The use of ICT across the curriculum and evaluate the benefits and disadvantages of its use - Essay Example

There are general goals defined in the National Curriculum, such as “ICT promotion in favor of students’ opportunities to apply and develop ICT capabilities and apply these capabilities to all subjects learning” (ICT - The National Curriculum). The main goal of the National Curriculum is to enable students to increase the efficiency of their learning process. ICT intends to widen the horizon of a learning discipline. ICT is effectively used in the lessons oh history or language learning.

Audio records, video films and picturesque Power Point presentations enable students to enrich their knowledge in an effective and interesting way. During lessons teachers have to propagate the usage of ICT and students would in such a way facilitate the learning process. For this purpose educational institutions would have to effectively train their teaching stuff. School leadership ensures effective spread of ICT in the curriculum as well. “Strategic management and whole-school plan” together with essential investments into ICT in curriculum would make this resource an effective one (Titus and Potter, 2005).

For example, it would be more interesting for students to learn new information not written on a whiteboard, but in the process of multimedia presentations. Moreover, technological access to the latest information would make researches and presentations of students informative and in such a way students will be able to develop their decision-making abilities and investigating methodologies (Teacher Training Agency, 1998; Dede, 2000). Creative thinking of the students would direct their capabilities to develop their learning and communicative strategies.

What is more important is the fact that abilities gained by means of ICT enable students to communicate with their co-thinkers around the world both in local and global environments. ICT resources help students and teachers to complete curriculum objectives. Such kinds of resources as technological facilities are mediators between a new well-developed educational process, teaching and learning capabilities (Yelland, N., 200; Ololube, 2006). When ICT is used in monitoring, recording, assessing and reporting in the curriculum, then the process of examination and students’ achievement is facilitated.

Nevertheless, in order to reach the efficiency of ICT to the fullest extent, the leading positions of ICT have to be developed. Students’ performance is increased in case there is a well-balanced ICT management. For example, it is relevant to interview students and teachers and ask their opinions about efficiency of ICT in the curriculum. Moreover, in order to facilitate the process of ICT implementation, it is relevant to organize trainings and develop strategies on “strengthening weaker aspects of ICT provision” (Blake, 2008, p. 21). There are also drawbacks of ICT in the curriculum.

Once students have an access to numerous information resources, they would loose their own initiative and creative thinking. In previous years when students only had a chance to get information from books or other printed sources, they could rely only on themselves (Christen, 2009; Davies and Ellison, 2003). Nowadays Internet access and thousands of ready essays confuse students. At this point a crucial role may play a teacher: “