities of information technology to help us better achieve our
goals.
Phase 2
was managed through a joint venture between Curriculum Corporation and education.au limited.
Curriculum Corporation was responsible for the market information,
content procurement and quality assurance functions, and education.au limited was
responsible for the information system brokering functions. Curriculum
Corporation is responsible for managing the initiative from 2006-2009.
Both Curriculum Corporation and education.au
limited are not for profit companies owned by Ministerial
Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA)3.
Funding
for the Initiative for Phases 2 and 3 is based on a model where the
Australian Government contributes 50% and the remainder is contributed
by Australian State and Territory Governments on a pro-rata amount
based on population. The New Zealand Government contribution reflects
their population and the proportion of content relevant to their
curriculum. The budgets for Phase 2 and 3 are in the vicinity of Au$74
million and Au$54 million, respectively.
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