Integrating technology into classroom teaching

I HAVE been reading about the teaching of ICT literacy programmes in Chinese primary schools from the news media.

Since I do not know how the programme is taught as an additional lesson during school hours, I should refrain from saying too much about it.

However, as a former Education Technology lecturer at the Teachers’ Training College, I know that teacher trainees have been trained on how to integrate technology into different subject areas to make classroom teaching more effective.

By the time they graduate, they should have sufficient know-how to guide their students to use ICT in the classroom. They need not turn to outside vendors for help.

I certainly do not agree that ICT literacy classes need to be taught outside the classroom during the primary school years.

The best way to teach ICT is to employ an integrated approach rather than teaching it as a separate subject outside the normal curriculum.

Professional bodies such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) strongly advocate the integration of technology into daily classroom teaching and learning. When these tools are used effective- ly, they enhance children’s learning and support education goals.

Young children need to see technology devices being used in a meaningful context and for real life purposes, and that these are tools which can help to solve problems in the world.

Every trained teacher should be able to guide their students in everyday curriculum to search for information from the Internet, document their findings through the use of the word processor, and to present their findings through the presentation software.