Abbas Pourhosein Gilakjani and Seyedeh Masoumeh Ahmadi work with the Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia.
Abstract
The effective and appropriate use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education shows high levels of improvement in teaching and learning processes. The growth of ICT in society is reflected in policies to encourage the use of ICT in education and the development of educational multimedia. As the role of educational multimedia increases, it is increasingly important to have an idea of the potential it affords for teaching and learning. ICT has become commonplace entities in all aspects of life. Within education, the effect of ICT has not been as extensive as in other fields. Education is a very socially oriented activity and it has traditionally been associated with strong teachers having high degrees of personal contact with learners. The use of ICT in education lends itself to more student-centered learning settings and often this creates some tensions for some teachers and students. But with the world moving rapidly into digital media and information, the effect of ICT on education is becoming more and more important and this importance will continue to grow and develop in the following years. The aims of this paper are to review the effect of ICT on learning and learners, teaching and teachers. A review of the literature will determine how ICT can have a strong effect on educational performance, learning, teaching, communication.
Keywords: ICT, teaching, learning, performance, communication
Introduction
There are many theories and studies describing the profound implications of ICT for education: education can be transformed using ICT which brings new capabilities and capacities to learning. ICT has the potential enabling teachers and students to construct rich multi-sensory, interactive environments with almost unlimited teaching and learning potential. ICT offers numerous advantages and provides opportunities for facilitating learning for children who have different learning styles and abilities, including slow learners, the socially disadvantaged, the mentally and physically handicapped, the talented, and those living in remote rural areas; making learning more effective, involving more senses in a multimedia context and more connections in a hypermedia context; and providing a broader international context for approaching problems as well as being more sensitive response to local needs (Amstrong, D. et al., 2004). ICT is said to enable teachers to save time and to increase productivity in such activities as preparing and updating daily lessons; plans, making hard copy visualizations and handouts for classes, as well as individualized educational plans for slower students and students with disabilities or with special problems; presenting visual/oral content materials, tasks, and questions to the audience; maintaining grade books; compiling a data bank of exam questions; online inspection and correction of students’ work on their computers; and keeping records, chronicles, and archives of all the above-mentioned events and proceedings with fast retrieval and easy access to any entry (Unesco, 2005). In this paper, the researchers review the effect of ICT on learning and learners, teaching and teachers.
1. Effect of ICT on Learning
Most educational researchers agree that there is not a direct link between ICT and learning because learning is mediated through the learning environment and ICT is only one element of that environment. Studies that have tried to identify this mediated impact of ICT on learning have found it impossible to entirely remove the effects of other elements of the learning environment. There is little purpose in attempting to compare the cognitive outcomes when using computers, with using a textbook or some other resource. Salomon (1994) supports this view by arguing that it is not possible to study “the impact of computer use in the absence of the other factors” nor to assume that “one factor impacts outcomes independently of the others” (p. 80). The educational aim is to embed the computer support in the learning environment (DeCorte, 1990), rather than to try to isolate its effect on learning. Using computers in learning is concerned with methods of using the technology to create environments and learning situations. If the aim is to offer new learning opportunities or to improve the way in which current learning activities are implemented then the overall effectiveness of learning environments and episodes is of paramount concern, not whether they are more effective with or without computers. Therefore in implementing computer applications it is necessary to start by deciding what a student, teacher or school wants to achieve. To achieve these outcomes, teachers can then rely on long traditions of educational theory, their own experience and knowledge of the educational situation to make decisions about what the learning environment should look like and what inputs into the learning process are required. Finally, teachers can identify what problems are associated with providing these environments and inputs and tailor computer and other support to provide solutions. This approach ends with decisions concerning computer support rather than starting with such decisions (Campione et al., 1990).
While there is no direct link between using ICT and student learning, the weight of evidence shows that indirectly there can be a significant positive effect. Over the past 30 years there has been an increasing amount of research conducted to investigate this impact with increasingly clearer findings of positive impacts when ICT is used appropriately. On average, students who used computer-based instruction scored at the 64th percentile on tests of achievement compared to students in the control conditions without computers who scored at the 50th percentile (Schacter, 1999). West Virginia’s Basic Skills/Computer Education program was more cost effective in improving student achievement than (1) class size reduction from 35 to 20 students, (2) increasing instructional time, and (3) cross age tutoring programs. Differences in attainment associated with the greater use of ICT were clearly present in more than a third of all comparisons made between pupils’ expected and actual scores. Given the right conditions for access and use, significant gains in student learning are recorded with ICT (Becta, 2002).
2. Effect of ICT on the Learners
The effects of ICT on the learners are as follows:
2. 1. Engage students by Motivation and Challenge
Many studies have found that students like to use computers and develop more positive attitudes towards their learning and themselves when they use computers (Réginald Grégoire inc. et al., 1996; Schacter, 1999). Computer systems provide the opportunity to create a wide range of interesting learning experiences (Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, 2000). This is likely to help to maintain student interest and interest a wider range of students (Cradler & Bridgforth, 2002). The interactive and multimedia features within software can be used to help students grapple with concepts and ideas. Students can more readily be provided with similar information and experiences within a variety of contexts (Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, 2000).
2. 2. Provide Tools to Increase Student Productivity
While it may be necessary for students to develop the low-level tasks at some time on most occasions they are pre-requisite to some higher level tasks. Unnecessary repetition of low-level tasks is inefficient, non-motivational and may obscure the real purpose of the learning activity. Many computer applications provide the tools to support students in quickly completing these lower-level tasks so that they can focus on the main purpose of the activity. Word processors, graphics packages, database packages, spreadsheets and other software support the performance of students. The use of tools can help students to solve problems that may have previously been considered to be too difficult for them (Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, 2000). Studies have shown that students often learn more in less time; that is, their productivity increases when they use computer support appropriately (Schacter, 1999).
2. 3. Increasing Learner Independence
Computer systems are increasingly being used to provide learning experiences when and where they are needed. This provides students with greater independence not only in terms of when and where they learn but also what they learn (Cradler & Bridgforth, 2002). Teachers may provide students with access to software allowing students to select different learning experiences. The class does not have to be treated as one group. Students may consider learning topics independently of the teacher (Réginald Grégoire inc. et al., 1996). This is often discussed in terms of lifelong learning, learner-driven learning or project-based learning (Riel, 1998). ICT tools can be used to create records of thoughts and support reflection and assessment of progress (Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, 2000).
2. 4. Collaborative and Cooperative Learning
Researchers have found that the use of ICT leads to more cooperation among learners within and beyond school and a more interactive relationship between students and teachers (Réginald Grégoire inc. et al., 1996). Collaboration is a philosophy of interaction and personal lifestyle where individuals are responsible for their actions, including learning and respect the abilities and contributions of their peers. Cooperation is a structure of interaction designed to facilitate the accomplishment of a specific end product or goal through people working together in groups. Studies have found that ICT provides good support for team-based project work (The National Foundation for the Improvement of Education, 2001). The use of ICT to support collaborative and cooperative learning is extrapolated to the support of a learning community (Riel, 1998).
3. Effect of ICT on teaching
The effect of ICT on teaching can be reviewed by observing and analyzing:
1. The use of specific technologies and applications by teachers
2. Teacher-student relationships
3. General use of ICT
3. 1. Specific technologies and applications
Structured approaches to Internet research have the potential to develop students’ search and research skills which are transferable across the curriculum. These approaches involve various processes such as the use of keywords, the identification of likely information sources, the evaluation of resources found, and the adaptation and synthesis of information from various sources. Using email to create more authentic situations in collaborative projects is a favorite approach for some teachers. Collaborative projects developed most effectively where a clear curriculum context is established on both sides. Chats can be as a means of authentic language teaching. The interactive whiteboard study (Higgins, 2005) found that interactive whiteboards make a difference to aspects of classroom interaction. There is a faster pace (number of interactions between teachers and students) in the whiteboard lessons compared to the non whiteboard lessons. Teachers also give more evaluative responses in whiteboard lessons and address follow up questions to the whole class rather than to an individual pupil. The study found that pupils’ responses were used to involve other pupils in the lesson. Teachers also use interactive whiteboards to support their didactic approach, an interactive approach or an enhanced interactive approach. The enhanced interactive approach integrates conceptual and cognitive development in a way that exploits the interactive capabilities of the technology (Higgins, 2005).
3. 2. Teacher-student relationships
The effects of ICT in educational contexts are its potential to alter the teacher-learner relationship, to shift the balance from the dominant provider/recipient model to a more facilitative approach, thereby promoting greater independence of learning. Teachers are aware that ICT can change the way they interact with their pupils. This is evident when teachers encourage students to explore software within a clear structure of teacher support and intervention. Increased pupil autonomy brings with it less teacher control over activities and therefore teachers report monitoring problems. It is not always possible to determine the extent to which the pupils are actually learning. Control is a concept deeply rooted in traditional teaching and education and so giving up control and placing more trust in pupils seems to be difficult for teachers. Even though most teachers recognize the potential benefits of collaborative working with ICT, far fewer actually capitalize on this. Some of the best examples of the use of ICT are when lessons move through different modes of teacher/pupil interaction, which involve both in a variety of roles, and where intended and actual use coincided (Comber, C. et al., 2002; Harrison, C. et al., 2002).
3. 3. General use of ICT
ICT can enhance teaching in several ways:
1. by enhancing what is already practiced and
2. by introducing new and better ways of teaching and learning.
3. Engaging students in project oriented tasks and encouraging them to work in groups as well as individually, e.g. searching for information on the Internet;
4. Differentiating between students;
5. Enabling pupils more often to work individually than together;
6. Using ICT where and when it supports the subject content of their teaching, rather than to support their pedagogical methods (Ramboll, 2006).
Teachers should increase their use of ICT in lessons where students search for information on the Internet and further the use of both standard and subject specific Applications. Teachers should exploit the creative potential of ICT and engage students more actively in the production of knowledge. “ICT generally has a positive impact on teaching and learning situations, but compared with the ideal expectations, the impact of ICT on teaching and learning must still be considered to be limited” (Ramboll, 2006). ICT improves pupil performance and can be used as a tool to support both subject content and pedagogy. Teachers can use ICT the most, use ICT in the most project–oriented, collaborative and most experimental ways. The impact of ICT is highly dependent on how it is used. Teachers see the greatest impact of ICT in quite different teaching and learning situations. Some teachers feel ICT has greatest impact when used to as a tool to create a physical product, others see ICT as a powerful tool to support group and project work (Ramboll, 2006).
4. Effect of ICT on Teachers
Teachers are a key component in the learning environment and therefore the effect of ICT on teachers and the strategies they employ to facilitate the environment are important. Using ICT to support learning requires change for all teachers whereas clearly some teachers have been creating appropriate learning environments for years without using ICT. However, these teachers tend to use ICT because they perceive that in doing so they will provide even better such environments (Becker et al., 1999). Some general areas of ICT effect may be identified as,
1. the balance of roles they play with a perceived risk of reduced influence,
2. providing greater access to information, leading to increased interest in teaching and
3. experimentation (Cradler & Bridgforth, 2002),
4. requiring more collaboration and more communication with teachers, administrators,
5. parents (Cradler & Bridgforth, 2002),
6. requiring more planning and energy,
7. requiring the development of skills and knowledge of ICT, and
8. providing more time to engage with students, leading to greater productivity (Cradler & Bridgforth, 2002).
Conclusion
Knowing how educational technology changes teaching practices as well as the ways in which students learn, is fundamental for evaluating its effectiveness and for developing better tools. We must be sensitive to the ways in which technology use can affect outcomes, and must consider the ways in which individual differences change the use of technology as well as learning processes and outcomes. Information and Communication Technology facilitates teaching learning process. Using ICT, learners are able to participate in learning communities throughout the world. They are independent and free in choice of their programs of study and access to the resources. They may learn collaboratively, share information, exchange their learning experiences and work through cooperative activities in learning communities. ICT facilitates teaching learning process in more productive fashion. Teacher facilitates and guides the learners in their study playing the role of a coach or mentor. Teacher is not at the center of the instruction and sole source of information as in conventional classrooms. He/she decides contents/experiences and/or activities, locates the resources and guides learners how to have access and utilize the information for required outcomes. ICT is restructuring teaching learning process to meet the International standards. Where studies have been conducted to measure the direct impact of ICT on student learning and teaching it has not been possible to identify a purely ICT effect disentangled from other elements of the learning environment. Furthermore, it has become increasingly difficult to measure student learning as more is understood of the complexities of learning. These factors have to be taking into consideration when looking at the evidence for ICT and learning and ICT and teaching. Fundamentally any change is aimed at improving the educational opportunities for all students and not just to make use of ICT. At all times the focus must be on improved outcomes for students and not on how the technology is used. Clearly we cannot be satisfied with the educational outcomes for students and we can make significant improvements with the appropriate use of ICT. Large investments should be made in ICT to maximize its effect on learning outcomes for students and teaching methods for teachers.
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