Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) is defined as computer based tools used by
people all over the world to work with the information and communication
processing. These technologies are used in conveying, manipulation and storage
of data by electronic means. Nowadays, ICT has been used extensively for
various reasons by wide user groups include teachers and students at Malaysian
school. This application becomes an important part of teaching and learning
because almost their activity need involve ICT. Furthermore, ICT can make
students study more interactive. Through ICT, images can easily be used in
teaching and improving the retentive memory of students, teachers can easily
explain complex instructions and ensure student’s comprehension.
Ministry
of Education for ICT had formulated three policies in order to integrate ICT in
teaching and learning in school. The first policy is that of ICT for all
students, meaning that ICT is used as an enabler to reduce the digital gap
between the schools. The second policy emphasizes the role and function of ICT
in education as a teaching and learning tool, as part of a subject, and subject
by itself. Apart from the radio and television as a teaching and learning tool,
this policy stresses the use of the computer for accessing information,
communication, and as a productivity tool.
The third policy emphasizes using
ICT to increase productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of the management
system. ICT will be extensively used to automate and mechanize work processes
such as the processing of official forms, timetable generation, management of
information systems, lesson planning, financial management, and the maintenance
of inventories.
However, the act of integrating ICT into teaching
and learning is a complex process and one that may encounter a number of issues
and challenges. One of the issues is time. Time constraints are one of the
frequent issues stated by students and teachers. Some of the students felt that
learning using a computer is very time consuming and they had only “one hour
and 10 minutes” in the classroom to do research. If they do not have the
internet at home then they have to go to a cybercafe outside the school which
is very difficult for them. Moreover, teachers also need to prepare 5-10
minutes earlier if they want to use a computer lab for teaching. They have to
go the classroom and take the student to the computer lab and sometimes the
distance between the classroom and the computer lab is quite far. The fact that
the computers and the Internet connection are very slow also contributes to
this problem.
The second issues is lack of effective training. By
focusing on basic ICT skills, training fails to prepare teachers to integrate
ICT in their pedagogy. The teachers
claimed that they never
been
trained in computer literacy and we're looking forward to attending such
courses like other colleagues. The results of the research showed that after
teachers had attended professional development courses in ICT they still did
not know how to use ICT in their classroom instead they just knew how to run a
computer and set up a printer. Without strong leadership, not every student
will enjoy the technology’s advantages.
The
next issue is the difficulty to provide the latest update of software in
school. The most significant items of ICT are computer hardware and software. Only
limited high quality software is available and this does not meet the demands
for the new technologies in education. Underlying this problem is the lack of
knowledge of right materials that can be used to promote different kinds of
learning. Not many teachers are trained to design and develop software suitable
for different levels of students.
Besides
that, lack of technical support also is one of the issues. Without both good
technical support in the classroom and whole-school resources, teachers cannot
be expected to overcome the barriers preventing them from using ICT. ICT
integration in science teaching especially
needs a technician to assist teachers to use ICT in the classroom. These
technical barriers included waiting for websites to open, failing to connect to
the internet, printers not printing, malfunction computers and teachers having
to work on older computers. If there is a lack of technical support available
in a school, then it is likely that technical maintenance will not be carried
out regularly, resulting in a higher risk of technical breakdowns.
Teachers
have a strong desire for the integration ICT into education but that they encountered
many challenges to it. ICT resources including software and hardware, effective
professional development, sufficient time and technical support need to be
provided for teachers. No one good component in itself is sufficient to produce
good teaching. However, the presence of all components increases the likelihood
of excellent integration of ICT in learning and teaching opportunities.
2.0
Fila Chart
FACTS
|
IDEAS
|
LEARNING
ISSUES
|
ACTION PLANS
|
·
ICT application has become an
important part of teaching and learning
·
The Ministry of Education has
invested a huge effort in terms of founding a training to equip teachers and
students with ICT skills
·
Integrating ICT in teaching and
learning in school has challenges
|
·
To get information
·
Almost all fields of student
activity involve ICT
·
Interactive learning
·
Malaysia Ministry of Education has
formulated three main policies for ICT in education
·
Lack of lesson time
·
Lack of effective training
·
Lack of appropriate software
|
·
What are the fields that students
need to use ICT?
·
Why ICT can make students study
more interactive?
·
What are the three main policies
that had been formulated by the Ministry of Education of ICT in education?
·
What factors causes the time
constraint?
·
Why teachers do not have an
effective training?
·
How lack of appropriate software
give negative impact in integrating ICT in school.
|
·
Do some research about the
policies of ICT
·
Upgrade the internet connection
·
The government should launch an
effective training in computer literacy
·
Provide the latest up to date
software in school.
|
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