ThinkFWD sat down with one of Australia's leading educators to discuss the future of digital learning.   

Fresh from presenting at EduTECH 2015 on ‘Pedagogy in the age of the PC’, we spoke to Giovanna Iannicelli about the journey to implement a digital culture at St Mary’s College in Adelaide.

What was the biggest challenge in developing and implementing a digital culture at your school?

The biggest challenge has been to bring staff along on the journey and emphasise the use of technology in facilitating and achieving learning outcomes. It’s not about technology for the sake of technology – it’s transformation of practice.

How does a digital culture benefit your students?

We cannot teach students everything about technology, but we can give them skills that will help them to problem solve, be creative and critical in their thinking. We are educating students for careers that have not yet been created.

How did you go about integrating new technology into your school?

We used the SAMR model [which stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition] as a guide for integration. It was important for the staff to understand the different stages of this model and to understand the dividing line between transformation and enhancement.

What would you recommend to other schools who want to go down the same path?

It’s important that your school’s infrastructure is able to support the technology initiatives being implemented and that it's reviewed regularly to support changes in the use of technology. Ask teachers to clearly identify specific learning outcomes that give a context and rationale for a change in learning activities. Additionally, the ongoing evaluation of how technology is helping to meet curriculum objectives is vital.

To find out how St Mary's College transformed the traditional classroom, read our free case study.