Measuring the impact of technology donations

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Wirreanda Secondary School

Wirreanda Secondary School is located in Onkaparinga LGA, SA. The school is

often is recognised for its quality, inclusive and equal access education

opportunities for all members of the Onkaparinga community1.

Located on the southern fringe of Adelaide, Onkaparinga is home to more than

170,000 residents2. Wirreanda Secondary School serves a low socio-economic

community, with the majority of students recorded within the lowest quartile of

socio-educational advantage1.

Onkaparinga residents have high quality access to ICTs, with the LGA recording

an ADII score of 73, in comparison with the SA average of 68.53. Much of the

difference between Onkaparinga and the SA average is in digital ability which is

usually amplified in regional areas.

Higher access to ICTs is reflected in the results, with the majority of laptop

recipients surveyed indicating that they have access to reliable internet at home or

their place of study.

However, access to a computer remains a key barrier for students, with 40%

indicating that they did not have access to a computer after school hours.

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Survey 1

Respondents

20

Laptops

Distributed

Survey 2

Respondents

Of the 60% of students who did have access to a device after school hours, 30%

had to share it with someone else in their household. As a result, 65%

acknowledged that they frequently, often or occasionally had difficulty completing

school work because they did not have access to a computer.

After a 9 month period since receiving the laptops, 100% of students indicated

that the laptop has supported them in their school work, with 83% of students

indicating they saw an improvement in their grades that they believe can be

attributed to their new laptop.

Only 16% of students are still sharing their device with someone else in their

household, indicating that laptop donations have supported challenges relating to

access.

In addition, students on average rated themselves a 2.8 out of 5 for their

confidence level in the ability to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with

their laptop. Similarly, students rated themselves 3.8 out of 5 in their overall

confidence in using a computer. This indicates that there is further work needed to

be done to support students in their digital ability.

OVERVIEW

1.

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2022, Wirreanda Secondary School, Home | My School

2.

Profile.id, 2021, City of Onkaparinga, Home | City of Onkaparinga | Community profile (id.com.au)

3.

ADII, 2021, The national picture, The national picture (digitalinclusionindex.org.au)

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