Information and Communication

Technology (ICT) in Education

By James E. Robison
What is ICT?
• Information and Communication Technology can be defined as the use of
hardware and software for efficient management of information.
• It refers to the forms of technology that are used to transmit, store, create,
share, or exchange particular task.
• It plays an important role in the way we communicate, learn, and live.
• Worldwide research has shown that ICT can lead to an improved student
learning and better teaching methods. A report made by the National
Institute of Multimedia Education in Japan, proved that an increase in
student exposure to educational ICT through curriculum integration has a
significant and positive impact on student achievement, especially in terms
of Knowledge, Comprehension, Practical skill and Presentation skill in
subject areas such as mathematics, science, and social study.
• Educational ICT tools can be divided into
three categories.
1. Input Source
2. Output Source
3. Others
3 Main Advantages of ICT tools in Education
• Through ICT, images can easily be used in teaching and improving the retentive
memory of students.
• Through ICT, teachers can easily explain complex instructions and ensure students’
comprehension.
• Through ICT, teachers are able to create interactive classes and make the lessons more
enjoyable, which could improve students’ attendance and concentration.

3 Main Disadvantages of ICT tools in Education

• Setting up the devices can be very troublesome.
• These are too expensive to afford.
• It is hard for teachers to use with a lack of experience using ICT tools.
What does ICT in Education mean?
• ICT in education means TEACHING and LEARNING through ICT.
• Education policymakers and planners must first of all be clear about what educational
outcomes are being targeted. These broad goals should guide the choice of technologies
to be used and their modalities of use.
• The potential of each technology varies according to how it is used. Haddad and Draxler
identify at least five levels of technology use in education: presentation, demonstration,
drill and practice, interaction, and collaboration.
• Each of the different ICTs—print, audio/video cassettes, radio and TV broadcasts,
computers or the Internet—may be used for presentation and demonstration, the most
basic of the five levels.
• Except for video technologies, drill and practice may likewise be performed using the
whole range of technologies.
• On the other hand, networked computers and the Internet are the ICTs that enable
interactive and collaborative learning best; their full potential as educational tools will
remain unrealized if they are used merely for presentation or demonstration.
ICT in Education…
• UNESCO considers that ICTs can contribute to
• universal access to education
• equity in education
• the delivery of quality learning and teaching
• teachers’ professional development
• improve education management, governance and administration provided the right
mix of policies, technologies and capacities are in place.
• UNESCO takes a comprehensive approach to ICTs in education. It is through
the Organization’s Inter-sectoral Platform that it focuses on the joint work
of:
• Communication and Information
• Education and Science Sectors– where the issues of access, inclusion, equity, and
quality in education can be addressed.
ICT in Education…
• UNESCO - its country and regional offices as well as institutes ––in collaboration with its
partners, develop resources that can help countries elaborate effective ICTs in education
policies, strategies and activities. This includes ensuring that strategies meet the
challenges caused by the digital divide and the most disadvantaged populations.
• Its program includes:

• Capacity building and policy advice for the use of technologies in education, particularly in
emerging domains such as mobile learning

• Ensuring that teachers have the skills necessary to use ICTs in all aspects of their professional
practice through tools such as the ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT CFT)

• Supporting the use and development of multilingual educational resources and software which
are available for use and re-use as a result of open licenses (open educational resources – OER;
free and open source software – FOSS)
ICT in Education…
• Promoting ICTs for inclusive education, including for persons with disabilities and
gender equality
• Collecting statistics and developing indicators on the use of ICTs in education
• Providing policy support to ensure that the potential of ICTs are harnessed
effectively throughout the education system
• The UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE), based in
Moscow, specializes in information exchange, research and training on the
integration of ICTs in education.
• UNESCO’s Bangkok office is notably involved in ICTs for Education in Asia and the
Pacific.
• UNESCO works with the educational community worldwide – Ministries of
Education, specialized institutions, teachers, and of course learners - to effectively
leverage the potential of ICTs in order to benefit quality teaching and learning.
How have computers and the Internet been used for
teaching and learning?
• There are three general approaches to the instructional use of
computers and the Internet, namely:
• Learning about computers and the Internet, in which technological
literacy is the end goal;
• Learning with computers and the Internet, in which the technology
facilitates learning across the curriculum; and
• Learning through computers and the Internet, integrating
technological skills development with curriculum applications.
• It is also used for doing different kinds of research.
What does it mean to learn about computers and the Internet?
• Learning about computers and the Internet focuses on developing
technological literacy. It typically includes:

• Fundamentals: basic terms, concepts and operations

• Use of the keyboard and mouse
• Use of productivity tools such as word processing, spreadsheets, data base
and graphics programs
• Use of research and collaboration tools such as search engines and email
• Basic skills in using programming and authoring applications such as Logo or
Hyper Studio
• Developing an awareness of the social impact of technological change
What does it mean to learn about computers and the Internet?
• Learning with the technology means focusing on how the technology can
be the means to learning ends across the curriculum. It includes:

• Presentation, demonstration, and the manipulation of data using

productivity tools;
• Use of curriculum-specific applications types such as educational games, drill
and practice, simulations, tutorials, virtual laboratories, visualizations and
graphical representations of abstract concepts, musical composition, and
expert systems, and;
• Use of information and resources on CD-ROM or online such as encyclopedia,
interactive maps and atlases, electronic journals and other references
What does learning through computers and the Internet mean?

• Learning through computers and the Internet combines learning about

them with learning with them.
• It involves learning the technological skills “just-in-time” or when the
learner needs to learn them as he or she engages in a curriculum-
related activity.
• For example, secondary school students who must present a report on
the impact on their community of an increase in the price of oil for an
Economics class may start doing research online, using spreadsheet and
database programs to help organize and analyze the data they have
collected, as well using a word processing application to prepare their
written report.
How are computers and the Internet used in distance education?

• Many higher educational institutions offering distance education courses

have started to leverage the Internet to improve their program’s reach and
quality.

• The Virtual University of the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico uses a

combination of print, live and recorded broadcasts, and the Internet to deliver
courses to students throughout Mexico and in several Latin American countries.

• Similarly, the African Virtual University, initiated in 1997 with funding support
from the World Bank, uses satellite and Internet technologies to provide
distance learning opportunities to individuals in various English-speaking and
French-speaking countries throughout Africa.
How are computers and the Internet used in distance education?
• But even in Korea, where infrastructure is among the best in the world, and government
has put considerable financial and other resources behind an ambitious ICT-based re-
tooling of its educational system, challenges to online education persist.
• Internet- and Web-based initiatives have also been developed at the secondary education
level. The Virtual High School is a result of efforts of a nationwide consortium of school
districts in the United States to promote the development and sharing of Web-based
courses.
• In Canada, Open School offers a wide range of courses and resources to grades K-12
teachers and students that meet the requirements of the British Columbia curriculum.
Course delivery is done through a mix of broadcast and video, while some courses are
delivered totally online.
• While the Philippines fares relatively poor in ICT access and use, the skills and talents of
Filipino IT experts have been viewed to be competitive. Results of a survey by the Far East
Economic Review in September 1999, suggested that the Philippines then ranked second
to India in terms of quality, cost and availability of skilled IT workers in Asia, making them
very much in demand in many parts of the world.
ICT in Philippine context
• Government and the private sector need to work together toward ensuring that the proper
environment exists for ICT to further flourish.
• A discussion paper written by Winston Conrad Padojinog, released by the Philippine Institute for
Development Studies a decade ago, suggested the need for ICT policies to narrow the digital
divide by promoting competition, interconnection and convergence in the ICT sector.
• While some progress has been made over the past years, there is still much left to be desired.
While the Department of Science and Technology, through the ICT Office, is about to provide free
Wi-Fi, many point out that it is more important for telecoms to work together and with
government to considerably improve the speed of Internet and mobile services in the country.
• ICT will also need to be diffused better in the education sector. In basic education, there is a need
to examine the extent of using ICT in the classroom as we implement the K-12 program.
• Higher education students will also need to be more prepared for the ever-growing demands of
the information-driven economy, especially in the emerging area of data science. It can readily be
observed that ICT has been driving innovative activities, and that the ICT sector constantly needs
innovation.
What is the role of ICT in Education?
• Nowadays Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially internet, in
the education sector, plays an important role, especially in the process of empowering the
technology into the educational activities.
• Education sector can be the most effective sector to anticipate and eliminate the negative
impact of ICT. Technology (internet) in another side can be the most effective way to
increase the student’s knowledge.
• Being aware of the significant role of ICT (internet) in our life, especially in the educational
activities, education authorities should be wise enough in implementing the strategies to
empower ICT in supporting the teaching and learning process in the classroom.
• ICT is not just the bloom of the educational activities, but also it will be the secondary option
to improve the effective and meaningful educational process.
• The main purpose of the Strategy for Information and Communication Technology
Implementation in Education is to provide the prospects and trends of integrating
information and communication technology (ICT) into the general educational activities.
What are some unavoidable facts about ICT in Education?
• First, the ICT has been developing very rapidly nowadays. Therefore, in order to balance it, the
whole educational system should be reformed and ICT should be integrated into educational
activities.
• Second, the influence of ICT, especially internet (open source tool) cannot be ignored in our
student’s lives. So, the learning activities should be reoriented and reformulated, from the
manual source centered to the open source ones. In this case the widely use of internet access
has been an unavoidable policy that should be anticipated by schools authorities.
• Third, the presence of multimedia games and online games by internet has been another serious
problem that should be wisely handled by the educational institutions. The students cannot be
exterminated from this case. They can have and do with it wherever and whenever they want.
• Schools, as a matter of fact, do not have enough power and time to prevent or stop it after
school times. Meanwhile, most parents do not have enough times to accompany and control
their children. So, the students have large opportunities to do with multimedia games or
online games or browsing the negative and porn sites. Having been addicted, the students
will have too little time to study, and even do not want to attend classes.
What are some unavoidable facts about ICT in Education?
• Fourth, the implementation of ICT in education has not been a priority
trend of educational reform and the state paid little attention to it.
Therefore, there should be an active participation, initiative and good will of
the schools and the government institutions to enhance ICT implementation
at school.

• Fifth, the teachers should be the main motivator and initiator of the ICT
implementation at schools. The teachers should be aware of the social
change in their teaching activities. They should be the agent of change from
the classical method into the modern one. They must also be the part of the
global change in learning and teaching modification.
What are the aims and objectives of ICT in Education?

• to implement the principle of life-long learning / education

• to increase a variety of educational services and medium / method
• to promote equal opportunities to obtain education and information
• to develop a system of collecting and disseminating educational information
• to promote technology literacy of all citizens, especially for students
• to develop distance education with national contents
• to promote the culture of learning at school (development of learning skills, expansion
of optional education, open source of education, etc.)
• to support schools in sharing experience and information with others
REFERENCES
http://www.infodev.org/articles/impact-icts-learning-achievement

http://en.unesco.org/themes/ict-education

http://www.elmoglobal.com/en/html/ict/01.aspx

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/ICT_in_Education/The_Uses_of_ICTs_in_Education

http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/90584-ict-statistics-philippines

https://verykaka.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/the-role-of-ict-in-education-sector/