Information & Communication Technologies

The Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) seeks to advance and coordinate the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) agenda, informed by national and state policy directions, for the Catholic schooling sector in Queensland. The Commission is provided with advice and support from the QCEC ICT Network and the Senior Education Officer – ICT, in relation to the use of technology as a strategic tool in learning, teaching and administration.

The QCEC Secretariat provides support to Catholic School Authorities by coordinating collaborative approaches to addressing ICT issues in a range of areas such as pedagogy, curriculum, professional development, infrastructure, online content, applications, services, policy development, regulatory frameworks, reporting and research. ICT is considered to be an enabler for the goals of Catholic School Authorities and a servant for the mission of Catholic education. 

Australian Government programs and resources

The Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration (2019) highlights the importance of educating students and supporting teachers in technology in education. 

The Catholic sector is engaged in a range of Australian Government technology enabled initiatives including the following: 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) 
The Australian Framework for Generative AI in Schools seeks to guide the responsible and ethical use of generative AI tools in ways that benefit students, schools, and society. 

Schools Unique Student Identifier (USI) 
Education Ministers have agreed on a model to roll-out a Schools USI nationally to all school students. 

Interstate Student Data Transfer Note and Protocol 
This national system supports the exchange of student information between schools when children move state. 

National Formative Assessment Resource Bank (NFARB) 
Education Ministers have agreed to explore the development of a national formative assessment resource bank to provide all Australian teachers with access to online assessment resources. 

Online assessment 
There is a range of Australian and international online assessments undertaken by schools including ICT Literacy with Opt-in assessments also now becoming available to schools. 

National online learning services
Education Services Australia offers a range of digital resources and professional learning materials which are freely available to teachers, students, parents and carers. 

eSafety Schools’ Hub
This hub brings together key online safety resources for Australian schools. 

Safer Technologies For Schools (ST4S)
The Safer Technologies 4 Schools initiative is a standardised approach to evaluating digital products and services used by schools across Australia and New Zealand against a nationally consistent security and privacy control framework. 

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) 
The Australian Government funds a range of STEM initiatives for schools, teachers, students, carers and families, from early years to schooling. 

State-wide partnerships

The Queensland Catholic sector has the opportunity to collaborate on ICT related programs with other sectors and key education stakeholders through a range of consultation groups, associations and programs. These include the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority Online Assessment and Artificial Intelligence working groups and the STEM Cross Sector Reference Group. The Catholic sector participates in the Students Performing Advanced Research – Queensland Education which is a biomedical educational program for school students, delivered through a collaboration between the Department of Education and the Translational Research Institute. The Queensland Department of Education has enabled access to Curriculum into the Classroom resources through Scootle for Catholic schools in Queensland. The Queensland Government also supports the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Gateway to Industry Schools project which is managed by the Australian Computer Society. The Queensland Society for Information Technology in Education is the professional association that supports teachers to use ICT effectively in their classrooms. 

Catholic sector initiatives

Catholic Network Australia

Catholic Network Australia (CNA) was established to procure and manage a private telecommunications network and associated technology services for the benefit of Catholic education participants across Australia. CNA provides a range of member services to Catholic education including access to telecommunication services, software agreements and support for the enhancement of student learning and school administration through the use of technology.

Catholic Education Network

Catholic Education Network is a not-for-profit services company that provides a range of Information, Communication and Learning Technology services to Catholic education communities across five states and territories including regional dioceses in Queensland.