ICT and Schools
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is becoming a vital partner of today’s high schools. Even some companies have taken it upon themselves to facilitate IT integration in classrooms.
Partners in Learning: An Example
Partners in Learning once trained 254 teachers in the Hyogo Prefecture of Japan to use ICT in classrooms, reaching 15,198 in 9 months. A total of 17 schools valued strong IT education enough to throw their full support to the project.
According to the president of the National Institute of Multimedia Education in Japan, Dr. Yasutaka Shimizu, information technology progression holds the key to the future of their country, but many of their teachers did not know how to effectively use ICT in the classroom
Their solution? A partnership with the Partners in Learning program to integrate ICT skills into the local teaching and learning. They created IT textbooks and a technical support network for the teachers there, all the while building up a foundation for ICT use in the prefecture.
After nine months, there were a lot of improvements, ICT-wise. Here are some of them:
- Teachers were given specific examples on how to use programs such as Powerpoint in class.
- There were hands-on workshops for the students, giving the teachers a chance to see their reactions to the lessons using ICT.
- Customizable curricula gave the teachers the freedom to apply what they have learned, in the context of their own classrooms. With teachers’ potential maximized, so did the students when exposed to ICT.
Teacher’s role
Teachers must train continuously to keep abreast of ICT. Before, teachers were the main fountain of knowledge and authority in daily lessons. But with ICT, the Internet, the computer, television, cellular phones, and the various programs in all of these wherein one can communicate information, then the teacher becomes the facilitator.
This, however, does not mean the teacher’s work is delegated merely to teaching students how to turn on the computer and open a couple of documents. Teachers are still the main stars in the learning process, for they are responsible for lessons plans that are extremely important when using ICTs.
Otherwise, the student gets distracted and runs off course the lesson’s path.
The best way for teachers to use ICTs and build an online habit is when they, supported by ICTs, can force students to think out of the box, challenging them to learn for themselves. Instead of a teacher-centric classroom, it becomes learner-centric.
Challenges before going online becomes a habit
In countries like the Philippines however, there are some challenges when it comes to teacher’s training and ICT:
- As mentioned earlier, it has to be an ongoing training and exposure to ICT. Some schools contend with ICT training for faculty only once. Teachers, like those in Japan, also didn’t know how to maximize ICT in classrooms.
- Students become more sophisticated in using computers than their teachers, who mostly use the computer for administrative tasks like record keeping, lesson plans and usual information searches.
- Regular access to relevant and working ICT equipment is also a problem.
Fortunately, websites like Smart Schools help with self-training. It suggests ways on how to use ICT in class. Some companies are also helping schools become connected online by donating computers and equipment for Internet connections.
When the initial challenges are hurdled, it is still up to the teacher to develop and train him/herself to use ICT in relation to mastery of the subject. School and government support can be crucial at this stage—it is an uphill process but it is worth it.
Sources:
Takita, Yuzo. “Integrating ICT Skills into teaching and learning Microsoft Academic Program.” Retrieved January 25, 2009 from http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.157.html
“Teachers, Teaching and ICTs.” Retrieved January 25, 2009 from
http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.157.html
(Published 02 February 2009, Smart Communications, Inc.)
