Information technology skills development and the new problematik

Abstract

Where once curricula confidently mapped what had to be learned, current schooling practice is having to address new foci, including lifelong learning and the ever increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Curricula now need to focus on the development of specific capacities for engagement in lifelong learning and to address questions related to the rapid expansion of access to the ICTs, particularly the Internet. This article investigates aspects of the new problematik, drawing on recent research into the development of ICT skills in Australian schools (Meredyth et al, 1998). That research found that students tend to be more knowledgeable than their teachers in general, when it comes to the development of ICT skills. In addition, both students and teachers tend to have developed those skills outside of formal educational settings. These findings raise several challenges for those who wish to address the new foci for the curriculum.