technacy
...gh the development of problem solving skills to cope with expanding access to computerised/digital information (BOS, 2006). In the current NSW stage 4 Technology Mandatory syllabus, students utilise ICT in each design project and some of the applications include Word Processing software to assist in planning and presentation of design folios; and utilising electronic information such as the internet in the researching of information. Technology education has been under resourced for many years, both in terms of teacher education and professional development, as well as in regards to the resources provided to directly support teachers (Baulch, 2002). As a result of this, we now have a severe shortage of qualified and quality teaches in the area at the secondary level, and a significant number of primary school teachers who have never had to undertake any study relating to technology education (Baulch, 2002). This has led to limited technology education programs being run in schools and staff who are unable to successfully deliver the inadequate programs that do exist. The technology education area needs adequate support to ensure that the whole community recognises and understands the value of this area for all students in general education and in being able to contribute positively to a knowledge economy (Baulch, 2002). Strategies need to be put in place to develop and support teacher education, professional development programs and to educate students, teachers, school leaders, universities and parents about the worth of the area (Baulch, 2002). The valuable role that computers can play in developing children’s technacy skills needs to be noted. Computer Technology is expected to be imbedded in to the curriculum of every subject. In 2003, a pen and paper test was introduced as part of the Year 10 School Certificate, and was supposed to be made mandatory this year, in 2006. However, the Teachers Federation currently has the matter in court, attempting to put a ban on it. They deem it to be a useless measure, as the children are not actually taught the material throughout the year, and the actual assessment is a written one, not a practical one, and therefore believed to be an inaccurate and unreliable indicator of computer technology knowledge and skill. There is no actual syllabus to guide the teachers and students in the teaching and learning of this material. It is simply meant to be incorporated into each KLA’s current syllabus. The use of such a test would be beneficial if the content was actually taught adequately in the individual subject areas. However, due to the relatively recent introduction of computer technology in schools, in comparison to the service time of the majority of the teachers expected to teach this content, it is difficult for teachers to educate students in material which they themselves have not been taught. It is teachers attitudes towards technology and their styles of teaching that determine how students are exposed to and taught technological literacy. To counteract this problem, the Department of Education and Training has offered grants to schools to assist in the training of educators in this area. Yet, this extra training is not compulsory and therefore, unfortunately for various reasons, many teachers choose not to take advantage of this training. Several schools have also introduced a subject called Contemporary Issues (CI). It teaches students about their local area, and place in the world, through use of computers. For example, students use Google Earth to determine their location in relation to the rest of the world, they research their local area on the internet and they prepare reports detailing their findings, using Microsoft Office programs. Ideally, every child in every classroom, of every school would be sitting in front of a laptop. In addition, every classroom would be fitted with a SMART board. SMART boards are an interactive wh...