Exploring the implications of the NBN for education in Tasmania

In 2009 The Australian Government announced the development of a $40 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) with some of the first roll-out towns in Tasmania. The question of what the NBN rollout would mean for Education in the state led to the “NBN in Education” project, including interviews with experts in the field and a culminating forum. It became clear that the NBN in education is not a simple matter of connecting fibre to schools; rather it is a complex environment with many different perspectives and assumptions about learning, the value of learning technologies and the future of schools. This paper reports the research approach associated with the project that helped a group of e-learning, professional learning and ICT leaders to engage with the issues. The frameworks developed to help this process may be valuable for others involved in engaging stakeholders in conversations about the implications of the NBN.