Role of ICT

‘ROLE OF ICT FOR QUALITY ENHANCEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION’

Prof. Deepak Sharma

Abstract

ICT (information and communications technology - or technologies) is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning. ICTs are often spoken of in a particular context, such as ICTs in education, health care, or libraries. The term is somewhat more common outside of the United States. Information and communication technology (ICT) has become, within a very short time, one of the basic building blocks of modern society. Many countries now regard understanding ICT and mastering the basic skills and concepts of ICT as part of the core of education, alongside reading, writing and numeracy. Effective integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into teaching and learning is becoming an essential competency for teachers. However, teachers do not usually follow linear instructional design models when they are planning for ICT integration. This paper proposes a generic model, which consists of three fundamental elements: pedagogy, social interaction and technology. Sound design of these components should help teachers to integrate ICT into their curricula in effective ways. Constructivist learning theories, the design of interactivity and the notion of usefulness provide the theoretical foundations for the construction of this model. Some examples of applying this model to the design of Web‐based learning environments, facilitation of online discussions and comparison of ICT tools are presented.

 Introduction

We have moved from our ancient heritage education system of Gurukul to the modern day techno-savvy university education system. Today, education has become all inclusive process covering almost all aspects of life—social, cultural, political, economic, national, etc. Present is the era of information communication technology (ICT) which made transmission and spread of information most reliable and easiest. The Indian education system is striving to impart the  overall development  of  individual  and  society  and enabling  the  teaching-learning community  to  compete  the  global  market  with  sustainable  growth  and development. Teaching-learning and evaluation is the base and center of  our education system. The   monitoring agency like National Assessment and Accreditation, more popularly known as NAAC often emphasizes and signifies the  process of teaching-learning  and evaluation considering one of the major criterions of 350 points/ marks among seven indicators of assessment.   The  present  paper  is  an  informative outcome  of  the  discovery  in  the  area  of teaching-learning and evaluation and sheds ample light on the use of ICT and its vital role in the process of teaching and learning with an example. ICT is an inevitable marker and a part of strategy of any educational institution which wants to cater the teachers-students diversity and aims at smooth/ fair administration to come out with potential results from the institution.

 ICT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching at School as well as Higher Education, mostly, concentrates on giving information which is not the sole objective of Teaching. Along with giving information, the other objectives are:

•Developing understanding and application of the concepts

•Developing expression power

•Developing reasoning and thinking power

•Development of judgment and decision making ability

•Improving comprehension, speed and vocabulary

•Developing self-concept and value clarification

•Developing proper study habits

•Developing tolerance and ambiguity, risk taking capacity, scientific temper, etc. 

With the present infrastructure, class size, availability of teachers, quality of teachers, training of teachers, etc., it is difficult to achieve all the objectives. Further, most of the teachers use Lecture Method which does not have potentiality of achieving majority of above mentioned objectives. The objectives are multi-dimensional in nature, so for their achievement multiple methods should be used in an integrated fashion. At present ICT may be of some use. It is a well known fact that not a single teacher is capable of giving up to date and complete information in his own subject. The ICT can fill this gap because it can provide access to different sources of information. It will provide correct information as comprehensive as possible in different formats with different examples. ICT provides online interaction facility. Students and teachers can exchange their ideas and views, and get clarification on any topic from different experts, practitioners, etc. It helps learners to broaden the information base. ICT provides variety in the presentation of content which helps learners in concentration, better understanding, and long retention of information which is not possible otherwise. The learners can get opportunity to work on any live project with learners and experts from other countries. The super highway and cyber space also help in qualitative improvement of Teaching – Learning Process. ICT provides flexibility to learners which are denied by the traditional process and method. Flexibility is a must for mastery learning and quality learning.

Under which conditions does ICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning?’

This was the leading question of the International EDU summit in The Hague, the Netherlands. The bases for the discussion were the scholarly findings of the International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, a synthesis of research in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) in education. Seventy international policymakers, researchers, and practitioners developed a Call to Action, which summarizes the main action points where policy, research, and leadership need to join forces in order to successfully implement ICT in educational practice. These main action points include a view on the role of ICT in 21st century learning; conditions for realizing the potential of multiple technologies to address individual needs of students; better understanding of the relationship between formal and informal learning; the implications of technology for student assessment; the need for models for leadership and teacher learning to successfully implement technology; the potential of ICT for digital equity; and the development of a list of essential conditions to ensure benefit from ICT investments. In this contribution, we present the Call to Action and synthesize the research on which the Call is based.

 ICT IN EVALUATION

What is meant by evaluation? A useful broad definition of evaluation is “Providing information to make decisions about the product or process”.

However, when we try to apply this definition to “evaluating the effect of ICT on student learning”, we run into problems. What is the product? What is the process? These are questions that are difficult to answer when applied to learners. Because human beings are complex creatures, and learning is a complex, multifaceted activity, we are led from evaluation into research. There should be a close relationship between the educational design of a learning environment and evaluation. Evaluation is an integral part of the design, develop, and evaluate cycle of production. Some evaluation models explicitly map evaluation activities to phases of the development process. As one example, the Learning-Centered Evaluation framework3 has four phases:

*Analysis and design: analyzing the curriculum, analyzing teaching and learning activities; and specifying the behavior of the innovation.

*Development: finding out if the innovation works in the way it was designed, and what is needed to improve it (closely related to formative evaluation).

*Implementation: evaluating the effectiveness and viability of the finished product (closely related to summative evaluation).

*Institutionalization: evaluating the effects of ongoing use of the innovation within the institution.

At present the paper pencil tests are conducted for evaluating the academic performance of students. These tests are conducted in the group setting. The content coverage is poor and students cannot use them at their own. These tests are evaluated by the teachers and they may not give feedback immediately to each and every student. It may be due to this that students are unable to know their weakness and do not make any attempt to improve upon them. The ICT can be made use in the evaluation. One such attempt has been made by Sansanwal and Dahiya (2006) who developed Computer Based Test in Research Methodology and Statistics. It has been titled as Test your Understanding: Research Methods and Statistics. This test can be used by individual student to evaluate his learning. The student can instantaneously get the feedback about the status of his understanding. If the answer is wrong, he even can get the correct answer. It goes a long way in improving the learning and teacher has no role to play in it. It is left up to students to use it. Such tests can be uploaded on the website for wider use. The students from other institutes can also make use of it. Not only the students even the teachers can also use it to assess their own understanding of the subject. If used by teachers before teaching the topic, they can prepare the topic properly. Such software can be used for internal assessment. Thus, ICT can be used to improve the quality of pre as well as in-service teacher’s training.

Practical and simple tips for your evaluation:-

 1) Take small steps: don’t try to understand everything at once.

2) Be a reflective practitioner: remember you are trying to improve your students’ learning experiences and, indirectly, your teaching.

3) Use a cycle of understanding and improving: think formatively rather than summative

4) Question the applicability of your disciplinary research paradigm to evaluations of the

effectiveness of ICT on student learning.

5) Document the design of your ICT, explaining why this is likely to lead to the learning

Outcomes you require.

6) Think of ways in which your evaluation can go beyond student perceptions.

7) Evaluate student learning in the whole teaching context, not just the ICT itself.

8) Examine not only what students learn, but how they learn: reflect on the relation between learning process and outcomes.

9) Focus on questions to ask, and how best to get answers to these questions.

 ICT IN RESEARCH

ICT can be used to research information and collect secondary source imagery, to record, manipulate or create images, and to present information and images. Adoption of Information and Communication Technologies in teaching, learning and research has come a long way and so is the use of various web2.0 tools. The researchers need to change with changing times and need to understand today's fast changing knowledge base and its peculiarities. The article is written with an objective of finding out how is the academic researcher changed, helped, or hindered, by the use of ICT's in general and web2.0 tools in specific. ICT tools are mainly used by researchers for its ability to ease knowledge-gathering process and to enhance resource-development. Researcher in general value creativity and originality, thus the ICT tools which provide with the most open situations with great autonomy to the researcher can really help in identifying and solving research problems in the most creative ways. Some of web2.0 tools used for research related tasks are dealt in detail here to give a clear guidance to the researcher. The use of ICT is based on the individual's logical assessment of how various applications increase his/her effectiveness and efficiency in work and provide ease in communication with peers.

Use of ICT tools for making research data and information available are plenty in numbers today , but the best use of ICT tools would be to improve cognitive skills and thus help discriminate , analyze and create information rather than simply accumulate ( Boyer Commission , 1996). As usually research process deals with large amount of complex information and requires a lot of skills to analyze and organize these well, any ICT tool which helps the researcher give meaning and precision along with adding value to the information generated would be rated above the ones which help in just gathering information.

Research outcome-- ICT Convergence in the Internet of Things (IOT)

 Apart from this, IOT is making its place at a faster rate in the field of ICT. After the Internet of Things (IOT) has been introduced in recent years, the IOT has been boosted and implemented in a number of various industry sectors, such as, Smart Home, Smart City, Smart Lighting, Smart Factory and Smart Energy Management Systems. Currently, various ICT technologies and vertical domains are converged in the IOT to provide new levels of functionalities and services to users. For example, smart parking services will converge with in-vehicle communications, location-based tracking services and navigation and infotainment services within cars. This special issue will address a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in technology and research advances for various ICT technologies convergence in the IOT, and welcome both theoretical and experimental papers.

Conclusion

The effective integration of ICT in a learning environment depends on the way ICT is situated within that larger social cultural milieu. As ICT enters the socio cultural setting of the school, it ''weaves itself into the learning in many more ways than its original promoters could possibly have anticipated'' (Lim & Hang, 2003, adapted from Paper, 1993). There is a context for the ICT experiences that encompasses activities peripheral to the particular times and formats of the ICT interaction itself.

The findings suggest that successful ICT integration is clearly related to the processes within the classroom such as teacher beliefs, teacher efficacies and teacher attitudes as well as student participation and student interest towards ICT.

Also, ICT is an important tool in the educational procedure. This study investigates how gender poses as a factor that influences the integration of ICT in secondary schools.

Referring to our aim of the study which is assessing the level of integration of ICT in the secondary schools in Mauritius, it can be concluded that ICT has effectively and efficiently been integrated in the secondary schools of Mauritius but nevertheless, there are improvements to be brought about to the proper functioning of the technology tools in the education sector to enhance the teaching and learning process.

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