Experiences of home economics teachers when using an online curriculum resource, Great food! great health!

Master of Information Technology in EducationThe aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of Home Economics teachers when using the online curriculum resource, Great Food! Great Health! A survey was conducted amongst those Home Economics teachers who attended the demonstration of the online curriculum resource Great Food! Great Health! as part of the Victorian Home Economics and Textiles Teachers' Association (VHETTA) professional development day entitled `Making IT Work in the Classroom'. Some of these teachers were interviewed about their experiences with using Great Food! Great Health! in their classrooms. Significant factors that influenced the use of information and communication technology in the classroom included provision of professional development, access to computers, timetabling and length of sessions and effective preparation and practice with using the online curriculum resource. In particular, professional development was considered to be influential when it allowed for pedagogical thinking and curriculum planning. Teachers used Great Food! Great Health! over a period of one to five sessions, and all indicated that their use of this online curriculum resource was very successful with the majority of participants indicating that they would use it again in their classrooms