Seminar on Scope of ICT in Teaching-Learning Process

Introduction:

ICT stands for "Information and Communication Technologies." It refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications. It is similar to Information Technology (IT), but focuses primarily on communication technologies. This includes the Internet, wireless networks, cell phones, and other communication mediums. UNESCO has defined ICT as “forms of technology that are used to transmit, process, store, create, display, share or exchange information by electronic means. It includes not only traditional technologies like radio and  television, but also modern ones like 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.”

The phrase ICT has been used by academic researchers since the 1980s. ICT covers any product that will store, retrieve, manipulate, transmit or receive information electronically in a digital form. Information and Communication Technology can also be defined as the combination of informatics technology with other, related technologies, specifically communication technology. ICT has no universal definition, since the concepts, methods and applications involved in ICT are constantly evolving on an almost daily basis.

Significance of ICT in Education:

          The ever-growing computer-centric lifestyle has resulted in the rapid influx of computers in the modern classroom. ICT has become a major factor in shaping the new global economy and producing rapid changes in society. Within the past decades, the new information technology tools have fundamentally changed the way people communicate and do business. They have produced significant changes in industry, agriculture, business, engineering, administration and other fields. It also has the potential to change the nature of education. Thus computer has a unique role to play in the life of modern man. Modern man has to be educated in ICT, if he wants to reap its benefits. So computer education becomes indispensable for the men of our age. ICT can contribute to:

v  Universal  access to education,

v  Equity in education,

v  The delivery of quality learning and teaching,

v  Teachers’ professional development,

v  More efficient education management, governance and administration,

v  Lifelong learning.

Any educational program that is purely delivered through ICTs, or with ICT delivered content as the primary backbone of the teaching-learning process, such as online courses through the web, is ICT enabled education. This form of education requires ICT access and requires that the learners use ICTs as a primary or basic medium of instruction.

Scope of ICT in Teaching-Learning Process:

              ICT has great potential for improving the teaching-learning process. Effective learning is possible by five sensory means. According to Psychological study, humans can grasp 80% knowledge visually, 15% through hearing and 5% with the rest of the sensory items. So it becomes necessary to present the content by attractive ways. Through ICT tools, rich presentation can be provided. Various components like text matter presentation, animation, graphic presentation, audio presentation, video presentation etc. can be made used of, in order to provide rich presentation.

The following are the benefits that teachers and students can gain using ICT tools:

v  Interactive Sessions: Through ICT, teachers are able to create interactive classes and make the lessons more enjoyable, which could improve student attendance and concentration.

v  Simplification of Complex Ideas: ICT makes it easy for the teachers to explain complex instructions, ideas and concepts. ICTs such as videos, television and multimedia computer software that combine text, sound and colourful, moving images can be used to simplify complex portions or contents. It also ensures students' comprehension and makes them engaged in the learning process.

v  Wide horizon of knowledge: More so than any other type of ICT, networked computers with internet connectivity provide a wide horizon of knowledge. They can increase learner motivation as it combines the media richness and interactivity of other ICTs with the opportunity to connect real people and to participate in real world events.

v  Live Activities: Live activities are teacher led activities conducted in a class environment, where the teacher is present, and orchestrates the activity. These activities are managed from the Smart Class platforms. Students here get an exposure to the technological world through which they can learn things quickly and with much interest.

v  Learners’ Autonomy: The basic underlying concept behind ICT enabled classrooms is to enable students to learn themselves without the help of teacher. Through visual classrooms, teachers can also interact with students through teleconferencing and it is not necessary that the teacher should be in the class. Here, teacher takes the role of a facilitator and helps students to learn things by themselves.

v  Multimedia Exercises: Multimedia is a content that uses a combination of different forms such as text, audio, images, animation and video. Various applications of multimedia are found in art, education, entertainment, medicine, business, scientific research etc. Today’s generation of students gets excited about using interactive multimedia exercises as part of their learning curriculum.

Conclusion:

          In the present technological era, ICT occupies a vital role in the teaching-learning process. It develops the capabilities of both the teacher and the learner. Therefore, all the advantages of ICT should be efficiently used in order to make the teaching-learning process a relaxed as well as a refined one.