INTEGRATING ICT IN SCHOOLS

LOURDES G. DELA CRUZ

Skills in integrating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in schools should be treated as important as language literacy and numeracy. Many countries see ICT as a potential tool for change and innovation in the education sector. The use of ICT has influenced greatly the way learners learn and the way teachers deliver the lesson. School operations would demand for the aid of technology either for efficiency or effectiveness. ICT refer to electronic tools for exchanging information and communicating including digital cameras, mobile phones, radios, and televisions. Any or all these can help improve educational outcomes (UNESCO Bangkok, E-learning series on ICT, 2009).Use of electronic tools to help improve student’s learning requires teachers to adapt pedagogy on the effective use of technology. This makes us do a lot of effort to use electronic tools for better results. In addition to the devices being tried out, various apps and other online flat forms have become attractive to teachers who wish to innovate in ways they deliver their lesson to the millennials. This effort observed among teachers can be related to what the Department of Education (DepEd) seeks to achieve. DepEd aims to: completely integrate ICT into the curriculum, which includes the development of multimedia instructional materials, and ICT enabled assessment; intensify competency-based professional development programs; establish the necessary ICT infrastructure and applications; and develop processes and systems that ensure efficient, transparent and effective governance.

Teachers play a very crucial role in integrating ICT into the curriculum. A teacher may utilize available ICT resources as productivity tools in which learners learn from technology. A more desired use of ICT is for learners to learn with technology in which they can collaborate with the learning community, communicate what they are able to do with what they know, develop their creativity, and think critically. Aside from the expectation from the teachers in school, there is a high hope for educational leaders to be able to support the application of development relative to ICT integration. Educational leadership has always been important in guiding the wide range of facilities and human resources required by an effective educational system. Moreover, establishing the schools’ICT infrastructure requires consideration of availablerooms for servers, computer units, cables and network points, hubs, and electricity supply. There is also a need for manpower to set up and maintain this infrastructure. Thus, the use of ICT leads to knowledge creation instead of knowledge acqui si t i on.

Despite of the felt need for integrating ICT in the delivery of instruction in schools, its adoption remains slow. Many teachers would say that there are no available technological equipment and multi-media rooms, in addition to lack or very slow internet connection. Even the trainings being provided to teachers are seen to be not enough if not relevant. In some cases, there may be existing resources for integrating ICT but efforts are not sustained. The appropriateness, effectiveness, and sustainability of ICT integration in schools remain to be the challenge as learners conform to the rapidly changing technology.

— oOo— The author is Education Program Supervisor, DepEd Angeles City