Web 2.0, the expansion of broadband to rural and remote Australia and the impact of ICT fuelled participatory culture

Abstract

This paper and presentation reviews the collective opinion of key Australian researchers concerning the emerging technologies most likely to have a significant impact on learning and teaching in regional, rural and remote areas. It then draws on the conclusions of the Horizon Report (2008) concerning key ICT drivers likely to influence 'learning-focused organisations'. It will examine how these drivers might be influential in practice by reflecting on the forms of 'participatory culture' outlined by Jenkins (2006). International and national case studies will be used to illustrate the practical implementation of these new resources and theoretical frameworks. These case studies include international examples such as the Jhai Project in Laos and the One Laptop per Child Project initiated by Negroponte and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). National examples include a cluster of schools west of Longreach in Queensland using videoconferencing for teacher professional learning prior to the implementation of a classroom unit enhanced by the use of blogs and robotics, and a cluster of schools in North Queensland building a hovercraft and using dataloggers to monitor and improve performance.