Information and Communications Technology in Children Development - Essay Example

Running Head: How the use of ICT helps Key Stage 2 Children How the use of ICT helps Key Stage 2 Children Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Context of the Problem Computer has always been a tool with great problem solving potential. Regardless of how computers are used, people find an increased need to share information with others. This desire of information sharing involves communication of electronic messages over a long distance and shaped the world into an information society. According to several historians, the Information Revolution is the third revolution in the history of the world after agricultural and industrial revolutions. Information age is the time, which brought fundamental changes in intellectual, social, philosophical and cultural aspects of the world. Some historians opined that actually information revolution was the first revolution ever occurred and the agricultural and industrial revolutions were caused due to information revolution. To prove their claim they said that when civilization started, travelers and traders traveled from one place to another, as they have access to many cultures and traditions, they shared information and this information was actually the beginning of civilization as well as led the humanity towards the agricultural and industrial revolutions. Today information is the largest export of most News services, banks, insurance companies, television stations etc. these all organizations collect data, process it into information, distribute it, and store it as a major part of their business. As the world is an information society now, Information and Communication technology also become an active part of education and electronic classroom has evolved. Computers are found in grade schools, high schools and colleges, as computer literacy becomes a graduation requirement. According to an official report 98% of the schools of United Kingdom alone are connected to the Internet (Rao, Mehta and Crishna, 1999). 1.2 Statement of the Problem This study will discuss the importance and benefits of Information and Communication Technology in the learning of Key Stage 2 children. It also attempts to determine the limitations and barriers to use information system in education. 1.3 Significance of the Study The importance of Information and Communication Technology in education has been thoroughly studied and explored in different researches and studies. However, the significance of this study lies in the researcher’s aim to study the benefits of ICT in the learning of Key Stage 2 children. The intention is to look at the use of Information and Communication Technology in the learning of Key Stage 2 children. 1.4 Scope of the Study The scope of the study is to discuss the importance and benefits of using Information and Communication Technology in education. This study will attempt to emphasize on the basic benefits of using ICT in the learning of Key Stage 2 children. Chapter 2: Literature Review It is impossible to ignore the power and services of Information and Communication Technology in any field, especially in Education (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1986). The special style of presenting the content and the learning material with the help of the Information and Communication Technology has changed the environment of the classroom entirely. With the help of special tools of information and Communication Technology it is now possible to present the learning material in the form of pictures, sound, animations and video which will create a real interactive environment for the students (Jonassen, 1994). The use of ICT also helps the students by providing individual attention and assistance to every student. ICT helps the learning of Key Stage 2 children to perform their assigned tasks and try to motivate them through its interactive mode of learning and teaching. ICT is also very helpful for students to assist them in such works and assignments, which they have missed (Blackmore, Roach and Dempster, 2001). For example, some schools have their own Intranet system which provides the students all the assignment, study notes and other such learning material which he or she has missed. Information and Communication Technology also provides a vast scope of enriching the knowledge to students. Students, by accessing the tools of Information and Communication technology can access information from all over the world. According to Rogers, “Learning itself is the task. What formalized learning does is to make learning more conscious in order to enhance it” (Rogers, 2003; P. 27). He further suggested that different ways of learning might appear in the same context. He said, “At one extreme lie those unintentional and usually accidental learning events which occur continuously as we walk through life. Next comes incidental learning - unconscious learning through acquisition methods which occurs in the course of some other activity... Then there are various activities in which we are somewhat more conscious of learning, experiential activities arising from immediate life-related concerns, though even here the focus is still on the task... Then return more purposeful activities - occasions where we set out to learn something in a more systematic way, using whatever comes to hand for that purpose, but often deliberately disregarding engagement with teachers and formal institutions of learning... Further along the continuum lie the self-directed learning projects on which there is so much literature... More formalized and generalized (and consequently less contextualized) forms of learning are the distance and open education programs, where some elements of acquisition learning are often built into the designed learning program. Towards the further extreme lie more formalized learning programs of highly decontextualized learning, using material common to all the learners without paying any regard to their individual preferences, agendas or needs. There are of course no clear boundaries between each of these categories” (Rogers, p.41-42). The rapid growth of Computers and information society compelled governments and responsible bodies of different countries to use the power of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the field of education and hence improved the quality of learning and teaching. According to Thomas McManus it, “combines media advantages of other media so that it conveys video and sound better than a book, is more interactive than a videotape and, unlike a CD-ROM, it can link people from around the world cheaply” (McManus, 1995). It has often been said and believed that the introduction of Information and Communication Technology in the field of education has improved the rate of student’s achievement considerably. In Key Stage 2 children learn how to plan and the feeling of success. Plays are very important at this stage of development, as it teaches the children how to abide by the laws and rules. If the parents, teachers, other caretakers or the peers do not encourage the child at this stage he may grow with an inferiority complex. According to some researchers ICT has a profound impact on the learning and other practicing skills of Key Stage 2 children (Hativa and Cohen, 1995) or early reading (Mioduser, Tur- Kaspa and Leitner, 2000). Some researchers are of the opinion that the practice of the students is an important factor in their improvement in learning (Van Dusen and Worthen, 1995; Underwood and Brown, 1997). Researchers also said that interactive storybook used with the help of computers enhances the early reading skills of key stage 2 children (Olson and Wise, 1992; Lewin, 2000). Input through voice or text feedback can also play a positive role in the improvement of their reading and writing skills (Miles, et. al., 1998) In order to understand that how Information and Communication Technology can improve the student’s creative thinking Allegra, Chifari and Ottaviano have conducted a research study (Allegra, Chifari and Ottaviano, 2001). They have selected their sample consisted of 14 students from Schools. They have divided the students into pairs and also divided their experiments into a series of Micro-activities. In the study, all the pairs of students have given the same CD about London and they have been asked different questions about the city of London. The researchers have been found out that some students restricted themselves for just answering the questions while other students provide some extra details also with the help of Internet. The results of this experiment depicted that different ways of acquiring knowledge is important for the creativity and to enhance the creative thinking in students. This research also enables the teachers to produce and enhance the divergent thinking in their students. This process will also help every student to discover his or her own identity and creativity. Some scholars have also noted that the use of Information and Communication Technology has a great impact on the motivation of the students, which ultimately leads towards the improvement of their achievement. Bullock has conducted a study to see the impact of ICT upon student motivation and attainment in English (Bullock, 2001). He took the sample of 32 students of year 9 English and used some tools of Information and Communication Technology like Computers, Printers, Internet, CDs, Microsoft Word, Power Point and Microsoft publisher. The results of this study revealed that the use of Information and Communication Technology in Education greatly enhanced the motivation of the students. The results of a questionnaire, filled during this study, revealed that 88% of the students found their English lessons much more enjoyable, interactive and interesting with the use of Information and Communication tools than expected. 86% of the students said that the use of ICT in class helped them to find and explore new ideas and enhanced their creativity. The results of study also showed that the use of ICT has enhanced the standard of the writing of the students and have a very positive impact on their writing skills. It has been noticed during the study that students were willing to write at greater length and better papers. The spell checking and dictionary facilities of the software also motivated the students and they have used it very effectively. Thus it can easily be said due to the results of this study that ICT could help to improve the motivation, learning and writing abilities of the students. Center for Education Research and Innovation has conducted a 3-year research on the effective use of ICT in Education. The research was consisted of 94 case studies of 23 different countries. The main tool of preparing the case studies was the interview with students, teachers, ICT Coordinators, Policy makers, and parents of the students. The results of these case studies have shown that 74% of the students used ICT tools for information searching, 68% were using them for Email and 78% used them for productive purposes. 59% of the teachers used the tools of ICT to communicate with their peers. ICT in education produced a positive attitude in 68% of students towards learning, 63% of the students said that ICT increased their subject knowledge and 63% are of the opinion that it enhanced their collaboration skills (Brdicka). By considering all the case studies, it has been noticed that the overall impact of use of ICT on students was 75% and on teachers was 63%. The role of teachers in this regard is very important. In order to use the Information and Communication Technology in education effectively it is essential to train the teachers to use these technologies (Hattie and Marsh, 1996). According to a report of US Congress, “teachers have to be allowed to choose, willing to make choices, and qualified to implement their choices effectively. OTA finds that, just as there is no one best use of technology, there is no one best way of teaching with technology. Flexibility should be encouraged, allowing teachers to develop their personal teaching approach utilizing the variety of options offered by technology” (US. Congress, 1988, p. 17). It is the responsibility of teachers to train children how to interact with each other (Eraut, 1995; Dawes, et. al., 2000). The adoption of computer for learning purpose is a challenging task for the teachers (Somekh and Davis, 1997). The combination of skills and practices from teachers (Wild, 1996) and affects the way the teachers use ICT for the better learning attainment of key stage 2 children (Higgins and Moseley, 2001). Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Research Design There is a difference between the two terms that some researchers use interchangeably: ‘research design “methodology”’ and ‘research technique “methods”’. The term research design or methodology refers to the overall strategy of the research. Thus, the research design should advise us on how the sample will be drawn, what groups and/or subgroups it must include, what contrast should be made, what variables we need to consider and measure and how these measures are linked to external events. The research design is concerned with making our problems accessible by directing our research in a way that generates precise answers to precise questions. ‘Research methodology’ can be defined as the overall tactics of the research process that comprises theoretical underpinning, data collection and analysis. The term ‘research techniques’ or ‘methods’ are the methods used for data generation, collection, measurement, quantification and to make sure that the instrument is appropriate, valid and reliable. 3.2 Data Collection Methods The decision was made earlier to adopt the positivistic methodology, the need for quantitative data to satisfy the objectives of the study and the need for a large sample to carry out the data analysis. 3.3. Selected Research Methodology A diagrammatic view of the entire research process, be it basic or applied, is as follows: Figure 1: Diagrammatic explanation of Research process Hence, throughout this project, the researcher has been facilitated by and taken by the above diagram. This ten-step has enabled the researcher to keep in view the step-by-step process that is required to complete a sound dissertation project. 3.4. Secondary Research Journals, periodicals, newspaper articles, magazines and e-zines are all of the primary sources that were used in the preparation of this report. The study will use the qualitative methodology because the field of this study is very vast and is very difficult to conduct a survey or prepare a questionnaire, which covers all the issues of the topic. 3.3 Data Research The main research is done through Internet and reading different proposals form different professional. Reports are also present to represent the ideas of other people who have clearly analyzed and interpreted the issues very carefully and made their suggestions for the improvement. Researchers and scholars have made their remarkable studies on the topics related to this issue, their citations are included in the paper. Lots of books’ citations and paragraphs from articles are quoted in the paper to proof the facts and reasons. There are also some limitations of the research paper. The need for taking reference from various books was not accomplished fully. Chapter 4: Discussion Qualitative data analysis relies around the collection and evaluation of data obtained through field work and in finding patterns on this data in order to facilitate an inductive form of reasoning. This study utilized inductive reasoning which requires that data collection and analytic processes be conducted in light with additional data. The analysis therefore occurs as an open step in conceptually interpreting the data set as a whole by using analytic strategies. 4.1 Human and Non-human Actors: Questionnaires, observation and correspondence were made in the research process of this study. The data gathered on the questionnaires were analyzed in order to review the stories provided by the respondents. In interpretative research, scripts and stories provides the researcher information on the communication tools of auto insurance industry. This is important because the respondents provide different points of analysis. While they are looking at one event, there are several possible angles and each of the respondents may be looking from different sides. Thus, in interpreting the questionnaires, it is important that the researcher take into consideration the context by which these narratives are formed. Aside from the human actors, non-human actors play an equal role in the data analysis. Documents, reports and correspondences pertaining to ICT in learning provide relevant information in the failure and success of it. 4.2 ICT in Education The above research has clearly shown that Information and Communication Technology plays an important and positive role in the improvement of learning skills of key stage 2 children. To implement ICT intelligently in key stage 2 programs, it is necessary to train the teachers accordingly, so they can make full use of the ICT. In order to make the teacher’s training program effective, there are several factors, which have to be considered. Incentives are the instruments used in inducing people for a desired course of action (Kenny, Desjardinds & McDonalds, 1997). They cause people to willingly perform to the best of their ability. Incentives can be classified as: Financial: wages, salaries, fringe benefits etc. are financial incentives. Many believe that these incentives help to attract the more desirable and qualified type of employee, decrease turnover, and maintain morale and performance. Non-financial: these are known as personal incentives because they offer an opportunity to develop personal initiative and achievement. A number of research studies have proved the impact of these incentives on performance. Opportunity for advancement, challenge, the type of work, responsibility, good supervision, good working conditions, and recreational programs are some examples of non-financial incentives. Thus for motivating teachers, there should be clearly defined incentives for teachers to undergo training for ICT. These incentives will play an important role to motivate teachers to take the necessary training for ICT. Second, proper support must be given to the teachers so that they can easily get proper training for using ICT in classroom. Finally, adequate technology must be provided to the teachers so they can get acquainted with the proper use of technology. In United Kingdom, a comprehensive curriculum for initial teacher training was prepared by the Department of Education and Skills. This curriculum provides a complete listing of competencies of teacher for using ICT. These competencies include the use of the tools of ICT for teaching and assessment and the abilities and skills to use the hardware and software to use ICT in the classroom. According to the Curriculum, prepared by the United Kingdom Department of Education and Skills, a good and trained teacher must have the following capabilities in order to use the Information and Communication Technology in the class effectively: The teacher must have a aptitude to learn the tools and use of ICT in the class and his or her attitude must be very positive regarding the use of ICT in education He or she must be aware of the potential and importance of ICT for education He or she must possess the necessary capabilities to use the tools of ICT in class with ease The training for ICT use should be provided to the teacher before joining his or her job as a teacher or provided during the job. Pre Job training: the teacher has not been given any job assignment and his attention is focused upon learning the material related to his future job performance. Vestibule training (simulating actual work condition in a classroom), role playing, lecture method, conference or discussion, and programmed instructions are some of the examples of this type of training On-Job Training: Under this method the teacher is placed on a regular job and taught the skill necessary to perform the job. The teacher learns under the supervision and guidance of a qualified worker or instructor As the use of ICT in education increases day by day the requirement for training the teacher properly, so that they can use ICT effectively in class, becoming more pressing. It is not very difficult to understand that without effective and able teachers ICT cannot be implemented in education properly. 4.3 Implementation of ICT: Implementation of ICT in schools is not an easy process but a clear and comprehensive strategy of implementation will make the job easier. Patrik has said that, “I believe that it is the degree of change which nay new technology precipitates, rather than the technologies themselves, which is the most important planning consideration. Thus, a change from a postal – to a fax-based communications system could, for example, be as important as the change from fax and phone to computer-based interaction. In both cases, expectations, requirements and roles suddenly change, and systems must respond to new demands on personnel, procedures and resources. If adaptation cannot occur in time, or if it is inadequate, the enterprise may fail, regardless of the technologies used (Patrik, 2001). The developmental approach of implementing the ICT in schools is an important strategy and used by many schools for implementation of ICT. In this approach the prime objective is to enhance the abilities and competence of the teachers which ultimately enhance their problem solving capabilities. In order to attain the objective of this strategy the following steps should be taken: Train the teachers in such a manner that they can be able to provide the study material and other course related information available to the students and students themselves extract the information which is related to them The information which is related to the teacher must be available for him in a manner that he can easily extract his related information Important information of student, for example grade information, class information, course information must be available to the student through Internet Chapter 5: Conclusion Information and Communication Technology has changed the face of the world. The advent of these new technologies turned the world into a global village and the society into an information society. Information society has affected almost each and every thing of the traditional society, hence Information and Communication technology (ICT) has a great impact on education also. It has been noticed by many scholars that use of ICT has greatly enhanced the rate of achievement of students. But ICT is not easy to implement in the schools. There are several technological and socio-economical barriers in implementing ICT in schools. For example proper training of teachers is necessary before using the ICT in schools. Policy makers do play an important role in implementing and improving the quality of ICT in schools by preparing comprehensive and solid policies for ICT. It is the duty of ICT coordinator to implement these policies in school and managing the whole ICT system to make it successful. Thus we can say that all of the people involved in the implementation of ICT in schools have their own importance and implementation of ICT cannot be successful without anyone of them. References Allegra, M. Chifari A. and Ottaviano, S. (2001). ICT to Train Students towards Creative Thinking. Italian National Research Council. Blackmore, P, Roach, M P and Dempster, J. A. 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