The ideaslab aims to challenge the way we think about learning and teaching, and find new ways to take technology into the classroom.
Based at the Hume Global Learning Centre, ideaslab will provide:
- A hub for national and international research into technology in learning and teaching
- A testing (and proving) ground for new ideas
- A place for teachers to experiment and share ideas.
ideaslab has been formed through a unique partnership between the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco Systems, the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education and Hume City Council.
Through this partnership ideaslab will have access to international thought leaders in information technology and the latest in educational and technological advances.
New technology has changed the way we work and live. Over the last 20 years it has also become an essential part of our schools and classrooms, supporting young people to engage more deeply with a complex and connected world.
As technology increasingly becomes part of our world, now is the time to explore what it means for the way young people learn and engage in education. We need to understand how young people prefer to learn through technology and examine how teaching practice can change to accommodate these learning modes.
We also need to understand how teachers can be supported to make these changes as part of their teaching work.
Teachers who are passionate about using technology to improve the learning experiences of young people will drive ideaslab. ideaslab research teams will be predominately Victorian school teachers participating in the Victorian Government Teacher Professional Leave program. Research teams will work with their colleagues around Victoria to explore new ways of teaching through technology.
Students will have the opportunity to participate in research projects through classroom trials and ideaslab school-based research projects. As digital natives, students will be crucial to the work of Ideas Lab.
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) will lead ideaslab, with particular support from the Broadmeadows Schools Regeneration Project team.
Our partners – Microsoft, Intel, Cisco Systems, The University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education and Hume City Council – will ensure ideaslab's teacher-led research teams will have access to the latest expertise in the IT and education sectors, as well as the social vision and commitment to learning embodied through Hume City Council’s Global Learning Centre initiative.