ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors provide brief introductions to the schools that were settings for their research. They offer readers an initial 'sense of place', which helps contextualize their subsequent observations and accounts. The authors describe some of the main characteristics and features of what was taking place within each school. They outline some salient broader contexts of Australian and Victorian secondary education. School education in Australia is experiencing many of the contemporary challenges with which other industrialized countries are also grappling. Mountview is a rural high school based in two separate campuses in small neighbouring towns. With PowerHouse already being one of the school's main laptop suppliers, Lakeside was content to continue with the company's technicians in the school. Middleborough is a high school in one of Melbourne's outer-city or 'middle suburban' areas. Given the range of daily functions that Compass was used for, it was a focal point for many activities and actions throughout the schools.
