Posting 3 – The Impact Of Using ICT In Education

           In this constantly change and innovative technology era, we have many challenges that waiting for us to face it. So we need to equip ourselves with many skills like ICT skills to survive and compete with other people. We cannot lack of one thing that is technology product such as computer, hand phone, PDA, Bluetooth and satellites. We use information and communication technology (ICT) everyday to communicate and also assist us in other aspects. Without ICT, we can do a few things only and our life will become boring and incurious. ICT has an influence on business, economy and also our living. Moreover, the ICT has far-reaching and important impacts in education that are inarguable and unassailable.

            The first impact of using ICT in education is ICT changes the role of teachers. Now, ICT already became an effective teaching tool for the teachers to enhance the teaching of the academic like language, science and so on. Hence, teachers will more aware about ICT in general and also become more knowledgeable of how to use ICT and how to manage their time by the using of ICT. Teacher can use ICT to enhance and develop their abilities just for have professional skills in ICT to instruct students in a better way. With the help of ICT, the teachers’ role has shifted from controllers to facilitators. This does not mean that the teachers are become less important. In contrary, the teachers’ role still important in education, that they assist students to become good and effective learners. In the past, the teachers were decided what kinds of knowledge students needed and what students should to do. They just impacted the basic knowledge to students in this way. But now, everything is changes. Teachers give the chances to students to explore the knowledge and information themselves with the guide of facilitators. Teachers also need to learn more about ICT compare with the past. According to Jonassen, the teachers have learned to use many ICT equipment and materials that can facilitate their teaching process. Among of these are the uses of lab stimulators, educational software, CBL sensors, electronic blackboards and the Internet. Teachers use the teaching strategies for active, authentic, collaborative, constructive and also reflective learning. Students will more interesting and initiative to receive information rather than wait for the teachers’ guide passively. As facilitators, teachers must help students create a stronger relationship between the subject of the study and concrete reality and then assist students putting this information in a more relevant context. This will save the time and effort of students and make them find the correct skills to find the information they wanted quickly. In fact, ICT bring many benefits for the teachers such as increase enthusiasm for teaching, improve efficiency in lesson plan creation and also enable structured approaches to research, but does not try to replace the teachers. According to Delphi study by Robinson, he says, “Although it may be difficult to determine whether technology instructs better than teachers, technology will be responsible for major changes in the types and methods of instruction. Teachers, however, will not be replaced by technology. They will remain necessary to fulfill the essential emotional needs of students: love, affection, motivation, discipline, and counseling. Furthermore, teachers will remain necessary to fulfill essential societal needs of custody and socialization: babysitting children during the day, keeping them occupied while they are out of labor force, and transmitting cultural values and goals of the society to the children. There will be little support for replacing teachers with technology, even when doing so would lower costs. On the other hand, there will be a great deal of support for using a combination of teachers and technology to do a better job of education, even if it means higher costs. The role of the teacher will be modified to include being a resource person and learning manager, and teachers will have numerous assistants (e.g., para-professionals, multi-media experts, teacher’s aides, and student teachers).”  

            The second impact is changes the students learning style. ICT become natural tools in education that is because learning is largely based on handle with information. In fact, listening, talking, reading, writing, reassuring, evaluating, analyzing and solving mathematical problems are examples of computer information processing. Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) is a good example of using the computer to make the students to learn effectively. In this way, students not only through drill and practice to get the knowledge but also allowed them to progress at their own space and also work individually or problem solving in a group. Students are enthusiastic and easily become attracted with ICT because computer program can impact the knowledge through animation, sound and demonstration. So students often keep a good performance for a task with great concentration. Students can search the Internet to find what information they really need and improve their knowledge through the online game or quizzes. Through this learning style, students will become more creative and willing to learn. Also, students can use ICT to interact with teachers, peer course mates and also educators to seek the opinions of them. ICT is a popular way to communicate with friends, family and also lecturer without any barrier of time and distance. Many online courses can find in the Internet, so students can take and learn the course by themselves. Online courses unlike normal learning style that need to face to face with lecturers, it just conferencing point of view and questions with lecturer or advance learners. ICT also has a positive effect that is students will get used to interact with better quality programming as a substitute for current TV dramas which absorbs their time and attention. But ICT maybe bring a negative effect that is information overload, if the students cannot arrange and accept the information well. So students need the guide of teachers as facilitators to assist them in certain ways.

           Technology product like hand phone, Bluetooth and wireless toward us are improve our communication, get the information easily and etc. According to Wikipedia, hand phone is also called a mobile phone that is used for mobile communication that uses a network of specialized base stations known as cell sites. Hand phone support many additional services and accessories, such as SMS for text messaging, e-mail, packet switching access to the Internet and so on. Students always use SMS and e-mail to discuss the assignments with friends and this will save the time because no need to find a suitable time to meet together. Through this way, students have enough time to think the questions and answers detailed because this way is asynchronous. Students also can use hand phone to access the Internet to search the whole world of information and materials, collect/send e-mails, download game and music. Most schools have prohibited hand phone in the classroom due to the lecture and students will be disturb by the hand phone. During examination, students do not allow to bring a hand phone into a classroom because the hand phone maybe use for cheating on examination. Another technology is Bluetooth that provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices such as hand phone and laptops. Bluetooth allows these devices to communicate with each other when they are in range. So students can transfer and exchange information and study material quickly and free on charge. Another popular technology in students especially university students is wireless. The wireless use is growing in the academic now due to the development of demand of the laptops and also the development of affordable wireless technologies. Students always require a wireless campus, so that they can connect to the Internet easily. Many assignments are waiting for students to find the online information or some internet tools to complete it. Actually the Internet and other technology like satellite and PDA already opened up the possibilities for the local and global collaboration. Wireless technology can make this collaboration become more convenient and faster. Wireless also has the potential to be an excellent tool to make learning become a fun adventure.

          The impact of using ICT in education is numberless as the sand that we cannot elaborate every point thoroughly. ICT has a great influence in education or ICT already became a part of our life. But ICT is a double-edged sword, we must use it in a correct way; otherwise it will bring a serious and scary consequences to us. As long as we use ICT in a good way like use it as a teaching and learning tool, it will bring many and many benefits to the students and teachers!

 

REFERENCES / RESOUCES

1. www.scopus.com.ezplib.ukm.my
2. www.unescobkk.org
3. www.proquest.umi.com.ezplib.ukm.my
4. www.encarta.msn.com
5. www.web.archieve.org
6. www.wikipedia.org
7. Alexey Semenov, 2005, Information And Communication Technologies In Schools: A Hand For Teachers or How ICT Can Create New, Open Learning Environments, http://unesdoc.unesco.org
8. Robert J.Seidel, Martin L.Rubin, 1977, Computers and Communications Implications for  Education (LB 1028.3.C65 1975)
9. Barreto-Marrero, Luz N., Ed.D, Rio Piedras (Puerto Rico), 2008, Use of

      information and communication technologies (ICT) in science education: The

      views and experiences of three high school teachers (pg 261, AAT 3285704)

        

10. Hilberg, J. Scott, Ed.D., 2007, Fluency with information and communication technology: Assessing undergraduate students (pg111, AAT 3275273)

      11.  HARRIS, S. and KINGTON, A., 2002, Innovative Classroom Practices Using

             ICT in England: the Second Information Technology in Education Study (SITES)