ICTs stand for Information and communication technologies which are currently used worldwide as tools for educational purposes. These technological tools include computers, internet, radio and television. The most commonly used tools in school by teacher are computer with the help of projector to show power point, videos and pictures to students.
PowerPoint is commonly used by teachers in school to present their lesson to students. In their power point, teacher can insert pictures and videos in the PPT slides. Using pictures in the power point slides can help teacher explain the concepts, theories to students clearer and better and at the same time it can attract students’ attention e.g. showing pictures of individuals with deficiency of vitamin C or D, blood flow in the heart, transverse section of the stem or root showing xylem, phloem and cambium.
Videos presentation provides visual effects and also stimulates students’ interest which can illustrate complex or abstract concepts like movement of particles in diffusion, osmosis and active transport. During science lesson, there are tonnes of experiments that teacher cannot conduct in the laboratory due to the lack of the lab equipments or experiments are too dangerous to conduct in the laboratory. For examples, reaction of sodium with water will produce a hydrogen gas which will self ignites and produce a bright flame. By using the video of the reaction between sodium metal and water, teacher can show the reaction numerous times without putting the students at risk.
Using computers with internet in learning has great potential to develop in education at all levels. It has been widely used in the schools and colleges of developed countries. ICTs are now being used increasingly in developing countries for “e-learning” applications. Nowadays every school own at least a computer lab which allow students to use the computers during the break time and school are also equipped with wireless network which allow teacher to search for information which is needed to prepare for their lesson and students can access information required by teachers during lesson. Using computer in learning is a cheap, fast way to access a huge amount of resources that are regularly updated like students can access online Encyclopedia or Wikipedia for information, animated 3D videos, related pictures to science, e-books which are easily accessible 24/7 – allowing students to continue their work at home where teachers can upload documents like classwork, homework, notes of the lesson so that if students misses a lesson, they can find and download required documents and do the work in their own time. Teacher can distribute information and resources (notes, past year papers, important points) on CD-ROM to students which they can access themselves at home with their own time. It can be used as delivery tools between teacher and students to send e-mail, online libraries, books and students’ work. It can assist teacher in management tools for students’ assessment and record keeping of marks.
The use of ICT has made life of teachers relatively easier with the use of network (Dedyardie, August 2011). In the computer labs, science teachers can search for related activities, exercises and questions of the lesson on the internet and shared to students through network in the computer lab. Shared documents in the network like exercises and questions can be accessed by students and directly answered by them after the lesson. Their answers are then submitted to the teacher when they are done. Answers can be automatically marked and produce a total marks for the work done or teacher can print the student’s answers in a hard copy and have small discussion with the students. This method is less time consuming compared to traditional method.
Tuesday 23 August 2011
How can the use of ICTs help improve the quality of education?
Improving the quality of education and training is a critical issue, particularly at a time of educational
expansion. ICTs can enhance the quality of education in several ways: by increasing learner motivation
and engagement,by facilitating the acquisition of basic skills, and by enhancing teacher training.14 ICTs
are also transformational tools which, when used appropriately, can promote the shift to a learner-centered
environment.
Motivating to learn. ICTs such as videos, television and multimedia computer software that combine
text, sound, and colorful, moving images can be used to provide challenging and authentic content
that will engage the student in the learning process. Interactive radio likewise makes use of sound
effects, songs, dramatizations, comic skits, and other performance conventions to compel the students to listen and become involved in the lessons being delivered.More so than any other type of ICT, networked
computers with Internet connectivity can increase learner motivation as it combines the
media richness and interactivity of other ICTs with the opportunity to connect with real people and to
participate in real world events.
Facilitating the acquisition of basic skills. The transmission of basic skills and concepts that are the
foundation of higher order thinking skills and creativity can be facilitated by ICTs through drill and
practice. Educational television programs such as Sesame Street use repetition and reinforcement to
teach the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes and other basic concepts.Most of the early uses of computers
were for computer-based learning (also called computer-assisted instruction) that focused on
mastery of skills and content through repetition and reinforcement. (See section below on Computer-
Based Learning.)
Enhancing teacher training. ICTs have also been used to improve access to and the quality of teacher
training. For example, institutions like the Cyber Teacher Training Center (CTTC) in South Korea are taking
advantage of the Internet to provide better teacher professional development opportunities to inservice
teachers. The government-funded CTTC, established in 1997, offers self-directed, self-paced
Web-based courses for primary and secondary school teachers. Courses include “Computers in the
Information Society,”“Education Reform,” and “Future Society and Education.” Online tutorials are also
offered, with some courses requiring occasional face-to-face meetings.15 In China, large-scale radioand
television-based teacher education has for many years been conducted by the China Central
Radio and TV University,16 the Shanghai Radio and TV University and many other RTVUs in the country.
At Indira Gandhi National Open University, satellite-based one-way video- and two-way audio-conferencing
was held in 1996, supplemented by print-materials and recorded video, to train 910 primary
school teachers and facilitators from 20 district training institutes in Karnataka State. The teachers
interacted with remote lecturers by telephone and fax (Victoria L. Tinio).
expansion. ICTs can enhance the quality of education in several ways: by increasing learner motivation
and engagement,by facilitating the acquisition of basic skills, and by enhancing teacher training.14 ICTs
are also transformational tools which, when used appropriately, can promote the shift to a learner-centered
environment.
Motivating to learn. ICTs such as videos, television and multimedia computer software that combine
text, sound, and colorful, moving images can be used to provide challenging and authentic content
that will engage the student in the learning process. Interactive radio likewise makes use of sound
effects, songs, dramatizations, comic skits, and other performance conventions to compel the students to listen and become involved in the lessons being delivered.More so than any other type of ICT, networked
computers with Internet connectivity can increase learner motivation as it combines the
media richness and interactivity of other ICTs with the opportunity to connect with real people and to
participate in real world events.
Facilitating the acquisition of basic skills. The transmission of basic skills and concepts that are the
foundation of higher order thinking skills and creativity can be facilitated by ICTs through drill and
practice. Educational television programs such as Sesame Street use repetition and reinforcement to
teach the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes and other basic concepts.Most of the early uses of computers
were for computer-based learning (also called computer-assisted instruction) that focused on
mastery of skills and content through repetition and reinforcement. (See section below on Computer-
Based Learning.)
Enhancing teacher training. ICTs have also been used to improve access to and the quality of teacher
training. For example, institutions like the Cyber Teacher Training Center (CTTC) in South Korea are taking
advantage of the Internet to provide better teacher professional development opportunities to inservice
teachers. The government-funded CTTC, established in 1997, offers self-directed, self-paced
Web-based courses for primary and secondary school teachers. Courses include “Computers in the
Information Society,”“Education Reform,” and “Future Society and Education.” Online tutorials are also
offered, with some courses requiring occasional face-to-face meetings.15 In China, large-scale radioand
television-based teacher education has for many years been conducted by the China Central
Radio and TV University,16 the Shanghai Radio and TV University and many other RTVUs in the country.
At Indira Gandhi National Open University, satellite-based one-way video- and two-way audio-conferencing
was held in 1996, supplemented by print-materials and recorded video, to train 910 primary
school teachers and facilitators from 20 district training institutes in Karnataka State. The teachers
interacted with remote lecturers by telephone and fax (Victoria L. Tinio).
How can ICTs help expand access to education?
ICTs are a potentially powerful tool for extending educational opportunities, both formal and non-formal,
to previously underserved constituencies—scattered and rural populations, groups traditionally
excluded from education due to cultural or social reasons such as ethnic minorities, girls and women,
persons with disabilities, and the elderly, as well as all others who for reasons of cost or because of time constraints are unable to enroll on campus.
• Anytime, anywhere. One defining feature of ICTs is their ability to transcend time and space.
ICTs make possible asynchronous learning, or learning characterized by a time lag between the
delivery of instruction and its reception by learners.Online course materials, for example,may
be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ICT-based educational delivery (e.g., educational programming
broadcast over radio or television) also dispenses with the need for all learners and
the instructor to be in one physical location. Additionally, certain types of ICTs, such as teleconferencing
technologies, enable instruction to be received simultaneously by multiple, geographically
dispersed learners (i.e., synchronous learning).
• Access to remote learning resources. Teachers and learners no longer have to rely solely on
printed books and other materials in physical media housed in libraries (and available in limited
quantities) for their educational needs. With the Internet and the World Wide Web, a wealth of
learning materials in almost every subject and in a variety of media can now be accessed from
anywhere at anytime of the day and by an unlimited number of people.This is particularly significant
for many schools in developing countries, and even some in developed countries, that
have limited and outdated library resources. ICTs also facilitate access to resource persons—
mentors, experts, researchers, professionals, business leaders, and peers—all over the world (Victoria L. Tinio).
to previously underserved constituencies—scattered and rural populations, groups traditionally
excluded from education due to cultural or social reasons such as ethnic minorities, girls and women,
persons with disabilities, and the elderly, as well as all others who for reasons of cost or because of time constraints are unable to enroll on campus.
• Anytime, anywhere. One defining feature of ICTs is their ability to transcend time and space.
ICTs make possible asynchronous learning, or learning characterized by a time lag between the
delivery of instruction and its reception by learners.Online course materials, for example,may
be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ICT-based educational delivery (e.g., educational programming
broadcast over radio or television) also dispenses with the need for all learners and
the instructor to be in one physical location. Additionally, certain types of ICTs, such as teleconferencing
technologies, enable instruction to be received simultaneously by multiple, geographically
dispersed learners (i.e., synchronous learning).
• Access to remote learning resources. Teachers and learners no longer have to rely solely on
printed books and other materials in physical media housed in libraries (and available in limited
quantities) for their educational needs. With the Internet and the World Wide Web, a wealth of
learning materials in almost every subject and in a variety of media can now be accessed from
anywhere at anytime of the day and by an unlimited number of people.This is particularly significant
for many schools in developing countries, and even some in developed countries, that
have limited and outdated library resources. ICTs also facilitate access to resource persons—
mentors, experts, researchers, professionals, business leaders, and peers—all over the world (Victoria L. Tinio).
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