Employing technologies to engage students with diverse needs in rural school communities

This paper considers the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to enable students to access the curriculum in inclusive classrooms. The research considers the latest trends regarding promotion of the use of ICT in education in Australia and then considers the outcome from the perspective of one state, that of Western Australia. In particular, the focus is on the use of ICT in remote and rural school communities for supporting inclusive practices. While it seems clear that considerable financial support has been allocated to the enhancement of access to ICT across Australia by various education departments, there are several issues that are impacting on the implementation for more isolated schools. Concerns regarding staffing, cultural sensitivity, software selection and hardware maintenance are all discussed from the perspective of increasing the engagement of students with diverse needs in regular classes in remote and rural schools in Australia. Copyright © 2006 Edith Cowan University.