I.C.T. Merits & Demerits
Saturday
,August 24 ,2013
ICTs stand for information and communication technologies
and are defined, for the purposes, as a “diverse set of technological tools and
resources used to communicate, and to create, disseminate, store, and manage
information.” These technologies include computers, the Internet, broad casting
technologies (radio and television), and telephony.
The Effectiveness of
ICTs in Education
ICTs are a potentially powerful tool
for extending educational opportunities, both formal and non-for mal, 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limited and outdated library resources.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.
·
ICTs help prepare individuals for
the workplace.
One of the most commonly cited
reasons for using ICTs in the classroom has been to better prepare the current
generation of students for a workplace where ICTs, particularly computers, the
Internet and related technologies, are becoming more and more ubiquitous.
Technological literacy, or the ability to use ICTs effectively and efficiently,
is thus seen as representing a competitive edge in an increasingly globalizing
job market.
Benefits/Advantages
of ICT in Education
Here
are some of the benefits which ICT brings to education according to recent
research findings.
General benefits
·
Greater efficiency throughout the
school.
·
Communication channels are increased
through email, discussion groups and chat rooms
·
Regular use of ICT across different
curriculum subjects can have a beneficial motivational influence on students’
learning.
Benefits for teachers
·
ICT facilitates sharing of
resources, expertise and advice
·
Greater flexibility in when and
where tasks are carried out
·
Gains in ICT literacy skills,
confidence and enthusiasm.
·
Easier planning and preparation of
lessons and designing materials
·
Access to up-to-date pupil and
school data, any time and anywhere.
·
Enhancement of professional image
projected to colleagues.
·
Students are generally more ‘on
task’ and express more positive feelings when they use computers than when they
are given other tasks to do.
·
Computer use during lessons
motivated students to continue using learning outside school hours.
Benefits for students
·
Higher quality lessons through
greater collaboration between teachers in planning and preparing resources .
·
More focused teaching, tailored to
students’ strengths and weaknesses, through better analysis of attainment data
·
Improved pastoral care and behaviour
management through better tracking of students
·
Gains in understanding and
analytical skills, including improvements in reading
·
Comprehension.
·
Development of writing skills
(including spelling, grammar, punctuation, editing and re-drafting), also
fluency, originality and elaboration.
·
Encouragement of independent and active
learning, and self-responsibility for learning.
·
Flexibility of ‘anytime, anywhere’
access (Jacobsen and Kremer, 2000)
·
Development of higher level learning
styles.
·
Students who used educational
technology in school felt more successful in school, were more motivated to
learn and have increased self-confidence and self-esteem
·
Students found learning in a
technology-enhanced setting more stimulating and student-centred than in a
traditional classroom
·
Broadband technology supports the
reliable and uninterrupted downloading of web-hosted educational multimedia
resources
·
Opportunities to address their work
to an external audience
·
Opportunities to collaborate on
assignments with people outside or inside school
Benefits for parents
·
Easier communication with teachers
·
Higher quality student reports –
more legible, more detailed, better presented
·
Greater access to more accurate
attendance and attainment information
·
Increased involvement in education
for parents and, in some cases, improved self-esteem
·
Increased knowledge of children’s
learning and capabilities, owing to increase in learning activity being
situated in the home
·
Parents are more likely to be
engaged in the school community
·
You will see that ICT can have a
positive impact across a very wide range of aspects of school life.
