This paper describes a local response to recent Australian policy initiatives that call for stronger links between universities and state education authorities to support and enhance the effective use of ICT in schools (Ramsey, 2001; Downs et al 2001). Blackboard® has been selected by both James Cook University® and Education Queensland® as a preferred Learning Management System. This paper explores the use of this on-line platform in sustaining and supporting teacher professional development in ICT. Another component of the project was to investigate the use of on-line learning tools by in a traditional SOSE classroom environment. In both cases the online platform provides a way of extending and supporting local networks by providing links to specifically developed, on-line resources for training and communication outside the boundaries of the school. Learning Management Systems such as Blackboard® do not automatically guarantee improved teaching and learning outcomes, but are shown to transform the teaching and learning process. Data collected in this project illustrates the changing learning relations that occur when comprehensive web tools are used in combination with collaboration to determine shared goals and implementation strategies.

This paper is located within the existing complex of state and federal policy initiatives that target productive links between pre-service teacher preparation providers and education authorities. Two practical examples of joint initiatives between James Cook University and the Cairns Consortium of Schools are presented. The first deals with online professional development of teachers and the second involves the reflections of a 'teacher' currently engaging new learning technologies in an online unit on "Rainforests". In both cases, the opportunities, challenges and consequences afforded by ICT based teaching and learning are described and detailed.

Recent Australian state and federal policy directions include high priority initiatives aimed at improving the effectiveness of ICT use in classrooms. The Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs defines Information Communication Technology (ICT) as relating to "those technologies that are used for accessing, gathering, manipulating and presenting or communicating information" (Wells and Kaspar, 2001, p.1). The addition of 'communication' to previous terms such as information technology (IT) emphasizes the growing importance placed on the communication aspects of new technologies. The Commonwealth government has funded a major project "Models of Teacher Professional Development for the Integration of ICT into Classroom Practice" (2001) along with a separate project to investigate ICT competency standards for teachers with a view to developing national standards. The Ramsey Report (2000) advocates closer links between universities and schools to improve pre-service and teacher professional development. Furthermore, the National Quality Teacher Project (2001:3) supports these themes and outlines initiatives involving "the provision of teacher school-based professional development, attainment of national ... and international recognized qualifications, and the development of curriculum and system support materials, both on-line and in hard copy". The importance of online learning in these plans is underscored by a claim that "the project will focus on good practice in online teaching and facilitate discussion on how online learners can be supported".

In Queensland, the recently formed 'Learning and Development Foundation' identifies "on-line learning as a key component of teacher learning throughout Education Queensland" (2002, on-line) and has funded initiatives (including the present study) to investigate the use of online learning environments to support teacher professional development in ICT. Collaboration with other 'learning' partners is integral to the foundation's approach to building relationships with new and varying stakeholders will be critical for optimal organizational performance" (online). The projects outlined in this article involve several of these identified priority areas:

• Enhancing teacher professional development in ICT
• Trialing innovative ways of using the online environment 'Blackboard' for teachers and students
• Forming partnerships between tertiary education providers, educational authorities, teachers and students

In the ICT's for learning School Information Kit 2002-2003,(Education Queensland, 2002) six key ICT drivers are identified as providing the necessary conditions for successful learning with ICTS. These are;

• Learning, teaching and the curriculum- integrating ICTs into subject and curriculum areas.
• Learning and development- ensuring teachers have the necessary capabilities to effectively engage with and use ICTs as a tool for learning
• ICT infrastructure - ensuring teachers and students have access to modern ICTs
• Connectivity - making connections with the people, data and information required to learn. Connecting to each other and to the Internet.
• ICT support - initiating innovative support measures to remove some of the burden from teachers so that they can concentrate on the core business of teaching and learning.
• Innovation - acknowledging and encouraging schools and teachers to not rest on their laurels but to commit to improvement.

Not everyone agrees with the direction of the current priorities of governments, educational authorities and schools to provide teachers with more professional development in ICT (See Dehoney & Reeves, 1999: Kearsley, 2002). Perhaps the most influential critic of this strategy has been Larry Cuban (2000: 1996) who has strongly argued that lack of technical skills is not holding up the effective integration of computers in the school curriculum. Becker (2000:7) examined national US data from more than 4000 teachers across 1100 schools and strongly concluded that lack of technical skills was significantly holding back the development of effective classroom practice using ICT, stating that "our data suggests that they [lack of technical skills] very much are. Teachers who have a reasonable amount of technical skill and who use computers to address their own professional needs use computers in broader and more sophisticated ways with students than teachers who have limited technical skills and no personal investment in using technology themselves". Becker and Riel (2001:2) found that "the more extensively involved teachers were in professional activities, the more likely they were to:

Their findings are clear: Teachers who were more engaged in professional development have students who often used computers in their classrooms to communicate with people outside the boundaries of the school, to analyze data and to work collaboratively and were less likely to use computers for purely developing computer skills or engaging in 'drill and practice' activities.

Teachers' capacity to use computers in classrooms effectively has not kept pace with the increasing levels of access to constantly changing equipment (Sandholtz, 2001). A comprehensive study 'Teachers and Technology: Making the Connection' cites lack of teacher preparation as a major obstacle to the effective use of technology in classrooms. In the US, a meager 20% of teachers felt that they were feeling well prepared to integrate technology into their teaching (NCES, 1999). On a local level, Queensland teachers identified the lack of professional development as a major stumbling block to effective educational use of ICT and expressed the view that the lack of funds available made hardware acquisition a higher priority than professional development (Anderson, 1999).

Given that the literature clearly supports increased efforts towards providing teachers with effective professional development in ICT, the next question that needs to be asked is 'How does online learning contribute to the need for an increased focus on professional development and how can it contribute to enhancing and extending the traditional models of delivery?' The Blackboard® Learning Management System was chosen from a range of options by collaborating organizations in this project (Education Queensland and James Cook University). This choice recognizes the economy, flexibility and advantage of tools that allow the development of online modules by teachers for teachers, and that make room for collaborative partnerships within complementary areas of expertise.

Wilson (1995, cited in Piquet 2000:302) identifies tools such as Blackboard as "integrating all of the well established advantages of the world wide web ... [and] as a place where learners may work together and support each other as they use a variety of tools and information resources in their pursuit of learning goals and problem solving activities". Likewise the literature supplied by Blackboard® on their website outlines integrated features such as the provision for threaded discussions, synchronous chat, online testing modules, ease of uploading, downloading and categorizing and date stamping of files, publishing of course materials and the ability to customize the look and feel of the online environment. Given that schools and education systems do not have the financial resources to provide teachers with constant, on site hands-on professional development in ICTs, online environments provide a means of extending and enhancing face-to-face sessions. This is especially true considering that these environments support:

• both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration;
• allow the teachers to design or co-design the materials according to their needs;
• allow the teachers and their students to upload and download files;
• provide an environment for self-paced skill building modules;
• incorporate effective learning theory in the design of classroom ICT activities; and:
• accommodate different learning styles (Gray & Palmer, 2001).

Holland (2001:2) argues that although skill based training of teachers in ICT is important "current best practices suggest that while staff development may begin with such training, it should move quickly beyond to efforts that support teachers' development as professionals involved in decision-making, inquiry, and leadership in classroom teaching".

Meetings were held with the Consortium Manager, the teachers and staff from James Cook University to examine the features of Blackboard and decide how the online environment could support the teachers' needs in furthering their knowledge of ICT and to assist them in implementing ICT in the classroom in effective ways and to facilitate the sharing of ideas. Orientation sessions with Blackboard were considered by all participants to be an essential starting point to these decisions. Teachers from the Cairns Consortium of Schools participated in sessions at James Cook University that involved guided exploration of the initial professional development site. This site consisted of links to exemplary JCU subject websites (with guest access enabled) and a link to 'Webucation' - an on-line module on using Blackboard as well as features to enable teachers to discuss Blackboard in their own time before deciding on a plan to develop the site to meet their needs.

The teachers identified important priorities for the site including:

• Online self paced modules for skill development in selected software packages that could be completed by teachers or students
• Modules or links to information on learning theory associated with the successful use of ICT in classrooms
• Examples of best practice from classrooms, including written accounts and files showing exemplary student work
• Support for synchronous and asynchronous collaboration between participating teachers and students
• Links to useful sites such as Education Queensland policy and curriculum documents on computers in classrooms, Education Network Australia etc

The Cairns Consortium of Schools is involved in the Phase 1 implementation of the New Basics project in Queensland state schools. This project is founded on five premises, namely the pedagogy premise, the futures premise, the equity premise, the professional learning community premise and the research premise. The curriculum, pedagogy and assessment systems of the New Basics framework are based on a philosophy of education committed to the preparation of students for new workplaces, technologies and cultures. They require high levels of teacher professionalism and shared ownership of reform within dynamic school communities focussed on learning.

For each of the juncture years of three, six and nine in the New Basics project there is a suite of Rich tasks. Rich tasks are the assessable and reportable outcomes of an enacted three-year curriculum plan. For example, a multimedia presentation on an endangered plant or animal is one of the rich tasks for the year three suite so a decision was taken to design the modules around this particular rich task.

The 'Endangered Species' units were developed as an aid for teachers and/or students to increase their skills in the Microsoft Office programs of Word®, Powerpoint®, Excel® and Access®. As previously outlined, these modules were built around the concept of 'Endangered Creatures' to provide teachers with a familiar context, rather than separate and unrelated tutorials. The tutorials are self-paced and require work created in one program to be used in the other programs, in order to demonstrate how these programs can be used in an integrated way. The units were trailed by a group of 100 pre-service teachers who responded to questions about grouped into the following areas: