Introduction

Broadband technology has the potential to revolutionise the Australian education sector. The always on nature of broadband connections allows school students to use the internet as an everyday research tool in the classroom more easily. High bandwidth enhances the effectiveness of existing distance learning programs by enabling videoconferencing on the desktop. Access to sufficient bandwidth allows researchers in Australia's higher education institutions to participate in international collaborative research projects and broadband allows tertiary students to access high quality course materials from campuses across the country and around the world.

These broadband applications are driving demand for bandwidth. In the higher education sector, bandwidth use has increased by 50 percent each year over the last three years, despite the increasing cost higher use imposes on university budgets. A recent report on the use of the internet by Australian schools recommends the average school needs a data transfer speed ten times that available to most schools.

The growing demand for broadband in education reflects the strategic importance of broadband technologies for education delivery - the education sector will increasingly deliver services through broadband channels. Broadband will enable educators to realise key policy objectives in the schools sector, in Vocational Education and Training (VET) and in higher education. The Commonwealth Minister for Education, Science and Training, Dr Brendan Nelson, has actively pursued these issues with his state counterparts and representatives from the education sector.

This paper has been developed by NOIE in consultation with key stakeholders across the education sector. It provides analysis and examples to illustrate the varied economic and social benefits broadband can deliver for education. Educational institutions across the sector are eager to develop and use online learning applications that include video streaming and interactive learning software. Institutions believe these applications will improve the educational experience that they can offer to students and allow them to service remote students using their existing staff and course materials. Institutions want to use media-rich educational applications to enhance learning outcomes through use of consistent high quality materials. In addition, internet research is increasingly important for students from all sectors of education. Effective research requires fast, reliable access to the internet.

In consultations with NOIE, education stakeholders consistently noted that the supply of quality, affordable broadband connections is the largest impediment to the takeup of broadband. Education institutions stated that they do not have the capacity to make the large capital investments that a comprehensive broadband infrastructure requires. Applications are already available that Australian educators want to use. However, they are unable to utilise many broadband applications developed in the United States because they are not able to access sufficient bandwidth. Developers currently need to design applications for Australian educational institutions to operate at lower bandwidth, possibly reducing their effectiveness.

A significant issue related to takeup is the need for professional development programs, both to equip staff with the skills to use broadband applications and to enable staff to explore the potential uses and innovations that broadband can deliver. Other barriers to broadband uptake in education include cultural change issues, the need for technical support and bandwidth management problems.

The first section of this paper considers broadband drivers, applications and issues in each education sub-sector. Schools (both primary and secondary), VET and the higher education sector each have different applications for and benefits from broadband. The second part of this paper outlines barriers to broadband takeup across the entire education sector.

Measurement of broadband data transfer speeds

The data transfer rates quoted in this paper usually refer to the total bandwidth capacity available to an institution. The number of connected devices and the number of concurrent users of a broadband connection complicate assumptions about the available bandwidth. Most institutions use one connection to provide access for many students at once and to support the administration systems of the institution. In most cases, the speed of data transfer experienced by an end user is considerably slower than the capacity of the institution's internet connection. This means that educational institutions require significant bandwidth to provide even a standard level of internet access. Broadband applications require data transfer speeds that are faster still.

Cooperation across the education sector

The different sub-sectors within education cooperate on information and communication technologies (ICT) issues through the Australian Information and Communications Technology in Education Committee (AICTEC). The members of AICTEC are the peak bodies concerned with ICT issues from each sub-sector: the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) ICT in Schools taskforce; the Flexible Learning Advisory Group (FLAG) for the VET sector; and the Australian Vice Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) in the higher education sector. While some of the issues within education are specific to each sector, AICTEC addresses many issues on a sector-wide basis.