THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGY IN THE STUDENT’S PERFORMANCES

A Research Report by:

Ashley Claire H. Manipon

Grade 10 – St. Vincent
ABSTRACT
Information and communication technology (ICT) now a day is the part and
parcel of our daily life. Even the students also are spending a lot of their time using the
ICT or internet facilities. The study found that there is a significant relation between the
use of ICT and the performance of the students. Finally, the study suggests that proper
steps should be taken by the academic or related institutions to promote the use of ICT
for focusing academic purposes so that the students may be benefitted much of using
ICT.
INTRODUCTION
Now a day’s life is fabricated by emergent growth and progression of the
Technologies. There is a great dependency on the knowledge and competence of
individuals due to use of Information and Communication Technologies and this
dependency is growing day by day. One of the major effects of technology is the
transition of communication system or the mode of communication has become more
convenient for everyone. Some call it Communication 2.0 and even Communication
3.0. The sense is exactly the same: the way we communicate has changed
tremendously since the arrival of technology; especially from internet networks. And
although the subject seems already known by all, what few we have with certainty is a
clear knowledge of its effects. It’s true and real effects, which for many of us are still not
palpable.
As time moves on, and technology becomes more engrained in the lives of
students, a teacher may consider the benefits of using Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) in the classroom. Technology has become more widely used by
students to communicate and the potential of using ICT in the classroom could help to
solve the communication problems in education. If teachers can learn to apply ICT in
the classroom, students may remember important details that could help to improve
learning outcomes.
Many studies have been conducted regarding effect on social interaction and
face-to face communication since the rise of mobile telephones and social media usage
in the late 2000s. With technology advancing at a rapid speed and human interaction
changing just as quickly, it may be impossible to predict the future.
Students have a positive attitude towards the use of ICT to support studies and
facilitate learning. As such, they use computers and the internet on daily basis to
communicate through e-mail and chat, and also for research/studying. ICT is
considered to exploit the flexibility of training. The rhythm of study, the allocation of time
and the availability of teachers can allow better articulation between private life and
professional life as well as a better allocation of time between the various uses (Tah
Babila Mbah, 2021).
Studies show that exploiting from modern technologies like computer and world
web in classrooms, gives this possibility to the students to learn by faster speed and
better performance (Mehmet, 2017) and have more satisfaction by attending in the
classroom (Milleken & Bames, 2022). Today, students are born in audio, video and
motional world. Therefore, teachers’ attempts for their training by exploiting from
educational media and methods during past period will be useless or will not be
followed by a significant result. Therefore, it is necessary for the teachers both know
well about new educational media and technology and also contact with it by a positive
attitude (Tileston, 2017).
Carlson, Philip, McNeill, Powell, and Witt (2022) conducted a study focusing on
the use of technology with online instruction, with some consideration to the use of
ICTs. Carlson et al. (2022) explained that when using technology in an online classroom
a teacher must determine the effectiveness of the technology, the ease of each
technology, how each technology has been used to date, and how each technology
might be used in the future. A teacher can apply those thoughts to the type of
technology they use to communicate with students. As Bagwell (2018) described
students who are not proficient with using technology will be at a severe disadvantage
in our highly technological society. Schools need to assist students in preparing for the
future and develop skills that make them competitive in the workforce.
Educators are constantly looking for the technological tools that are going to
enhance the learning of their students. However, technology has been viewed as a
great resource in classrooms that has heightened learning but has its negative effects
on student learning. With new information technology, education is fast becoming free
of time and space. But every learner still needs to be connected to a scaffold of support
for lifelong learning achievement. Students need parents, friends, and supervisors who
are also teachers and coaches. The primary function of the school-to-work movement is
to mobilize understanding and support so that students will acquire the skills, habits,
values, and understandings essential to productivity in all the roles of life (Hakim et al.
2000, p. 263). Technology is an important part of students’ lives. Incorporating
technology into the classroom has proved to be beneficial yet also has some
drawbacks. Technology has helped student willingness and engagement and allows for
the enhancements of learning.
According to Fisher, et al. (2017), “The need for construction and engagement
means that the best types of learning will be those that involve choices that the student
can make, and learning where there are meaningful contexts where the student is
engaged” (p. 5). But is this enough to outweigh some of the negatives? In a study
conducted by Sülzenbrück, et al. (2021) that examined the effect computer use has on
motor skills, they discovered that using modern technology could effect changes in
basic psychomotor and cognitive skills. This includes using tools such as computers,
electronic organizers, navigation systems, etc. This can cause concerns in student
growth in the classroom.
This research has a goal to study the impact the impact of information and
communication technology in the student’s performances. In addition, the existence of
hybrid and modern communication on the educational improvement and the academic
performances of the students in using ICT will understand the key concept of
technologies in the educational scene.

LITERATURE REVIEW
According to Song and Kapur (2017), “few studies have reported how to develop
students’ problem solving skills and enhance their conceptual understanding in flipped
classroom in mathematics inquiry” (p. 293). While in this setting, students are learning
more on their own, they are missing out on some of that lecture time that can spark
deep conversation on problems. This article looks at the different benefits and concerns
of a flipped classroom.
Fisher, et al. (2015) discuss how classrooms are turning to technology for
teaching and learning, and how teacher’s roles have changed. The teacher becomes
the facilitator, who takes the students on their learning journey, learning with them
instead of ‘teaching’ them. Students needs to make judgements about and be able to
calculate the value of the content they gather. Learners are also self-assessing using
technology. This helps to “move learners from being the consumers of information to
being producers of it” (p. 11).
With more integration of technology, the effect it has on fine motor skills is
questionable. Some research has dug into this topic, but it is still fairly undiscovered.
Purcell, et al. (2015) provide a comprehensive report about social media’s impact on
writing. Students and teachers talk about what they consider writing to be. Teachers
also discuss how social media has been helpful and harmful to classroom writing.
Teachers “encourage their students to do at least some writing by
hand...because they feel students do more active thinking, synthesizing, and editing
when writing by hand, and writing by hand discourages any temptation to copy and
paste others’ work” (p. 6).
Due to social media, students are able to write collaboratively, share their work
with more people, and be more creative in their writing. Sulzenbruck, et al. (2015)
indicate “there are indeed specific differences in basic fine motor skills depending on the
amount of time spent typing and handwriting texts” (p. 250). Their study does not only
focus on handwriting but fine motor skills in general. Computer use also has in impact
on major behavioral requirements.
As teachers, it is our number one priority to motivate students in their learning.
The more motivated students are to learn something new, the more likely the student is
to retain the material. Research shows that while growing up in the ever-growing
technology world, the incorporation of technology helps motivate students to learn. For
example, Schaen, et al. (2016), discuss a project they conducted that allowed third
grade leaders and first graders to work together and create an app that will allow
kindergarteners to practice math strategies. This weeklong project allowed students to
use technology, collaborate, and teach. Schaen, et al. study discussed the process that
the students went through and the outcomes of the project. This technology enhanced
project motivated students who wanted to continue building and working at home. “The
project gave young students a real-world purpose for planning and creating
collaboratively” (p. 509).
In another study, Millar (2015) focuses on motivating students in the classroom
and how this can be a difficult task. Using technology is, “like giving each student their
own smartboard” (para. 3). They can show what they know, and teachers can be
comfortable knowing learning is occurring. The use of technology allows all students the
opportunity to participate, “It's hard to be honest when you have to put your hand up in
front of the room” (p. 2).
Similarly, Heafner (2015) discusses how technology allows students to search
and find information easily and has “helped them understand what they were talking
about in class” (para. 22). This supports the learning happening in class. They feel
proud to share their work and knowledge mastered via technology. Students also feel
confident in using technology and completing tasks. The confidence helps them
establish motivation in their learning.
According to many educational sources, there are many ways to expand and
enhance student learning through the incorporation of technology. Bitner and Bitner
(2002), have spent years working with teachers and technology and synthesized eight
different areas that seem to help with teacher integration.
In another study, Klopfer, et al. (2015) discussed how students are growing up
and are completely normalized by digital technologies (p. 1). The study explained that
“many students in this group are using new media and technologies to create new
things in new ways, learn new things in new ways, and communicate in new ways with
new people-behaviors that have become hardwired in their ways of thinking and
operating in the world” (p. 1-2).
While there is much resistance to incorporating technology, “there are countless
examples of these technologies demonstrating their educational value to other
industries, confirming the powerful learning opportunities and advantages they afford”
(p. 2). While determining the effects technology has in our classrooms, Klopfer, et al.
strongly believe that the incorporation of technology makes the classroom stronger.
They argue that “undoubtedly, without these recent technologies (i.e. digital games,
Web 2.0, etc.) in the classroom, strong lessons can still be achieved, but there’s a sharp
disconnect between the way students are taught in school and the way the outside
world approaches socialization, meaning-making, and accomplishment” (p. 3).
Shivakumar and Manichander (2015) discuss education within the 21st century
and how that technology is a powerful tool for students. They emphasized collaborating
with one another and incorporation of blended learning, as well as information and
communication technologies (ICT). “ICT refers to technologies that provide access to
information through telecommunications” (p. 21). In using ICT in education, teachers are
able to familiarize themselves with technology and some of the issues that arise (p. 21).

METHODOLOGY
Research approach is descriptive. Information for this report was sourced from
various secondary sources, all listed in the Reference List. Data from many other
researches, published books and dissertation about ICT impact on student’s
performances are used for this research report.
SCOPE OF THE REPORT
This research report is only delimited to the impacts of technology to the
student’s performances. The period of gathered researches is in the year of 2015 –
2022 and the several key aspect of the communication in the era of technology is
relevant to the student past achievements using the advance options of ICT.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

As time moves on, and technology becomes more attached in the lives of
students, upgrading the mode of communication may consider the benefits of using
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the classroom. The following are
the observation of the researcher based on the researches found. It is divided in to
categories that were made to integrate the analysis of this research report.

Using of information and communication technology has an impact on

increase in educational motivation. Because motivation plays a significant role in the
process of learning a language, it becomes crucial to increase flexibility through
resources that facilitate learning anytime and anywhere. Practical classroom
experiences have shown that motivated learners and teachers are engaged and
successful when accessing ICT. In this environment, both learning and teaching are
active processes that take autonomy, challenging tasks, creativity, collaborative work,
and critical thinking. Those features are constantly practiced in an e-learning
environment.
This observation indicates that using of information and communication
technology has an impact to a high extent on increase in educational motivation. These
findings show that students use of ICT led to positive motivational outcomes, and were
most frequently found when ICT was used to support engagement. ICT use greatly
contributes to student motivation for learning. Motivation in learning has great effect to
the overall student’s performance.
From a learner’s perspective, a well structured e-learning context with clear
goals, hands-on activities and flexible evaluation tools may ensure a motivating learning
process. From a teacher’s perspective, an IT savvy teacher, a well-equipped classroom
and an interesting set of course content may increase the level of motivation for
learners.
Learners’ motivation increases when their learning environment provides all
necessary conditions and factors for an ideal learning activity to happen. Young adult
learners are keen to learn with ICT tools because they represent familiar tools that are
used for entertainment and social network.
 Motivated and engaged teachers translate the new learning style of young adult
learners by using ICT tools to deliver their teaching. Social media such as Facebook
and twitter, Google tools, blogs, virtual learning environment, mobile devices such as
Smartphones and Ipads, have become common learning tools whose usage is no
longer prohibited in the classroom.

Using of information and communication technology has an impact on

increase in question-making skill. And this result indicates that using of information
and communication technology has an impact to a high extent on increase in question-
making skill. There is widespread belief that ICTs can and will empower learners,
transforming learning processes from being highly teacher-dominated to student-
centered, and that this transformation will result in increased learning gains for students,
creating and allowing for opportunities for learners to develop their creativity, problem-
solving abilities, informational reasoning skills, communication skills, and other higher-
order thinking skills.
Critical thinking is an invaluable skill that students need to be successful in their
professional and personal lives. Instructors can be thoughtful and purposeful about
creating learning objectives that promote lower and higher-level critical thinking skills,
and about using technology to implement activities that support these learning
objectives.
For instance, reflection activities provide students with opportunities to track their
learning and demonstrate their progress throughout the semester. To enhance the level
of critical thinking students do through reflective activities, tell students to cite course
materials that have helped them advance their knowledge and thinking. Another is
discussion forums in which it allow students to communicate with their peers, answer
questions that require them to demonstrate both lower-level and higher-level critical
thinking skills, and analyze course content. When instructors set clear guidelines for
participation and model critical thinking skills through their participation in discussion
forums, students can also demonstrate how they are engaging in the critical thinking
process.

Using the online learning management system, the faculty is able to

develop teaching tools, online exercises. This has resulted in an increase in
students’ GPA. The schools also recognized this increase and accelerated their ICT
services by increasing benefits and adding new features such as uploading class
seminars, audios, and videos. Thus, students have an access to a greater amount of
ICT material.
This study is more related to identifying the perceptions in implementing ICT
tools in teaching and learning in the classroom among school teachers. Furthermore, it
examines the challenges of using ICT tools in teaching and learning in the classroom
among school teachers and recognizes the effectiveness of the extent of ICT tools in
supporting classroom teaching and learning. Based on the study the findings indicate
that average level of the perceptions in implementing ICT tools in teaching and learning
in the classroom among school teachers, high level of challenges of using ICT tools in
teaching and learning in the classroom among school teachers and recognizing the
effectiveness of the extent of ICT tools in supporting teaching and learning in the
classroom.
With the advent of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in
education, teachers form their own beliefs about the role of ICT as a teaching tool, the
value of ICT for student learning outcomes and their own personal confidence and
competency (Prestridge, 2015). Barriers exist in integrating ICT in teaching and learning
(Ertmer, 2015). The barriers are extrinsic to the teacher and include lack of resources,
time, access and technical support. Findings of this research suggest that teachers
were still giving comment on the barriers in implementing ICT tools at school in teaching
and learning.

Using the ICT adoption has a significant relationship with student’s

academic performance. ICT adoption in schools has yielded not only administrative
benefits but also resulted in enhancing the students’ academic performance. With the
introduction of Blackboard, the online learning management system (LMS), the faculty,
and the students have come closer in their interactions. The study of courses,
evaluation, and overall learning has been much better than previous years.
Online teaching allows a focus on underperforming students while offering
everyone complementary lessons. This education tool has been used to facilitate the
dissemination of specific courses and techniques for teaching medicine or learning
foreign languages. Investments in ICT can contribute, also, to reducing class sizes,
which is likely to have a positive impact on student performance.
A set of economic studies, which try to identify and measure the digital skills
needed to improve student performance [11,49–52], identify three levels of digital skills
[51]: instrumental, informational, and strategic. Instrumental skills are the minimum skill
levels required to use a computer terminal. Information skills relate to the ability to
decode, sort and understand the meaning of information, prioritize it, cross-reference its
sources and store it. The acquisition of these skills is more difficult; some studies show
that a high proportion of the population is unable to carry out effective research on the
Internet [53]. Strategic skills refer to the skills needed to use digital tools and digital
content to improve social capital, work opportunities and learning opportunities. The
acquisition of these skills requires the individual ability to cooperate, share and
coordinate online activities.
In general, digital skills influence the intensity of ICT use, and vice versa. It is
generally accepted that the effects of ICTs on student performance depend on the
intensity of their use; low and sporadic use does not improve academic performance.
However, intensive use for educational purposes (searching for bibliographical
references, using translation software, engaging in forums and chats, etc.) stimulates
involvement in their studies and results in improved skills and performance.

Modern communication through ICT most likely shifted to a more

collaborative and less individualist model of learning. ICT is mainly collaborative
and interactive.
Improving the outcomes of the learning process needs a change in the way
students interact. Nowadays, several technologies allow co-writing and sharing
resources (Wikis, blogs, etc.). The collaborative and co-operative dimensions of the
learning process are fundamental and an organisational change is needed in order to
explore this dimension. Collaboration is also one of the most highly-searched for skills in
the job market. By enhancing the learning of this kind of skill, higher education provides
the job market with better workers.
The use of ICT in CL will make it easy for people to collaborate easily with
someone far away as they would with someone in the same room. E-collaboration
technologies allow people to bring diverse skills on collective ventures that eliminate the
barriers of time, distance and resources (Bessagnet, Schlenker, & Aiken, 2005). ICT is
not designed to replace face-to-face interaction; it is designed to supplement it by
allowing people to communicate anytime and anywhere. ICT as a collaborative
technology offers functionalities for co-ordination of group work, tools for recording
progress and giving feedback, libraries of solutions and best practices as well as
metainformation (that is date, author and sequence of contributions).

Becta (2018) gave some benefits of using ICT. Students’ engagement and
participation is increased, particularly for quieter students who can work collaboratively
online without anxiety of raising questions in front of the class. Students can also
express themselves through less traditional avenues such as video. Social networking
can encourage online discussion amongst students outside school hours. Tolls can be
available anytime and anywhere, which encourages some students to extend their
learning through further investigation into topics that interest them. Students feel a
sense of ownership and engagement when they publish their work online and this can
encourage attention to detail and improved quality of work overall. Some teachers use
the publication of work to encourage peer assessment.

It is affecting every aspect of education from teaching-learning to

assessment and evaluation. It improves the effectiveness of education. It aids literacy
movements. It enhances scope of education by facilitating mobile learning and inclusive
education. It facilitates research and scholarly communication. Impact of ICT and its
potential for the education field is manifold.
Information and communication technology (ICT) has become an integral part of
the education system round the globe. E-assessment and evaluation have gained the
status of the most reliable emerging trends in information and communication
technology to get a brief assessment of complex competencies.
Development and research in educational technology requires to focus the most
important techniques for precise assessment based on competence, for instance,
Learning Analytics, virtual and cooperative software for education to regulate self-
learning (Bridgeman, 2019). Implementing the existing solutions offered by technology
should concentrate on increasing the spectrum, usage, variation, and curricula-
adjustment on the inclusion of valid and multifaceted assessment tasks including
options for individual as well as collective assessment (Bennett, 2020).
Pedagogical strategies which include ICT to assess students’ competences
should: include individual and group assessment to increase self-regulated learning;
choose assessment designs that promote conducting tests and arouse alternate
solutions; and create learning situations that permit learners to show themselves across
a range of media and communication forums (Hutchison, 2017).
Moreover, it is witnessed that tests based on computer played a positive impact
in motivating, concentrating and performing tasks assigned to the students; make the
teacher able to access highly standardized materials; they are further free due to
scoring obtained automatically just to ponder the outcomes and their explanations; and
the most latest e-Assessment applications are also echoed which made the provision of
detailed reports that reflect the positive and negative aspects, consequently favoring
assessment formative in nature (Ripley, 2019)
Likewise Ripley, in 2019, negotiates the "transformational" paradigm to CBA. He
describes test makers journey in order to create educational change. He argued that the
developers may reconsider the methods of testing/assessing students that may involve
creativity, novelty, working in teams, problem solving skills and better communication
through web. In this regard, computers are excellent monitoring devices for the teachers
during assessment of the tests e.g. ETS i-skill test. Lent (2018) argued that developing
these tests are actual challenges for the teachers who usually rely only on trivial
assessment approaches.

CONCLUSION
Information communication technology (ICT) is among the latest innovations that
has revolutionized various operations in the world. It is particularly important in the field
of education since it has recently created such platforms and opportunities that have
facilitated to some extent the acquisition of knowledge. This phenomenon has been
highlighted in this study which indicates how students view ICT as a component of their
study program.
ICT seems to have a profound impact on the process of learning in higher
education by offering new possibilities for learners and teachers. These possibilities can
have an impact on student performance and achievement. There are contradictory
results in the empirical literature in this field. This has been the case in other economic
sectors and it is also true in higher education.
Moving forward, teachers would benefit from more personal training on
implementing the technology in the classroom so that they feel more comfortable with
the inclusion of technology. Educators also felt that students need more training with the
provided technology to help promote more independence. The researchers believe that
there needs to be more research completed to determine the effects technology has in
the classroom.
To sum up, a number of tools and settings designed to assess learners’ skills are
not widely used in the field of education and still passing the experimental phase.
Particularly learning analytics and formative assessment, which are seen as the pivotal
to assess the learners’ abilities, are still in the way to reach the entire destination. As the
rapid progress in the field of technology resulted into introduction of more recent formats
to assess learners’ abilities, so to take over is not evident.

RECOMMENDATION
This study also recommends considering the perception of instructors at the
different schools. Questionnaires must be administered on lecturers and other
administrative officers to showcase the usefulness of ICT in education. For the lecturers
who contribute to the academic well-being of students, ICT can play a critical role in
aiding the process of preparing classroom instructions.
In future studies more focus should be given on management strategies and
policies to address the barriers faced by teachers in using ICT tools in teaching and
learning. If the barriers faced by teachers can be overcome, it is a step forward to
enhance our students’ learning outcome.
Last but not least, in order to appreciate the role of ICT in university education, it
is necessary to involve all its functionaries in ICT. This study therefore recommends that
all the parties should be involved in a study sequel and understand the components of
ICT that are relevant to their respective functional unit or department. The current study
was limited in time and geographical and physical environment, therefore it could not
study other variables like use of ICT in building a career for students, role of ICT in
campus–industry connect programs, and field training. Further work is therefore
required to investigate all these areas.
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