Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Although I have seen and used interactive whiteboards before, as I said, this is the first time that I have witnessed their use by such young children. Blackburn Lake has six interactive whiteboards, of which one is located in the library, and a total of 12 classes get to use the whiteboards in their lessons. So almost 350 students benefit from the use of this new technology in the classroom and enjoy it every day. But there are 17 classrooms at the school, and that means that sometimes there are students missing out on access to this technology. However, interactive whiteboards are not cheap. Costing around $6,000 for each unit, along with software and installation costs, they are not an item that every school can afford, and they have not necessarily been provided.

Each interactive whiteboard has facilities to connect to the internet or any other computer application whilst operating on their own software. The interactive whiteboards are particularly useful in engaging reluctant learners, for whom such equipment tends to have a natural appeal. In many ways it can look similar to a video game, with its colourful display that both attracts and holds the children’s attention.

Each of the six interactive whiteboards at Blackburn Lake Primary was paid for by local fundraising of the school community over a number of years through ventures such as school fetes, canteen sales and other fundraising ideas. Up until now there has been no government funding provided for any provision of interactive whiteboards at the school. Technology such as this, that improves learning outcomes in the class, should be made available to all students so that every child has a better chance of realising their potential. I would certainly encourage anyone who doubts the benefits of modern teaching equipment such as this to have a look for themselves to see what a difference it can make—not only for junior schools but for senior schools as well. I believe that there is a real need to expand the use of interactive whiteboards in our primary school education system, and I will certainly be advocating the cause wherever I can—to see if funding can be provided at state or federal level, or a combination of both, to speed up the installation and use of this wonderful technology.

Finally, I would like to thank the school principal, Mr David Jewell, and the Victorian state education department for helping to organise the visit. I would also like to thank the many teachers and parents to whom we spoke to that afternoon whilst touring the school facilities. But I would especially like to say a big thank you to all the students for their polite behaviour and great personal interest in welcoming the Prime Minister and me into their school.

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