ICT TOWARDS SUCCESS

By Jhon Edward A. Alboleras

The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.-Plutarch

It is generally believed that ICT can empower both teachers and learners. It is currently being

used in education to assist students to learn more effectively by providing teachers with access to a
wide range of new pedagogy. These technologies are also being used to enable teachers to do
administrative tasks more efficiently.

ICT stands for Information Communication Technology. It refers to the technology that
access to information. It includes any product that will store, restore, operate, or receive information
in a digital form. ICT is similar to IT that ICT focus more on communication which includes
internet, wireless network and other communication mediums. ICT is widespread and essential to
play a meaningful role in changing and modernizing educational systems as well as the way of
learning. There is, however, a serious and thought-provoking debate going on regarding ICT in the
classroom. At issue is to what extent and at what age should ICT be integrated in classrooms. There
is no question that a certain level of technology will bring improvements in academic achievement.

A study was conducted in Gomal University in Pakistan the results shows that many students
consider ICT tools very helpful in that it helps them to do assignments, teachers see that ICT enables
students with special needs or difficulties. It also helps to reduce the social disparities between
students, since they work in teams in order to achieve a given task. Students also assume
responsibilities when they use ICT to organize their work through digital portfolios or projects. In
addition, the study showed that ICT has significant impact on students and learning processes.
Indeed, an absolute majority of students in Gomal University claim to use ICT to do tasks, such as
preparing assignments and sequencing classroom activities. Therefore, students plan their lessons
more efficiently.

This study indicates that students view the computer as a valuable and practical tool and is
actually a preferred way of learning. Because of these preferences, students have higher levels of
achievement and performance. 

ICT can also capture and hold a child’s interest like no other learning tool. Consider, for
example, NASA’s recent Mars landing and exploration. It is now possible for an elementary
classroom to log on and follow events like these as they unfold - they are witnessing and
experiencing a national event as it is occurring. There is no doubt that without technology, an event
such as this would not be nearly as interesting or appealing as say, following it in the newspaper. 

Finally, we can say that ICT helps the student improve when it comes to its academic
performance, technologies that will ignite the fire inside of them to learn better and develop
themselves with the help of the educator.