Information & Communication Technologies

The Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) seeks to advance and coordinate the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) agenda, informed by national and state policy directions, for the Catholic schooling sector in Queensland. The Commission is provided with advice and support from the QCEC ICT Network, the National Online Assessment Taskforce (NOAT) and the Senior Education Officer – ICT, in relation to the use of technology as a strategic tool in learning, teaching and administration.

The QCEC Secretariat provides support to the Catholic School Authorities by coordinating collaborative approaches to addressing ICT issues in a range of areas such as pedagogy, curriculum, professional development, infrastructure, online content, applications, services, policy development, regulatory frameworks, reporting and research. ICT is considered to be an enabler for the goals of Catholic School Authorities and a servant for the mission of Catholic education.

Commonwealth programs and resources

Digital Technologies

The Australian Government is supporting a range of initiatives aligned to the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies as part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA) to inspire engagement in digital literacy and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) opportunities  including the:

• Primary Connections, Science by Doing and reSolve: Mathematics by Inquiry science programs
• Foundation to Year Two expansion of the Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) program
• STEM Professionals in Schools program
• Let’s Count program
• Little Scientists program
• Artificial Intelligence in Schools
• online Mathematics Hub
• Curious Minds (STEM Summer Schools for Girls).

Online assessment

The education sector has agreed to a set of Principles for National Online Assessment to support the transition of National Assessment Programs such as NAPLAN from print to online and classroom-based online formative assessment more broadly in the future. The Australian Government has committed to the development of an online national assessment platform to enable online assessment in collaboration  with states and territories and non-government education authorities. Please refer to the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and Queensland Government websites regarding further information on the transition to online assessment.

Enhancing Online Safety for Children

The Australian Government has established the Office of the eSafety Commissioner which is committed to helping young people have safe, positive experiences online.

National Online Learning Services

National Online Learning Services are managed by Education Services Australia (ESA) and include:

• digital curriculum resources aligned to the Australian Curriculum
• National Digital Learning Resources Network (NDLRN)
• Schools Online Teaching and Learning Environment (Scootle)
• Digital Technologies Hub
• national assessment systems
• Language Learning Space
• National Schools Interoperability Program (NSIP)
• a range of solutions for education stakeholders.

Scootle

Scootle is a national digital learning repository which provides Australian teachers with access to more than 20,000 digital learning items, provided by a wide range of contributors and aligned to core areas of the Australian Curriculum.

National Assessment Program: ICT Literacy

Every three years, samples of Year 6 and Year 10 students from across Australia are tested on their ability to use ICT appropriately through the National Assessment Program (NAP) ICT Literacy.

State-wide partnerships

The Queensland Catholic sector has the opportunity to engage with other sectors and key education stakeholders through a range of committees, programs and events such as the Queensland Online Assessment Working Group, the Learning Place Affiliates Program and the Queensland Society for Information Technology in Education (QSITE). The Queensland Government has also enabled access to the Queensland Department of Education and Training (DET) Curriculum into the Classroom (C2C) resources through Scootle for Catholic schools in Queensland.

Catholic sector initiatives

Catholic Network Australia

Catholic Network Australia (CNA) was established by the Australian Bishops to provide a contemporary, secure, private information technology network and associated communications services for the benefit of the Catholic community in Australia. CNA provides a range of member services to Catholic education including access to telecommunication services, software agreements and support for the development of digital curriculum resources to promote contemporary learning in Australian Catholic schools.

Catholic Education Network

Catholic Education Network (CEnet) is a not-for-profit services company that provides a range of ICT services to Catholic education communities including regional dioceses in Queensland.