Faculty of Education

Professor Toni Downes has worked with universities, educational systems and schools, for nearly 30 years in the pursuit of improving education through the effective use of new information and communication technologies. Her work has included numerous research and professional projects, over 70 publications, many keynote addresses, professional presentations and workshops and over $1 million in grants and consultancies.  She has been a keynote or distinguished speaker at international conferences in New Zealand, US, England, Switzerland, Hungary, PNG, Thailand, Hong Kong, Wales, China, Finland and Norway. 

Her research projects, consultancies and advocacy work has spanned national and international ICT policy and curriculum frameworks; quality leadership and ICT in schools; the investigation of the educational use of the Internet;  and ground breaking work in the 1980s and early 1990s on young people’s uses of computers in homes and schools. Her most recent work focuses on participation and performance in HSC computing and IT subjects.

Over the span of her career, Professor Downes has made significant contributions to the leadership of professional and academic organisations.  These include time as President of the NSW Computer Education Group and later the Secretary of the Australian Council of Computers in Education, and Chair of various national and international conferences on computers and education. In recognition of this work, in 2004 she was awarded the prestigious Outstanding Service Award from the UNESCO sponsored organisation - the International Federation of Information Processing.

Between 2010 and 2012 she was President of the Australian Council of Deans of Education. She lead this national organisation as the sector moved, with great difficulty to an Australian Curriculum, to National Standards for Teachers and to the national accreditation of teacher education programs.  In her role as president she was able to combine her leadership and expertise in ICTs in Education and teacher education through the collaborative development of a national project, This $7.8 Million project, funded by the Australian Government, involves every Australian University with pre-service teacher education programs building their capacity to graduate beginning teachers who are confident and competent to use ICT for improved learning outcomes of children in our schools. 

In 2011 she was made a fellow of the Australian Teacher Education Association and the Australian College of Education for her career-long achievements in teacher education and the field of ICT in education. 

Refereed Journal Articles, Books and Book chapters

• Romeo, G. Lloyd, M. & Downes, T. (2013).Teaching Teachers for the Future: How, What, Why, and What Next?. Australian Educational Computing 27(3), 3-12.
• Romeo, G., Lloyd, M. & Downes, T. (2012). Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF): Building the ICT in education capacity of the next generation of teachers in Australia. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 28(Special issue, 6), 949-964. 
• Downes, T. & Looker, D. (2011) Factors that influence students’ plans to take Computing and Information Technology subjects in senior Secondary School. Computer Science Education,  21(2) 175-199.
• Sawyer, W., Singh, M.J, Woodrow, C., Downes, T., Johnston, C., Whitton, D (2007) Robust Hope and Teacher Education Policy.  Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 35(3)  p227-242.  
• Downes, T (2007) The nature and purpose of Computing and Information Technology subjects in the senior secondary school curriculum in New South Wales. In J. Lynch (Ed) Gender and IT: Challenges for Computing and Information Technology education in Australian secondary schools. Melbourne: Common Ground. pp 63-80.
• Downes, T (2005) “Using Computers at Home and at School: Children’s Views and Perspectives” in J. Mason & T Fattore (Eds) Children Taken Seriously: In theory, policy and practice. Jessica Kingsley, London. pp 164-171.

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