Review of ICT in Education - Essay Example

Running Head: ICT Review of ICT in Education s Review of ICT in Education Information and communication technology (ICT) is to date regarded as one of the marvels of today's time. It is fast becoming the in-practice of such educational institutions as schools, colleges, universities, and other type of educational institutions. In the beginning of the computer revolution, the term Information Technology (IT) was adopted to refer to computers and the software those computers utilized. That time, computers were connected within a narrow circle of network. Yet, soon global connectivity of these narrow circles became possible (referred to as the Internet, the World Wide Web, Web, or Net). Thus, human eye saw a remarkable addition of technological advancement in this area of development and so the term IT has come to evolve into ICT or information and communication technologies (Bhanot, & Fallows, pp. 1-2, 2002). They further inform us that "It is the use of computers as communications tools (as well as aids to learning, teaching and assessment) that presents the key educational development" (Bhanot, & Fallows, pp. 1-2, 2002). ICT is proved to have a subtle impact on sociological environment of the world narrowing down to the personal lives of the common human being (Yuen, Law, & Wong, 2003). With the passage of time, ICT in education is getting more easily in the reach of people due to the gradual price decline (Selwood, & Pilkington, 2005). Emerging as a pervasive marker for the change of people's lives, ICT has now begun to make greater impact: It has come to bear a positive effect on the way schools and other educational institutions were traditionally run before. Thus, with all these colours set on the canvas it is easy to notice that schools educational institutions now show a growing interest in ICT for rapid development abreast with new educational trends; so do Yuen, Law and Wong inform us that "it is thus not surprising to find increasing interest, attention and investment begin put into the use of ICT in education all over the world" (p. 158, 2003). Moving along the same line of the issue, we find a bigger, wholesome picture in the words of Kompf (2005) who comes up with the observation that "ICT has redefined learning and teaching and is well on the way to changing the future principles, practices, policies, and underlying epistemological issues that define the value, worth, meaning, and delivery of educational services" (p. 220). ICT in Elementary Schools Chasing the impact of ICT in elementary schools, Lim, C. P., & Tay, L. Y. (2003, p. 1) inform us that ICT is more like a neutral tool that depends more on the lesson plan strategies, management of work being put to the students, and on the teaching to them as how to effectively manage different types of ICT tools. However, this very tool can be positively used to develop a higher-order thinking in the pupils. They studied the ICT tools for developing the higher-order thinking in students and listed out some useful inventories. Their study revealed that "there are six interrelated implications of how ICT tools can be used to engage students in higher-order thinking in an elementary school environment" Lim, C. P., & Tay, L. Y. (2003, p. 1). First is the objectives of the lesson that according to them "plays an important role in shaping the development of the lesson" (p.1). Next, are the orienting activities that enable among learner a sense of autonomy. Number three is the right time ICT tool training to the students so that they can engage themselves with ICT tools and start learning. Number four is the integration of different ICT tools so that students can achieve instructional objectives in a rapid manner. On number five on their list is "The classification of a particular type of ICT tool is not based only on its features or characteristics but also on how it is used" (Lim, C. P., & Tay, L. Y., 2003, p. 1). Last on their inventory is the effective management of ICT resources that ensures smooth integration of ICT tools into the curriculum. According to them, ICT then is one of the more effective means of today's scientific wonders that can be used to effectively engage students to indulge in higher-order thinking so that they can "learn beyond the basic and content knowledge" (Lim, C. P., & Tay, L. Y., 2003, p. 1). The Importance of ICT in Higher Education The importance of ICT in higher education can also not be denied as it has shattered the older norms of master and pupil pattern of teaching and learning when "The good master not only 'knew his stuff'; he could also communicate it in a manner that not only held the attention of his students, but also communicated the message and motivated the students to learn" (Bhanot, & Fallows, pp. 4-5, 2002). According to the same source, ICT has revolutionized the way higher education was imparted and received. The most important factor is the revival in the management of books in the libraries. Previously the books were available under one roof of a library and that required physical vigour so that students could benefit. But with the advent of ICT (internet-based libraries, to be specific), "The Internet moves matters to a new level. The college library is now just the local hands-on starting point. The true resource base is now world-wide, with the Internet providing an easy route to a previously untold range of sources" (Bhanot, & Fallows, pp. 4-5, 2002). As such the previously called Master is now a facilitator whose work is to lead the students to greener pastures so that fruitful results with regard to students' intellectual as well as practical world knowledge can be obtained. This is one major development of ICT in the grounds of higher education to look through a glace only. ICT and Students with Disability ICT and the educational needs of the students with disability is another new dimension that the world is after with great zeal as there are clear traces of changes for the educational needs of the students with some kind of disability. Henceforth, we see that now these students can transcribe notes or transcribe recording from their lectures; if they happen to miss any lectures, they have better access to those lectures via the digital notes on disc and other mass storage device, or via the Internet; these students can also produce high-quality work written on adapted computer equipment like big screen monitors, adapted-to-special-need keyboards, systems with the voice recognition ability and so on. ICT also seems to greatly help these students to turn in their assignments or projects, and so on via email, or on disc. They can also use ICT for a number of other purposes such as they can make easy presentation through the use of presentation tools. Hence "Most disabilities can now be accommodated, as can periods of absence due to health problems. An added advantage is that most of the above options are available from a base other than the HE establishment, such as home or hospital, thus enabling disabled students to keep up with their studies. Advances in ICT have therefore not only offered a greater number of disabled people the opportunity to enter higher education but, once there, they have also helped them to keep up with their studies. Bhanot, & Fallows (2005, p. 95-96). Thus, ICT is proving to be very useful tool when it comes to the students with special need for higher education. ICT and Challenges Present to the World Today Although, ICT use in education, as noted above, from bottom to top has started yielding better results, the world is still on the verge of struggle confronted by the immense challenges that spread globally. For example, there is a huge gap between the industrialized and the third world countries when it comes to the use of ICT in the domain of education and the development hinged on this very basic strand. There are then new jargons that tell us of this gap, ie, "digital divide" is referred to portray the economic inequality between these two blocks of the globe. In the words of Sydnes "At least 80 per cent of the world's population lack access to the most basic forms of telecommunication. Africa has 20 per cent of the world's population, but only 2 per cent of its telephone lines. Africa's access to the Internet remains marginal. Furthermore, there is need for more local content to increase the relevance and value of available information to African users and users in other developing countries" (2000, p. 1). According to the author there are other challenges as well that need immediate and serious considerations of the people of the world. For example, there is great fear among parents for their children accessing pornography. Moreover, there is something called propaganda about racism, or any other issue that seems to yield negative effects on the user. It then becomes that ICT itself is a tools for both up gradation and degeneration. I strongly agree with the author that "The international community must do its utmost to promote the dissemination of information and best practices that can help countries to develop appropriate institutional arrangements and make sound investments" (Sydnes, 2000, p. 1). References Bhanot, R., & Fallows, S. (Eds., 2005). Quality issues in ICT-based higher education. Routledge: New York. pp. 90-99. Bhanot. R, & Fallows, S. (2002, Eds.). Educational development through information and communications technology. Kogan Page. Place of Publication: London. Publication. Kompf, M. (2005). Information and communication technology (ICT) and the seducation of knowledge, teaching, and learing: What lies ahead for education [Technology, teaching and learning, oversold and underused: Computers in the classroom, a classroom of one by gene]. Curriculum inquiry, 35 (2). Lim, C. P., & Tay, L. Y. (2003). Information and communication technologies (ICT) in an elementary school: students' engagement in higher order thinking. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia. 12 (4). 425+. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. Selwood, I., & Pilkington, R. (2005). Teacher workload: using ICT to release time to teach. Educational Review, 57 (2), 163-174. Sydnes, A. K. (2000). ICT Examples in Developing Countries. Presidents & Prime Ministers, 9 (4). 6. Yuen, A., Law, N., & Wong, K.C. (2003). ICT implementation and school leadership: Case studies of ICT integration in teaching and learning. Journal of Educational Administration, 41 (2), 158-170. Read More