AOI 2-EDUCATION

ICT has had a huge impact on education, the way lessons are taught and how schools are run.

Here is a quick overview of some of the changes brought about by ICT in education

Prior to ICT


With ICT



This is how many of your teachers remember their days at school


This classroom is probably far more familiar to you.




Teachers used to write notes onto the blackboard using chalk and students would copy them into their notebooks. You are more likely to find an interactive whiteboard or digital projector in classroom nowadays. Students can participate in lessons by highlighting or selecting things on the whiteboard. Notes can even be printed off by the teacher and given to students.




School attendance used to be recorded twice daily in paper registers. Many schools are now moving over to using electronic registration. Details are uploaded to the school administration system and attendance is automatically updated within a few seconds of the register being taken.




Some schools are using technology to the full and have introduced swipe cards for students and even the latest fingerprint identification systems to check that students are actually in school.

Here are some other changes that have happened in the school environment due to new ICT technology

Prior to ICT


With ICT



Dinner money used to be sent into school each week as cash, in small brown envelopes. Nowadays, many schools use swipe cards. Students use a machine to ‘load’ up their card with money and use this at the till to pay for their food.




You would be warned that it was the end of break or dinnertime by a teacher ringing a hand bell. Most schools now use electronic bells which are on an automatic timer to tell you about the end of lessons and breaks.




When letters needed to be sent home, the school secretary would have to type them individually. Any mistakes meant that they would have to be retyped from scratch. All letters, reports and documents are now created using a computer. Any mistakes can be corrected immediately.




All student records used to be stored in paper files and kept safe inside a filing cabinet. Most schools are now using electronic Management Information Systems. They can search for a student using the computer and find out all of the relevant details in a matter of seconds.

Encyclopedias

Teachers have always encouraged students to use encyclopedias as a research tool. Encyclopedias are a set of reference books containing a wide range of factual knowledge, usually arranged by topic or by alphabetical order. Full sets were expensive and most schools could only afford one or two, which were stored in the library.

There has been a move towards using electronic versions of encyclopedias which can be stored on the school network. This means that students can access them at any time using any computer in the school.

Self learning

The traditional way of learning is for a teacher to stand at front of the classroom and explain the theory. They might then back this up by giving you some reading to do from a text book or further research from an Internet site.

There are other ways of imparting knowledge to students. Many companies are now producing ‘self -learning’ or ‘self- teaching’ packages. These are generally available as a CD-ROM or DVD. They are purchased from a specialist company and loaded onto your personal computer.

These packages contain all of the theory that you need for a particular course. The theory is broken up into logical sections and is usually accompanied by practical exercises and interactive tests.

Advantages of self learning packages


Disadvantages of self learning packages
No teacher needed No social interaction
Students can work at their own pace Cannot ask questions of the teacher
Students can revisit a section as many times as they need Cannot gain clarification if you do not understand a section
Students do not feel embarrassed by getting things wrong in front of others Generally expensive
Contain a wide range of multi-media materials Need self discipline to keep up to date with the course and do the work

Distance learning

Distance learning is not the same as ‘self-learning’.

Sometimes people cannot attend regular classes for a variety of reasons. They may live in a geographically remote location where there are few if any schools. They may be physically disabled or unwell and unable to leave their home or the hospital.

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Distance learning uses technology such as the Internet to enable a student to access the lesson and teaching materials from a remote location. The instructor and student are usually in physically separate locations but can communicate via video conferencing, e-mails and bulletin boards.

Most colleges and universities offer some distance-learning programmes now, from language courses to full undergraduate degrees, postgraduate programmes and MBAs. Some even offer courses or programmes entirely over the Internet – these are often call e-courses or online courses.