Australia’s education system is currently undergoing a ‘Digital Education Revolution’; unlike the photo gallery behind the website promoting it. With Julia Gillard in charge of education, it only makes sense for her portfolio to cover such ‘revolution’. At the end of 2008 Professor Denise Bradley lead an expert panel (hired by the government) in conducting a review to decide what to do about the revolution.

Ms Gillard told an audience at the Universities Australia Conference this Wednesday:

“With the Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education now released, read and thoroughly debated we can begin the process of change.”

Whilst pointing out that…

“We are losing touch with the OECD’s leaders in higher education. Between 1996 and 2006, we slipped from seventh in the OECD in terms of attainment among 25 – 34 year olds to ninth.”

One organisation to send in a submission to the expert panel was the Australian Computer Society (ACS). it’s submission can be read here.

The ACS welcomed Gillard’s initial response with ACS Chairman Kumar Parakala stating:

“The changes proposed by Minister Gillard will provide the educational skills sets to help knowledge and innovation become a key future export for our country.”

Noting that:

“The ACS renewed its call for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to be recognised as a core discipline of both the University and VET systems, ensuring students are adequately equipped to compete with their international peers in the global workplace.”

We won’t know the full details of the Government’s response until May, when the Federal Government’s Budget is released. What we do know is that the report focussed heavily on higher education (as it should’ve) though what I want to know is when the whole of Australia’s year 9-12 students are receiving their laptops? There are steps being made in NSW to receive netbooks but no word of other states.

Flickr user GrodsCorp