Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
DIAMONETTE SYNCON
UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES
April 17, 2015
The effects of ICT-enabled learning within the education system
Abstract
(ICTs). This has pervasive impacts on the socialization and lifestyle of persons and extends to the
mode of operandi within the workplace. Therefore, it is only natural to have increasing interest
and investment being put into the use of ICT in education globally. Education allows one to be
socially adept and optimizes the competitive edge of an individual within the job market. Studies
have shown that integration of ICT in education has the ability to proliferate and improve the
current education standards and amenities. The essay highlights the responsibilities that ICT has
assumed within classrooms and the significance of ICT in education as it relates to creating
students who are well trained and have the viable advantage in the work environment. It points
out the various impacts on students, teachers and administrative processes that the integration of
ICT has induced. Regardless of the various limitations of implementing ICT-enabled learning,
especially in third world countries, steps are being taken to employ ICT-enable learning in the
Jamaican schools. This is geared towards sustainable development for the nation.
generate a holistic learning approach that will facilitate and advance such an occurrence. In this
technologically savvy generation, technology can be used to promote and even enable a learning
classrooms is a viable option to enhance the education process and by extension the education
system. To fully analyze the effects of ICT in education a basic understanding of the variables
involved must be outlined. An operational definition for ICTs provided by the United Nations
The effects of ICT-enabled learning within the education system
Development Programme (UNDP 2012) suggests that ICTs are information-handling tools a
varied set of goods, applications and services that are used to produce, store, process, distribute
and exchange information. Essentially, ICTs are the technologies used in the conveying,
manipulation and storage of data by electronic means (The Open University 2013). The
Glossary of Education Reform (2013) maintains that an education system refers to the formal
public schooling which comprises everything that goes into educating public-school students at
the national level. Education is the development of an individual according to his needs and
demands of society of which he is an integral part. When ICTs are incorporated in the education
process the roles, importance and impact of ICT-enabled-learning on the education system
The roles of ICT-enabled learning may range from merely utilizing ICT as a tool to
support the conventional way of teaching, to a completely transformed way of teaching and
learning induced by courses that are fully ICT-enabled. Byron and Gagliardi (2014) and Punie et.
al. (2006) both suggest four to five dimensional levels to ICT-enabled learning, each starting
from the use of ICT as a supplementary implement then progresses to where ICT is used as a
facilitator of change and innovation. However, Byron and Gagliardi (2014) are more focused on
the formal education system of primary and secondary education while (Punie et al. 2006) are
dedicated to university level education offered in both the formal and informal settings. The five
basic modes of using ICT in the formal education system outlined by Australian Education
Council (1996); Byron and Gagliardi (2014) include: firstly the support mode where ICT is used
to augment presentations and increase the accuracy of the work, secondly the exploration and
control mode, where the student is able to explore, examine and experiment with and also create
situations. Thirdly, the resource mode is where the technology is used to access information and
The effects of ICT-enabled learning within the education system
other resources, whether on-line through means such as the internet or off-line using storage
devices and other software and finally the link mode describes when technology is used for
communication between individuals for example electronic mail and desktop video
conferencing. As proposed by (OECD 2005; Punie et. al 2007) the university level has four
dependent courses, mixed-modes courses and fully online courses. The web supplemented
courses focus on classroom-based teaching but include elements such as putting a course outline
and lecture notes online, use of e-mail and links to online resources, while in fully online
courses, students can follow courses offered by a university in one city from another town,
country or time zone. Fundamentally, these four levels are the epitome of what policy makers
intend for the integration of ICTs in education. The fully online courses represents what
developed countries would like to achieve from integrating ICTs in the learning process in terms
of reduced costs (no commuting, no textbooks, etc.), flexibility and accessibility of courses.
The universal purpose for undertaking ICT-enabled learning is to better develop the
current generation of students for a workplace setting where ICTs (particularly computers, the
Internet and related technologies) are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Tinio (2003) posits that
the capability to use ICTs effectively and efficiently offers a competitive edge in a globalizing
job market. She also suggests that technological literacy is not the only skill that will be required
in the new global economy. Furthermore, the North Central Regional Laboratory (U.S) declares
that there is an upsurge of what it labels as 21st Century Skills which includes digital age
literacy, cultural literacy, and global awareness), inventive thinking, higher-order thinking,
seen in other sectors can be achieved in education if its role in the classroom is no longer limited
to being a mere implement to the traditional forms of teaching. ICT-enabled learning gears
towards sustainable development of societies; it can be used to chart the path towards improving
Despite thousands of impact studies, the influence of ICT use on student achievement
remains dicult to measure. The complication arises due to the nature of the assessment, which
is a multidimensional and long term kind rather than an immediate learning assessment (eg. an
exam). The integration of ICT in the formal education system will affect various aspects of the
system itself along with the teaching and learning process. This therefore means the impacts of
ICT-enabled learning or ICT in education are extensive and influential. The five main aspects
that will be impacted are the curriculum, the teaching and learning processes, the roles of the
teacher, the educational management and the assessment and evaluation of both students and
teachers. The influence of ICT-enabled learning on the curriculum is shown when traditional
closed curriculum which is based on fixed content that students are obligated to learn and
reproduce is shifted to a goal oriented curricula. Now syllabuses can be changed according to
learners needs. Oliver (2002) observed that technology not only supports what is being learnt in
schools and universities, it also influences changes to the way students are learning. There is a
moving away from teacher-centred forms of lesson delivery to student-centred forms. Learning
using ICT actually motivates the students and increases the interest and propensity to learn. The
teachers have limitless information resources with which to conduct lessons and are not limited
to only what they know of a particular topic or the information offered in a prescribed text.
Pedagogical techniques are also affected as indicated earlier; Trucano (2005) suggests that
The effects of ICT-enabled learning within the education system
impact of ICT in the formal education system is largely dependent on the pedagogical methods
utilized by the teachers. Advantages associated with ICT-enabled learning for administrative
assessments include students accepting more responsibility for their own learning and its
assessment while developing expertise in the process. For teachers, the application of a student-
centred curriculum can be monitored and this can be used by teachers for assessing and
If ICTs are to be implemented in the Jamaican education system it would face quite a few
limitations that will more than likely lead to results that are not representative of what is seen in
the developed countries. One of the main expected limitations relates to funding and necessary
resources or the lack thereof. In the event that the Ministry of Education (of Jamaica) does not
implement ICTs in education across the board then the Digital Divide the split between those
who have access to and control of modern ICTs and those who have limited access or none at all
that the island is already experiencing may increase exponentially. We continue to lag behind
as it relates to technology and are still critically dependent on our labour force in this information
age where knowledge societies are prevailing. Fortunately, the Ministry of Education of Jamaica
is undertaking a project that intends to effectively initiate ICT-enabled learning within the formal
Jamaican education system. The aim and inclusive mandate of the operation is to improve the
quality of education within the Jamaican schools with specific interest in the secondary level
institutions. This is guided towards enhancing the learning experience and improving the level of
passes in the CXC/CSEC exams. All of the strategic objectives are expected to lead towards
national development. At this point in time the phase should shift from testing to fully
implementing the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the education
REFERENCES
Australian Education Council. 1996. Australia national report on the development of education:
1994-1996. Victoria (Australia):Curriculum Corporation.
Byron I, Gagliardi R. 2014 Aug 26. International Development Research Centre [Internet].
Canada: UNESCO International Bureau of Education; c2015. Communities and the information
society: The role of information and communication technologies in education. [cited 2015 Mar
20]. Available from: http://web.idrc.ca/ev.php?ID=11118_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC
EnGauge [Internet].2002. 21st-Century Skills. United States: North Central Regional
Educational Laboratory: c2011 [cited on 2015 Mar 201]. Available from:
http://www.ncrel.org/engauge/skills/21skills.htm
Punie Y, Zinnbauer D, Cabrera M. 2008. Joint Research Centre [Internet]. Luxembourg: Office
for Official Publications of the European Communities; c2015. A review of the impact of ICT on
learning [PDF]; [cited 2015 Feb 25]. Available from: http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC47246.TN.pdf
The Glossary of Education Reform [Internet]. 2013 Aug 29. Education system. Portland
(Maine): Great Schools Partnership; c2014 [cited 2015]. Available from:
http://edglossary.org/education-system/
The Open University [Internet]. 2013. What are ICTs? England: Royal Charter; c2015 [cited
2015 Mar 201]. Available from: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-
technology/computing-and-ict/information-and-communication-technologies/icts-everyday-
life/content-section-1.2
Tinio VL. 2003. ICT in education. New York: UNDP Bureau of Development Policy
Trucano M. 2005. infoDev [Internet]. Washington (DC): World Bank; c2015. A knowledge map:
impact of ICTs on learning and achievements;[cited 2015 Feb 19]. Available from:
http://www.infodev.org/articles/impact-icts-learning-achievement
Yuen AHK, Law NWY, Wong KC. 2003. ICT implementation and school leadership: Case
studies of ICT integration in teaching and learning. J Educ Admin; 41 (2): 158-170.