First Things First

We need something more substantial, more appealing and more valuable.

And those who warn of floods, disasters and corporate needs are also unlikely to fill their technology "arks" with eager volunteers. Even though such warnings and threats are popular strategies in some places, they show a meager understanding of schools as well as the most rudimentary truths of encouraging good change.

"The sky is falling!" wins more recruits for shelters than keyboards and literacy..

2. Identify promising learning strategies

The selection of learning strategies should follow naturally from the setting of project goals.

To illustrate the process, imagine a school that has decided to emphasize the following three outcomes previously listed (on page 10) from the Western Australia Curriculum Frameworks.

1. Students use language to understand, develop and communicate ideas and information and interact with others.

3. Students recognize when and what information is needed, locate and obtain it from a range of sources and evaluate, use and share it with others.

6. Students visualize consequences, think laterally, recognize opportunity and potential and are prepared to test options.

Having made this choice, the next step is to identify those practices most likely to produce such outcomes. Who has done the best work on these capabilities? Which instructional or learning models have been tested until proven effective, reliable and worth adapting for local use?

To address all three statements, the planning group surveys the field seeking models that address all three outcomes simultaneously. The group also looks for strategies capable of winning broad acceptance by the planning group.

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