The Ultranet in Schools
Are our schools ready for the Ultranet?
With the help of Ultranet Coaches, every Victorian government school has been preparing for the arrival of the Ultranet since 2008. Schools have made significant progress to make sure they are ready to take full advantage of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the classroom.
Ultranet Coaches in every school network are helping teachers to use the Ultranet to improve learning and teaching. They have also been working closely with school leadership teams to strengthen eLearning practices, in readiness for the Ultranet.
Ultranet Coaches have trained Lead Users of the Ultranet from every Victorian government school. Ultranet Coaches will continue to the end of 2011.
What will the Ultranet cost schools?
The Ultranet is a $60.5 million project funded by the Victorian Government. It is being provided to every Victorian government school so that they do not need to divert funds into their own online learning systems.
How does the Ultranet fit in with other ICT initiatives in schools?
The Ultranet is one aspect of the ICT revolution happening in Victorian government schools today.
The Department has initiated a range of projects to help schools realise the full benefits of the Ultranet for every user. These include:
- high-quality broadband service to every school
- free internet service to every school
- wireless upgrade in all Victorian government schools
- netbook trial and evaluation by the University of Melbourne
- standard suite of over 70 software programs for all Department devices
- additional digital learning objects for FUSE, the content library for the Ultranet
- increased technical support to schools
- assessments of each school's infrastructure to determine technical readiness for the Ultranet
- access to funds for ICT infrastructure upgrades and for ICT-related professional learning.