I was the convenor of the 1995 ACEC National Conference in Perth. It was an interesting year. The Internet had just gone graphical and Creative Nation was launched. Below is the Preface to the Proceedings.

It’s now 13 years on. How did we do?

PREFACE

“Historians may well look back on 1995 as the year in which attitudes to educational technology began to change significantly, the year in which education started to move from education for an industrial age to education for an information age.  It is hoped that ACEC95 will be remembered as having played some small part in that history.

When the conference committee chose a theme for this conference in January of 1994, we selected ‘learning without limits’ because of the potential of computer technology and telecommunications to enhance learning in all areas and for all ages.

We were especially thinking of developments in telecommunications and multimedia which might come to fruition by the time of the conference, and which would help to fulfil the promise that has been with us for many years.

We were particularly interested in the ability of technology to enhance learning for people with disabilities and for those in remote and isolated locations and to provide a more individualised and student centred approach to learning.

Little did we know that in the weeks preceding the conference, we would hear one initiative after another, launched by the Commonwealth or states of Australia:  Creative Nation, Co-operative multimedia Centres, Open-net, Education Network Australia, OzeKids – the list goes on.  Indeed, similar moves are afoot around the world.

In every newspaper and magazine we find articles about the ubiquitous ‘information superhighway’ and its potential to create a paradigm shift in society. At the same time others warn of the dangers and limitations of this technology in education.

ACEC delegates have always been in the forefront of the campaign to allocate more resources to information technology in an attempt to improve education.  It seems that, at last, someone is listening and the resources are slowly becoming available.  A new opportunity is before us and the challenge is to ensure that those resources are allocated well, with educational considerations at the forefront.”

Bryn Jones

ACEC 95 Conference Convenor

Historic Website Found http://ictpd.net/ACEC95/acec95.htm