The Australian Library Journal
volume 50 issue 1

Kormilda College: IT education towards tomorrow

The author discusses the implementation of a College-wide IT strategy for indigenous students; she reviews the implications of an alliance with industry and discusses the issues involved in providing indigenous students with the IT skills necessary to take them 'towards tomorrow'. This article is based on a paper prepared for the 'Learning IT. 2000' Conference at Surfers Paradise, Queensland 28-30 June 2000

Manuscript received August 2000

This is a refereed article

Kormilda College, Darwin
Kormilda College is an independent, co-educational, multi-cultural, day and residential secondary school, serving the people of Northern Australia by providing an excellent, affordable, Christian secondary education. Kormilda College maintains as a priority the provision of a full secondary residential education, within a multi-cultural environment, to Aboriginal students from isolated communities. 'Kormilda' is an Aboriginal word meaning 'towards tomorrow' and is derived from an extinct indigenous language of the Arnhem Land - Kakadu area of the Northern Territory. Towards tomorrow is the motto for Kormilda and is represented in the College logo.

Kormilda College students are guided towards tomorrow through the provision of facilities and learning programs which will equip students with the knowledge and skills, the positive attitudes, the commitment to excellence and the global perspective they require to meet the challenges of life in community in tomorrow's world. The principles of equity, access and most importantly reconciliation underpin the operation of Kormilda College. Kormilda hosted the first National Youth Reconciliation Convention in 1997, Forum for the Future, and maintains an active role in reconciliation activities. The school operates within an environment that is life affirming and caring, and is firmly grounded upon Christian principles.

The Northern Territory Government founded Kormilda College in 1967 to provide access to secondary and further education for Aboriginal students living in isolated locations. Since 1989 Kormilda has been owned and operated by the Anglican and Uniting Churches. The school maintains open, interactive relationships with these Churches, especially in the areas of policy development and planning, with representatives from both these groups being on the College Board.

Industry meets schools: partners in education - Rio Tinto and Kormilda College
A Joint Agreement between Kormilda College Ltd and Rio Tinto, formerly CRA, has been formulated for the purpose of co-operation in the development of indigenous and non-indigenous students in the Northern Territory through secondary education. The Agreement was drawn up in 1995 and has a term of ten years. It focuses upon projects that encourage the development of self-management and leadership skills particularly of indigenous students attending the College. Rio Tinto provides financial and non-financial support at levels mutually agreed as appropriate for specific developmental stages. The support is directed towards projects suggested by the College, which enhance and are consistent with its educational objectives and general development. The College in turn provides the Company with exclusive rights to its major non-government and non-church support opportunities. The Joint Agreement has involved capital works programs in health, performing arts and information technology. In addition to capital works programs the Joint Agreement has provided a range of other programs such as the student leadership program and the Kormilda College Speakers Forum, assisting the College to enhance its profile within the Northern Territory and Australian community. The most recent developments related to the Joint Agreement have been in technology and its applications with the aims of assisting student learning and encouraging the development of appropriate curricula for students entering the 21st century, and for the ongoing development of self-management and leadership skills.

Information technology as the key to education and lifelong learning: empowering indigenous students
One of the principles in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child as stated in the United Nations Charter for Children, states that every child

shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual judgment, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society.[1]

And in the words of Jeff Bingaman, a US senator

We will either teach our children to use technology effectively and use technology to improve our educational standards or we will resign them, and ourselves, to second-rate status in the world.[2]

The impact of technology is being felt across a wide range of educational disciplines and touches the lives of all people regardless of their degree of isolation or culture. Technology can also provide a bridge for isolation: it is the medium that provides people with a link to the world. Using a quote from the Principal of the Kormilda college, the key principle of equity is based on the educational view '... that students must become members of a world community and have the skills to operate well within that community[3 ]', and in support of human rights, we 'as educators ... have an obligation to organise schooling in ways that avoid penalising children ...'[4] in regard to them becoming world citizens.

We need to give students the necessary skills to participate and become useful members in the larger society, to ensure that each '... has the capacity to rise above the immediacy of his or her environment to enable freedom of choice'.[5] The principal of Kormilda College suggests that education should widen the child's horizons and he refers to educating for world citizenship. In a world in which information is expanding exponentially via the internet and is available via computers in nearly all households of non-indigenous Australians, indigenous people are being left further behind.

Kormilda College is attempting to bridge the gap of the information rich and the information poor as well as the gap of isolation by providing maximum computing access and training to indigenous students. At Kormilda, technology facilitates communication at a multitude of levels: with teachers and other students at Kormilda, with the students' home communities, with the wider indigenous and broader Australian communities, and with the International community. In regard to indigenous education, it is essential that the necessary skills be taught in order to assist students to participate on a basis of equal opportunity as world citizens.

It is acknowledged that technology and its industry and workplace applications are perhaps the most significant factors for students entering the adult world of work and responsibility. Mastery of technological developments and the capacity to utilise such developments for the betterment of their lives is central to the development of self management and leadership skills in students at Kormilda.

In an editorial published in the Journal of International Agriculture and Development in 1993, John Maddeley wrote that '... indigenous knowledge is the largest single knowledge base not yet mobilized in the development enterprise ...'[6] Will technology change this? I suggest that in some cases it already has, for example indigenous cultural activities being displayed online such as the Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre website ('sacred site') of a Southern Arrente indigenous tribal group located south of Alice Springs, and the Yothu Yindi homepage, which provides links to a variety of indigenous cultural displays and activities. But the devices of technology are probably not the platforms on which some indigenous knowledge would ever be staged: much indigenous knowledge is shared within the local community groups and is not considered to be knowledge for the development or enterprise arena. This knowledge has traditionally been passed on (or mobilised) by person-to-person communication and it is not likely that technology will change this. Technology may or may not allow for some indigenous knowledge to be mobilised in the development of any enterprise (and this becomes a choice for indigenous groups). Nevertheless information technology does provide access points for indigenous people to participate in the development enterprise of the wider society.

The ability to design and use technology is also crucial in furthering its usefulness in the ongoing development and improvement of society. Kormilda College aims to give students the skills required to manipulate the technology, and the ability to apply technology to their studies and more importantly to life situations.

What is information technology at Kormilda College?
Kormilda College is an Information Technology School. Information Technology at Kormilda College:

• Enhances teaching and learning in all classrooms but does not replace the teacher;
  
  
• Is used to collect, share, synthesise and analyse information and resources;
  
  
• Includes all forms of electronic manipulation of information - computers, videos, television, video cameras, phones, faxes, photo-copier, radio and broadcasting;
  
  
• Includes a range of applications - internet, intranet, e-mail, word-processing, video conferencing, digital imaging and
• scanning;
  
  
• Is used as a resource that will enhance student abilities as flexible thinkers and problem-solvers.

Key Principles of the use of information technology at Kormilda College will be:

• Christian and mindful of the Christian ethos espoused by Kormilda College.
  
  
• Multi-cultural/Global and assist students to learn about the global community. It will maximise connections between individual students, remote communities and other peoples throughout the world. IT will emphasise technology applications and information systems
  
  
• that strengthen human bonds and collaborative problem solving rather than isolating individuals from one another.
  
  
• Equitable and will ensure that all students will have equal access to Information Technology resources provided by the College.
  
  
• Individual and will extend and enhance the expressiveness of individuals. At the same time it will forego an uncritical reliance upon such technologies when non-technological talents and skills might serve individuals better.
  
  
• Educational and will ensure that students will be provided with a technology-rich environment that is conducive to improving academic
• achievement in all areas.

IT infrastructure
The College runs a Novell network that operates 2 main file servers - a student file server and a staff file server. Three CD-ROM towers, the Internet and most applications are located on the student server; the staff server is used for student records and College administration. An ISDN link and a switching hub allow high-speed connection to all areas of the College and the outside world. Approximately 135 computers are provided for student use around the College. The Information Centre comprises the library and two computer laboratories with a total of 65 computers. Another computer laboratory in the Art-Design-Technology faculty provides a further 30 computers. In addition to these PCs, 10 laptops are available for students to use in classrooms around the school. In the residences 30 computers are available for boarders to use after hours. Boarders also have access to the Information Centre each night (Monday to Thursday), and some computing labs are open in the evenings as well, depending on the availability of staff to supervise usage.

Since its redevelopment, the Kormilda College Information Centre is one of the largest and most technologically advanced school libraries in the Northern Territory. A second stage is planned for the Information Centre (in approximately 18 months), which will increase its internal physical space and provide an increase in the number of computers available to students. The Information Centre focuses its operation to provide access in a range of forms including multi-media and internet applications to students. Three CDROM towers allow for a total of 21 programs to be loaded and available via the network. In addition, about 24 other programs are available on a single user basis. Programs mounted on the CDROM tower are selected according to the programs networking capability, the cost of site licencing and relevance to a wide range of students. Programs such as encyclopedias, indexing programs, news programs, and Christian perspectives are some of the types of programs made available on all the library computers.

A future development planned for the network infrastructure is a remote access server, which will make it possible for students to access the College's resources from anywhere. A remote server will allow students from local homes or communities access to the resources required for learning, and will also allow students out in communities to keep in contact with teachers and staff. It will also have the capacity to run video conferencing and audiovisual intensive applications.

IT Programs
'The information technology revolution and the growth of the Internet are key factors that will shape teaching and learning for many decades to come.'[7] Kormilda College's current curriculum policy aims to address the expressed educational goals of the mission statement: that Kormilda College provide learning programs which will equip students with the knowledge and skills, the positive attitudes, the commitment to excellence and the global perspective they require to meet the challenges of life in community in tomorrow's world. Kormilda College offers a range of educational programs for students. Indigenous students may be enrolled in the Intensive English, Foundation Studies, General Studies or in mainstream courses dependant upon literacy levels. The mainstream courses offered at Kormilda are the Northern Territory Certificate of Education, the International Baccalaureate, and a range of vocational education and training courses.

At Kormilda, information technology is an essential tool for students enrolled in all courses, and is widely used by both teachers and students in teaching and learning and for communication. When students enter the College, an individual computing account is established for them: a logon name is created and students nominate a password to protect their account. Managing approximately 800 student accounts is a significant management task for the Information Centre staff. Procedures have been established for forgotten passwords and there is always someone available to reinstate individual accounts in the case of a students not being able to access the network during class time.

Computing Course Years 8/9
Students entering Kormilda College have a wide range of computing skills, from none at all to being very proficient at using the computer in a wide range of applications. In order to cater for these variations all students in Years 8 and 9 take computing as a compulsory semester-long subject with 80 minutes a week being devoted to it. This is not an academic course where students achieve grades for achievement, but rather a skills development course that is designed to improve the students' level of computing skills. It aims to give students the basic skills of computing which may include computer terminology, legal and ethical issues, file management, networking, typing, information management, word processing, internet, PowerPoint, e-mail and spreadsheets, the purpose of which is to develop skills that can be applied to all subjects and at all year levels. Not all classes will cover all topics in one semester but the range is given to cater for students or classes who have more advanced computing skills. In the Year 8 and 9 computing course, file management is the first topic covered with the Kormilda College network being explained to the students and the acceptable usage policy being discussed. Emphasis is placed on students keeping their accounts private by not sharing passwords and conveying to them that if they believe that another student is able to access their account they must change their password. Indigenous students who have had little or no access to computers prior to commencing at Kormilda soon learn the logon procedures, and eventually remember their password after they have experienced being locked out of the system for typing an incorrect one! At the completion of the computing course every student at Kormilda College knows how to log onto the network and how to search the internet and how to compose a word document and save it to their account as the basic level of IT competency.

Indigenous students respond well to using computers at school and they enjoy computing as a subject, often more so than conventional school lessons using the old technology of pen and paper! My observations are that indigenous students are less intimidated by the computer than they are by the exercise book. One of the reasons for this may be that language, which is often, a barrier to student learning, has less significance when working with computers. The student doesn't need a great amount of language to make the computer work. Students also respond favourably to the instant gratification they receive when they perform a function that produces a response from the computer: that clicking of the mouse or that tapping of the keys in a certain way animates the screen. This in itself is positive reinforcement: the students' actions produce a result that they can see and evaluate. If the correct action has been performed the computer will respond.

The students quickly learn how the computer should respond when they perform procedural tasks: when they log on correctly, the students learn that the screen changes and welcomes them into the system; when they click on the start icon, a list of applications and programs is provided; when they select an application, a screen appears ready for them to commence input, be it a query (such as with the Internet) or a document (such as word processing or spreadsheet). The indigenous students generally feel more successful and feel that they are achieving when they work with computers because the computer responds to their commands. The traditional learning styles of indigenous children incorporate observation and imitation[8]. This particular learning style is incorporated in IT classes by the use of large 68cm television sets with a computer-to-TV adapter unit. These units stand on tall trolleys so that they can be used to project an image to a class. Teachers make use of these AV units to demonstrate processes to students who can observe and imitate.

Information literacy
Information Literacy is another program offered to all students in the College, but especially at the Year 8 and 9 levels. Here, it is the ability to access, evaluate and use information from multiple formats, the use of technology being a core part of this program. My colleague, teacher-librarian Kate Waldmann and I have written the program for Kormilda, identifying the skills required for information seeking (information literacy) from beginning to advanced levels. The skills have been grouped into three divisions, beginning, intermediate, advanced, and the correlation of the National Profiles levels in each division is given. A teacher-librarian works collaboratively with the teacher to develop the unit of work, incorporating the appropriate levels of information literacy skills for the particular group.

The information literacy program incorporates six stages into the work unit: these are: defining, locating, selecting, organising, presenting and evaluating. Computing skills are essential in the locating stage as this is where students are required to use the online catalogue to search the library collection as well as locate online resources such as internet sites and CD-ROM information. The aim is that teachers will incorporate the information literacy program into all work units which require students to undertake research. Some specific skills taught in this program are: searching the library catalogue, navigating the internet by using both address and search engines, accessing CD-ROM on the network or by using the CD-ROM drive for single site CD-ROMS, and word processing for presentation. Many of the indigenous classes in intensive English or in the secondary supported classes (classes of indigenous students doing mainstream curriculum with additional support) have a teacher-librarian as well as the teacher to work with the class to assist in developing these skills.

A quote in support of information literacy which is relevant here:

Information is one of the fundamental resources in our society. It pervades and shapes our way of life. The sources of information and the forms in which it is found are multiplying rapidly. Society's ability to use information to advantage is a key to economic growth and social harmony. The capacity of individuals to participate in decisions, to compete and be innovative in today's complex technology-driven society, depends on their ability to use information effectively.[9]

Art-design-technology
In the area of Art-design-technology, students are involved in curriculum activities centred on the concept of design and its various applications. The College in the last twelve months has introduced Graphic Arts courses based on computer technology. Graphic Arts is an elective subject for students, however most indigenous students are placed into this elective unit for one term. Students are shown how to use the computer for designing visual art presentations. Last term students were using the computer to generate flags and traditional designs. Students learn how to use the scanner in this subject and may scan some artwork, then enhance it on the computer.

Students may choose to take Graphics Design as a nominated subject in the senior school years. In ensuring that students in the College have access to a working understanding of current technology and its applications, the Graphics Design course uses a range of applications, such as digital photography and video capture, and uses design specific software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and AutoCad for the Graphic Arts senior students. The Arts-Design-Technology faculty focuses on graphic design and utilises art through design enhanced by computer technology by direct application across a range of curriculum possibilities. The College identifies design as a central tool for industry and workplace application. In this field there is real potential for industry application of computer technology in indigenous communities: computer graphics is already being incorporated into many art and craft centres in indigenous communities as an extension of the works produced by traditional means. Graphic design can introduce a new style of artwork in the art industry of indigenous Australians.

Computing within other subjects
Computing is incorporated into each faculty. One of our goals is: 'to ensure that the use of technology permeates the whole curriculum (across all subjects and in all year levels) with the aim of enriching learning possibilities and broadening the use of information resources and thus encouraging diversity'10. The past twelve months have seen a huge increase in IT being used in the curriculum. Each faculty has incorporated IT into work units, either with software programs being used or with online resources being included in recommended reference lists. Generally it is a requirement for students to have consulted a range of resources for any research work, one which must be an electronic source.

Maths
This last semester a senior class of indigenous students enrolled in the General Studies course has been doing an extended unit of work using Excel spreadsheet. The aim of this work unit was to project the growth of Kormilda College, looking at enrolment figures over the past ten years. Data collection, manipulation, interpretation and presentation were the processes used in this unit. Raw data was gained from administration census records, and enrolments were broken into various categories such as indigenous/non-indigenous and year level. The data was used to produce a table and using the formula button, percentages were produced. The students were able then to produce graphs and a written report from their information. The indigenous students became confident in using Excel and were able to successfully complete all stages of the work unit.

Homework and recreational use of computers
The Information Centre is supervised during the required homework session each night. Boarders use the computers either in the Information Centre or in the residences during this time. Students have access to computers before school, during lunchtime and after school for recreational purposes as well as for schoolwork. During these times students have unlimited access to Network applications such as the internet, e-mail and CDROMs. In the Day School Information Centre access to computer games is not permitted on any of the computers during the school day; however in the residences, the boarders are allowed access to games as a recreational activity. Many of the indigenous students use the out of class times to communicate with people at home via e-mail or they navigate the web, explore the CDROMs or catch up on their assignments (word processing/excel). Students who are not so familiar with the technology become more confident by teaming up with a friend during these times.

IT curriculum policy : present and future directions
The Kormilda College IT Policy (Draft) is a five-year strategic plan (2000-2005) for the implementation of IT in the school. The Policy includes goals, implementation and acceptable usage policy statements on each of the following areas:

• Curriculum
• Equipment and human resources
• Infrastructure
• Software
• Staff development
• Safety
• Internet
• Intranet
• Privately owned laptops
• Code of behaviour

One of the fundamental goals in Curriculum is: 'to develop within all students the confidence, understanding and skills to be able to live and work in a society in which technology plays an important role'[11]. This goal reflects the ideal and motto of Kormilda College in educating students 'towards tomorrow', and the commitment to this goal is seen in the supporting goals and in implementation strategies found in the IT Policy.

Despite the wide usage of IT across all areas of the school, we are still limited by the number of computers and network points available. At present this is our biggest restriction in furthering the use of IT in the curriculum. It is time to think laterally as to how to extend the network, and we are currently exploring options available such as upgrading the server or the provision of an additional server, use of wireless technology in classrooms, promotion of student purchased laptops such as SNAP [Student Notebook Access Program] - a Toshiba initiative through schools supporting families wanting to purchase a laptop for enrolled students. Whilst the College may promote the SNAP program, it will never be the case that students are required to own a laptop for entry into any class. This is seen to have the potential of creating an exclusive group of students, the 'haves' and the 'have nots', and is not in keeping with the Key Principle of Equity found in the College's Mission Statement which is reinforced in the IT Policy. The purchase of a laptop is seen by Kormilda to be a matter of choice for the family, and not related to the standard of curriculum delivery that the student may access.

The College has for some time been looking towards establishing remote access to the College network for communities and this statement is given as one of the goals in the infrastructure section of the IT Policy. The achievement of this goal will establish a link between the communities and the College and will be beneficial when students return home for cultural reasons: they will be able to maintain a connection with teachers and will have the means to access the online resources available through The Kormilda network. Students, utilising an individual subscriber process from whatever location, will be able to enter the library's main information computer and dial out to national and international information centres. Of course this is only possible in communities that have IT infrastructure themselves. Many of the larger communities do have internet access; for students from the smaller homeland centres communication via the internet would only be possible once the communication link was made available from their communities This remote access still remains a future development for the College.

Conclusion
Kormilda College strives to improve on the quality of IT already offered to all its students in terms of access and integration in teaching and learning. The combining of Kormilda College and Rio Tinto as school and industry partners is an ongoing success story in the provision of facilities and programs to advance indigenous and non-indigenous students in becoming world citizens of the 21st century. The complete integration of the College's Mission Statement in all aspects of College life will assist current and future Kormilda students in being guided 'towards tomorrow'.

Endnotes
1. Principle 7, Declaration of the Rights of the Child (online) (Available 24/06/00) http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/UN-declaration/

2. Bingaman Jeff, Reinventing Schools: the technology is now (Available 24/06/00) http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/techgap/

3. Hunter, Derek. An exploration of the appropriateness of involving traditional aboriginal students in secondary mainstream education in a boarding environment such as Kormilda College, unpublished paper, 1997, p 10.

4. Ken Boston, 1995 quoted in Derek Hunter, An exploration of the appropriateness of involving traditional aboriginal students in secondary mainstream education in a boarding environment such as Kormilda College, 1997, p 9.

5. Hunter. op.cit. p 6

6. Madeley, John. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor 5 [1] April 1997 (Available 14/06/00) http://www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/5-1/contents.html

7. Todd, Ross in Scan 19 [1] Feb 2000, p 26.

8. Harris, Stephen. 1990 Two Way Aboriginal Schooling: Education and cultural survival, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra

9. Nethercott, Don and Pratt, Chris. Information Literacy, Teachers and the Internet - in Weeks, Fiona and Lee, John. Partners in Projects: a guide to the information process for parents. Sydney: Catholic Schools Office, 1997

10. Kormilda College Information Technology Curriculum Policy 1999-2000, p.4.

11. ibid. p.4

Bibliography
Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre: Available 24/06/00 http://aboriginalart.com.au/gallery/gallery_gallery.html

Declaration of the rights of the Child. Available 24/06/00 http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/UN-declaration/

Harris, Stephen. (1990) Two Way Aboriginal Schooling: Education and cultural survival, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra

Hunter, Derek L. (1997) An exploration of the appropriateness of involving traditional aboriginal students in secondary mainstream education in a boarding environment such as Kormilda College, unpublished paper.

Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor 5 [1] (April 1997) Editorial. Available 24/06/00 http://www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/5-1/contents.html

Kormilda College Information Technology Curriculum Policy 2000-2005.

Nethercott, Don and Pratt, Chris. (1997) 'Information Literacy, Teachers and the Internet - 1996' in Weeks, Fiona and Lee, John. Partners in Projects: a guide to the information process for parents. Sydney: Catholic Schools Office.

Reinventing Schools: the technology is now Available 24/06/00 http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/techgap/

Todd, Ross (2000). 'Virtual conference: students, the search process and electronic information environments' in Scan, 19(1).

Yothu Yindi Available 24/06/00 http://www.yothuyindi.com/home.html