The appearance of new technologies in our day to day has made it possible for the use of ICT in education to increase considerably in recent years. ICTs have gained great relevance in our environment, having a wide catalog of applications in various sectors such as entertainment, administration, robotics, education and all kinds of companies.
When we talk about ICT we are referring to information and communication technologies. ICT can be defined as a set of techniques and devices based on new technological tools and the different supports and channels of information and communication. It can also be defined as the process of obtaining, storing, processing and transmitting information digitally.
The educational sector must assume the responsibility of gradually implementing all the technologies that may favor student learning in some way, and ensure that they learn to use them in a world where they are already part of professional life and their social environment.
Some of these technologies include:
- Blogs and social networks: it gives us the possibility of creating work groups where students expose or discuss different topics, publish content related to the subjects, etc.
- Planning through tools: calendars and task managers are very useful to schedule exams, deliveries, create workflows, etc.
- Data storage in the cloud: it allows us the possibility of working collaboratively, accessing from any device and from any place. Some of the tools that use this technology are office packages, storage, etc.
- Digital whiteboards and interactive tables: whiteboards allow projecting and controlling images from a computer, making notes and comments, and saving and / or sending the screen by email. The interactive tables give the possibility for the students to interact directly with the surface.
Therefore, after identifying the technologies used in ICT, we can now look at the uses of ICT in Education;
1. E-learning or Online Learning: The presence of ICT in education allows for new ways of learning for students and teachers. E-learning or online learning is becoming increasingly popular and with various unprecedented events taking place in our lives, this does not only open opportunities for schools to ensure that students have access to curriculum materials whilst in the classroom but also allows them to ensure students outside the classroom such as at home or even in hospitals can learn.
2. ICT brings inclusion: The benefits of ICT in education is of such that students in the classroom can all learn from the curriculum material. Students with special needs are no longer at a disadvantage as they have access to essential material and special ICT tools can be used by students to make use of ICT for their own educational needs. Despite this, it opens up new issues related to the 'digital divide' and providing access to ICT tools and resources for those who are less fortunate.
3. ICT promotes higher-order thinking skills: One of the key skills for the 21st century which includes evaluating, planning, monitoring, and reflecting to name a few. The effective use of ICT in education demands skills such as explaining and justifying the use of ICT in producing solutions to problems. Students need to discuss, test, and conjecture the various strategies that they will use.
4. ICT enhances subject learning: It is well known these days that the use of ICT in education adds a lot of value to key learning areas like literacy and numeracy.
5. ICT use develops ICT literacy and ICT Capability: Both are 21st-century skills that are best developed whilst ICT remains transparent in the background of subject learning. The best way to develop ICT capability is to provide them with meaningful activities, embedded in purposeful subject-related contexts.
6. ICT use encourages collaboration: You just have to put a laptop, iPad or computer in the classroom to understand how this works. ICT naturally brings children together where they can talk and discuss what they are doing for their work and this in turn, opens up avenues for communication thus leading to language development.
7. ICT use motivates learning: Society's demands for new technology has not left out children and their needs. Children are fascinated with technology and it encourages and motivates them to learn in the classroom.
8. ICT in education improves engagement and knowledge retention: When ICT is integrated into lessons, students become more engaged in their work. This is because technology provides different opportunities to make it more fun and enjoyable in terms of teaching the same things in different ways. As a consequence of this increased engagement, it is said that they will be able to retain knowledge more effectively and efficiently.
9. ICT use allows for effective Differentiation Instruction with technology: We all learn differently at different rates and styles and technology provide opportunities for this to occur.
10. ICT integration is a key part of the national curriculum: The integration of digital technologies or ICT is a significant part of the Ugandan Curriculum for example, and this is a trend that many global governments are taking up as they begin to see the significance of ICT in education.
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