Globalization and technological change—processes that have accelerated in tandem over the past fif-teen years—have created a new global economy “powered by technology, fueled by information and driven by knowledge.” The emergence of this new global economy has serious implications for the nature and purpose of educational institutions. As the half-life of information continues to shrink and access to information continues to grow exponentially, schools cannot remain mere venues for the transmission of a prescribed set of information from teacher to student over a fixed period of time. Rather, schools must promote “learning to learn,” : i.e., the acquisition of knowledge and skills that make possible continuous learning over the lifetime.“The illiterate of the 21century,” according to 21st futurist Alvin Toffler,“will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn,and relearn.”
Pedagogy & Its Basics In Education
Pedagogy is a word derived from Greek roots that literally translates to the idea of leading a child. In English, the word receives numerous definitions, most related to education. It is the art of teaching, its theory, its practice, and its methods. Sticklers for definition point out that the word should only be applicable to children and sometimes suggest that practice of, methods for, and theories about teaching adults should be called andragogy.
Whether or not pedagogy in all its senses is consciously defined, most forms of formal teaching involve it, in several ways. This has always been true. Teachers enter classrooms or other settings with theories or ideas on how best to teach, they decide what materials to cover, and these underlying principals inform their actions and subjects in teaching settings.
Formal discussion of pedagogy can be found thousands of years ago. One of the most well known ancient discussions of this occurred in Greece in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. Itinerant teachers called the Sophists plied their craft, teaching rhetoric to young men throughout Greece. In contrast, formal schools like Isocrates’ and Aristotle’s sought to limit the teaching of rhetoric to specific forms, and philosophers like Plato, though influential to Aristotle, argued against teaching it at all. Exactly what should be taught and how it should be taught were a deep pedagogical concern, and the ongoing history of education shows this question is never fully answered.
It can be said that the expansion of education to almost all people in many modern societies has simply created numerous arguments on what learning theory is supposed to be, what subjects should be taught, and how teachers ought to behave to best instruct their students. Many teachers today have a fairly clear sense of what their pedagogy is. They teach based on the theories about learning they believe are most accurate. Actions in a classroom are honed through learning and practice.
Pedagogical approach can also be influenced by a teaching facility’s specific standards. Subject matter certainly is. An elementary school instructor is often told exactly what material to cover, based on country or state standards. These are also reliant on pedagogical ideas about what subjects are most important for children to learn.
Essentially, the idea of pedagogy concerns several related concepts. It is created from theories on learning, which then influences practice and/or subject. A teacher always has a pedagogy, even if it is not clearly defined. It is worth defining it, though, because a more conscious sense of the underlying methods that produce different types of teaching and learning, can help instructors refine those methods to be more effective in their work.
Types
It is of various types but the basic types are as follows :
- Critical Pedagogy
- Classroom Pedagogy
- Educational Pedagogy
- History Pedagogy
- Active Pedagogy
- E-Pedagogy/online pedagogy
From the above pedagogy types critical pedagogy and E-pedagogy is the most conventional pedagogy used in classroom transaction.
Critical Pedagogy
Critical pedagogy is a form of education in which students are encouraged to question dominant or common notions of meaning and form their own understanding of what they learn. This type of approach is especially popular in potentially subjective fields of study such as literature, art, and even history. One of the central ideas of this teaching method is that students are able to build their own meaning when learning and teachers should facilitate that process rather than “force” meaning upon the students. Critical pedagogy tends to accomplish this end by striving to help students “unlearn” previous lessons that may enforce dominant thought and “relearn” their own ideas.
In education, pedagogy refers to educational schools of thought or philosophies regarding how people learn and how teachers should assist in that learning. It can range from traditional forms of pedagogy where the teacher acts as a “sage on the stage,” standing at the front of the room and telling the students what they should know to less traditional methods of teaching in which students build meaning for themselves. This latter category would include critical pedagogy, as it seeks to allow students to create meaning in what they learn outside of what others have said something should mean.
One of the easiest ways to consider critical pedagogy is in the field of literature, where it can be applied quite effectively. In older forms of education, students would often read a work of literature and the teacher would then inform them of what the story or poem meant.
Critical pedagogy is driven by the desire to demonstrate that there is not a single “correct” interpretation or reading of a work of literature. The students are encouraged to build their own meaning based on their own experiences and views, and this type of personal reading tends to create a stronger connection between a reader and work of literature. Rather than demonstrating knowledge of a “correct” answer, the student instead must be able to support his or her reading of the work using text
E-Pedagogy/Online Pedagogy
DIAGRAM : THE TEN E-PEDAGOGICAL PRINCIPLES
1. THE SHIFT FROM TEACHING TO LEARNING
The current online pedagogy is following up the globally desirable trend of a "shift from teaching to learning" Simultaneously the online pedagogy takes on a key position in the fundamental institutional change of the higher education sector. The ICT changes in an increasing degree the roles and relationships of learners and teachers by interfering and changing their interactions. The process of student's learning arrives at the focus of attention. The (traditional) tasks of an effective presentation, that is the task to transport learning contents into the presence in order to make them perceivable and learnable, will still persist. But in a virtual learning room they constitute just one variable (amongst others). In contrast the learner's activities are moving very distinctively into the foreground. Thus it is not sufficient - and all participants in the cevu-network agree on that argument - just to put the teaching material into the internet. Online pedagogy, as it is understood here, mainly focuses on the activities of the learners and observes the teachings primarily from the point of view of support.
2. STUDENT - CENTERED APPROACH
Thus the student-centered approach can be seen as the common pedagogical frame for the Co-operation. This approach is based on the deepened understanding of student' s learning. The learning process of the student is not just understood as a procedure in a black box, in which only the input of presented knowledge and the output of the known is observed, that for example just has to be reproduced in an exam. In a mainly divided constructivist perspective the student' s (collegiate) learning. is seen rather as an active, individual and socio-cultural process that is dealing with the construction of cognition and competences. The students create in the process their own structure of knowledge of the studied discipline and they develop acting opportunities that enable them to treat knowledge in a competent manner. In the context of online pedagogy the teaching aspires to support the students in this process. In comparison to the teacher-centered pedagogy the focus is shifting to the observation of implications for learning, the orientation to the process of learning and the feedback activities of the teachers regarding the progress in learning.
3. CONSTRUCTION OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND LEARNINGADVICE
In the student-centered approach the emphasis is moving from the traditional instructional-centered teaching towards the support of learning. The construction of learning environments and learning advice is evolving as one central task of the teachers. In the setting of pedagogical interaction respective communication the teachers are less occupied with the procurement of learning material. In fact the learning material is integrated within the content management in a pedagogical design and is mainly available as virtual information in the net. The construction of a media -rich learning community enables the students to access the knowledge and the tools for the organizing, elaborating and critical- proving, reproductive acquisition of codificated knowledge assets. With the precise selection and acquisition of knowledge the interaction between teachers and learners occurs less in form of instruction, but rather as interaction in which the students adopt the role of counsel-seekers and the teaches the role of counsel-givers.
4. ACTIVE LEARNING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES
The students acquire an active role in above described learning arrangements. To be able to fulfill this role, they do not only have to cope with the added responsability for their learning, but also they have to dispose of suitable learning strategies. This applies to the cognitive exposure with knowledge (organisation, elaboration, critical examination and retrieval) as well as to the meta-cognitive strategies of planning, controlling and regulating the own learning processes and also the application of internal motivational and external supportive resources. In particular in relation to the knowledge management the virtual environment poses increased requirements (to the learners). But even apart from this facet the learning strategies within ICT-conditions face particular molding neccesities reacting to the special characteristics of virtual learning environments. The objective of online pedagogy is to place a adequate support at the disposal. The participants of the cevu-network agree on that point that particular attention has to be paid to the objectives of scientific learning. Thus in the area of learning strategies the so-called deep approach is favored. This approach rates the understanding of theories and coherences higher than the sheer reproduction of facts.
5. SELF-ORGANISED AND SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING
The students can only adopt responsibility for their own learning process, if they are in the position to organise and steer their learning process theirselfs. They can only then cope with this demand if they are able to use the prepared learning environment accordingly to their individual learning pre-requisites or to adapt the environment accordingly to their needs (self-organised) and to make independent decisions regarding their learning ways (self-directed). This scenario implies a disposition settled in the motivational pre-conditions to do, what you are able to do and to want to do this also (volition).
6. GENERIC COMPETENCES
The above mentioned Shift from teaching to learning has the objective to focus on the learning outcomes. From this point of view it seems not sufficient to only foster the acquisition of knowledge. It is certain that knowledge acquisition is now a main task of studying and will be so in the future. Scientific knowledge is the basis of subject-oriented competences. But in relation to these kind of competences the acquisition of the so called generic competence becomes more and more important. Generic competences enable the academics to behave in social contexts in an efficient and reponsible manner (social competences) to cultivate self-awareness and personal enhancement (personal competences) and to make appropriate use of scientific knowledge in the whole field of practice (methodological competences). Online pedagogy is committed to combine the development of both types of competences, subject-oriented and generic competences into complex competences of the purpose of acting.
7. INTERACTIVE, COOPERATIVE AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
In fact learning always will be bound to the individual learner. Therefore it is of high value that learning in general is realized in (social) connections. Thus learning not only is intensified. At the same time learning opens up a social dimension in which evolve social competences to act. These competences are essential for scientific work and teamwork. In media-enabled placement the interactive and collaborative learning faces particular demands, whose handling needs special competences. Indeed there is a consensus in the network, that the interactive, cooperative and collaborative aspects of learning deserve the highest degree of attention. In the lang run cooperative and collaborative learning may lead to develop learning communities.
8. INTERNATIONAL AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
The global structure of the world wide web not only enables, but even demands to realize interactive and collaborative learning in an international range. At the same time international communication implies and fosters language competences. That includes not only the communicative abilities. In addition international communication is as well a tool for understanding as also an instrument to access new horizons of understanding, in which the personal knowledge can be integrated into the globalised scientific culture and leads to a better multicultural understanding.
9. AUTHENTIC SITUATED LEARNING
In virtual rooms it is especially the abstraction, the extraction of the objects of learning out of their traditional contexts that demands their media -based recontextualisation. Virtual learning reproduces at the level of a second reality the authentic of simulative learning. The online pedagogy disposes of an abundant repertoire of simulative methods, which enable the observation and manipulation of a multitude of correlations, that keep hidden in real time and real environments. The disadvantages of inadequate real encounters stands vis-à-vis to the advantages of an intensive reflection with pedagogical reconstructions.
10. CONCEPTS OF MODELING
Finally the global trend tends to favor the learning in virtual learning environments, that not only provides pre-determined knowledge structures and contents, but exposes them as problems, case studies or research questions. Adequate for these learning arrangements are pedagogical concepts of a problem-oriented, case-oriented or (guided) enquiry-oriented learning. The participants of the cevu- network agree that the research-adequate learning starts with these pedagogical approaches, which accesses the learning objects on the basis of theories and methods of studied science.
E-PEDAGOGICAL DESIGN & MODELING
If we follow the above stated educational beliefs as leading principals it is not useful to construct pedagogical models as pre-requisites for the design of learning environments as e.g. learning platforms, learning systems, teaching and learning’s arrangements. Facing the fact that the whole spectrum of media-based options for teaching and learning arrangements is currently still in a state of development and pledges to offer a high degree of diversity, the claim of a "design-oriented pedagogy for media" is to dependent on premises respective is doomed to fail when it is confronting the reality of media, that is profoundly based on a division of labor and organized in an unequal and non-simultaneous way.
E-PEDAGOGICAL FUNCTIONS
Thus we propose pedagogy aligned pragmatically to the pedagogical functions that are organized within the perspective of educational beliefs around topics like content-, process- and media-based scientific learning and studying. The world of technological and media-based rooms is seen as a variable design of these technological options and embedded in a context of configured knowledge management, cognition and reflection, communication and action.
Indeed this procedure demands a solid infrastructural supply with plurality of technique and media. Solitary and system-embedded, excellent solutions are also urgently needed. This demands a pedagogy of open scenarios and adequate media-based blended-learning environments, in which courses of present and net-based teaching and learning in higher education coexist and add to each other.
1. AUTHORING AND REPRESENTATION
(orientation on content and process, creating learning arrangements (problem-based learning, research- oriented learning, scenario studies, case studies, experimental environments), designing interactivity (reception, multiple actions, modification, manipulation, construction)
The pedagogical function of the selection and presentation of contents needs to be conform with the system and the standards of scientific declaration systems. The selection of the content nonetheless is more oriented towards learning than referring solely to the subject and has to be conceptualized respecting aspects of designing interactivity, reception, multiple actions, modification, manipulation and construction. They have to be configured within a learning environment, which takes into account authentic and reality-oriented contexts, situates learning in correlations of acting and allows problem- based learning procedures (creating learning arrangements, problem-based learning, research-oriented learning, scenario studies, case studies, experimental environments). They also should be multi- perspective (learn-logic, structure-logic, problem-logic and so on), allow learn-motivated access, permit loops, enable the manipulation of parameters, the adaptation towards personal learning styles and inventive learning methods and support self-sterring and self-organisation. The presentation should offer a variety of interactive manipulations and be organised in a self-adaptive and learner-adaptive way.
2: MODERATION AND FACILITATION
(allocating rolls, moderating, coaching, facilitation of reading, writing, understanding, presenting, warming-up, motivation, elaboration, examination etc., self-organization, communication, collaboration)
Pedagogical action aims at interrelating teaching and learning. On the one hand teaching in this sense serves the purpose to enable respective facilitate learning. If it is not just the case of individual learning - which are common in learning contexts of higher education - but the interaction within a learning group and with a teachers is meant, the teaching defines the modus of interaction, insofar as the interaction takes place within the learning process. In this sense facilitation and moderation constitute basic pedagogical functions that have to be realised in online teaching respective blended learning exactly like in a face-to-face situation.
The peculiarity in online teaching respective blended learning is the mediation of these functions by means of ICT. For this reason various options of communication that have been practised in face-to- face situations do not apply here. In particular this is true for the whole richness of non-verbal and mimic aspects of interaction characterizing the "normal" communication in a considerable manner. These means of understanding are replaced in media -based interactions by explicit forms of communication. At the same time the methods used for moderation and facilitation in face-to-face situations can be transferred into media -based interaction and be adapted respective modified within these virtual learning environments. From the point of view of pedagogical funncions these aspects result in the requirement to explicate moderation and facilitation within explicit acts of talking. This refers to the whole variation range of learning actions such as reading and reproducing, asking, discussing, exploring, contructing, understanding, interpreting and communicating in a discursive manner and so on. In particular this refers also to the way how the participants of a learning group are connected to each other and thus create a collaborative work. The scope of collaboration includes simple forms of organising a list of speakers, the moderation of dicussion, the summary, the articulation of tasks as well as micro- pedagogical formats of classes. The whole range of pedagogical options for arranging face-to-face courses (such as working in small groups, change from small groups to plenum, expert hearings, fishbowls and so on) has to be transferred into ICT - environments and to be equipped with new of norms of communication adequate for the media.
3 - WORKING WITH TOOLS AND COGNITIVE TOOLS
(collaborative tools, presentation tools, annotation, modelling, creating text and hyper-text, knowledge management, construction)
ICT environments offer particular media-based qualities that are singular and specific compared to other types of media. They change the handling of knowledge and information, the representation, the perception, the communication and the production of knowledge. In contexts of teaching and learning this development is observed as enrichness of heurisics by means of embroadened techniques of retrieval, program-based solutions for presentation and visualisation, socio-technical systems of knowledge management or collaboration, modeling virtualisation. Next to "small" solutions of manipulative or interactive techniques for explorative learning, support of cooperative learning there arise completely new learning scenarios in the context of automatic man-machine interfaces of learning and adaptive knowledge management within telematic and virual environments. Cognitive tools add to and enhance the pedagogical perspectives on the subject of teaching and learning. The ICT – context changes the notion of ''tools'' "media competence" and "pedagogy" The diversity of cognitive tools can be arranged in levels of complexity. First of all there can be named tools that support the exploration of learning environments and facilitate the use of media, e.g. functions of awareness which within the learning environment call attention to events. Tools that enable one's own achievements of construction in the net possess already a more complex structure like e.g. tools for authoring or modeling of presentations.
Moreover we have to take tools into consideration that enable the realisation of virtual learning environments and the production of simulations. Also in reference to ICT competences different levels of complexity can be differed. They range from an "easy" use of applications and achievements of construction such as the production of scientific texts, the modeling of processes and so on to autonomous realisations of programs respective modifications of programs.
These cognitive tools and technical competences are arranged preliminary to the pedagogical competences relating to ICT. In a deeper sense they have to be integrated into the pedagogical strategies. These pedagogical strategies range from moderation respective guidance of learning and work processes and the preparation of course concpets like tutorials to pedagogical meta-models. The pedagogical meta-modeling offers tools for the orientation and the arrangement of pedagogical designs, e.g. situated learning, problem-based learning, case-oriented studies and so on.
4 - SUPPORTING LEARNING STRATEGIES
(awareness, annotation, personal adaptation of the interface, learner adaptation, voting, brainstorming, follow your own, exploring, manipulating, experimenting)
Learning strategies achieve a special importance in ICT environments. They are the answers to questions regarding motivation, socialization, habitus, cognitive and meta-cognitive competences, volitional competence, curiosity and waywardness. Currently ICT favors the visual sense and curtails the human perception with the sensual reduced interface design. Hence elaborate designed interfaces try to reconstruct the perceivable of the interface. The far reaching consequences of this development result in the artificial re-introduction of dimensions of perception. These endeavors have to be taken into account in particular in contexts of teaching and learning and are not sufficiently covered by means of usability, adaptation and customization. Examples for pre-requisites that have to be realized include explicit support tools for presence and absence, socially differentiated interrelations, roles and functions, explorative and experimental environments, differentiation of one's own and alien, scales for observation, functions of annotation, summary of content and sequel of manipulations, interactions, interactivity and virtuality, differentiation of levels of reality longing from "real" to "fictional", "virtual" and so on, data security, security of privacy and the right to secure rooms. The crossroads between media amounts in the context of blended learning to a particular problem. If learning strategies are not appropriate respected within the face-to- face classes, the new environments offer the chance of an integral reconstruction of the learning actions. In addition the problem shows a new facet on the level of ICT environments. Learn media, cognitive tools and simulation media tend to inscribe curricula, pedagogies and strategies of learning into the programs of ICT. Thus they become implicit qualities of the programs. In contrast it is important to explicitly form the curricula, pedagogy and learning competence and to make them flexible for arrangement and perceivable within the media. As a consequence the democratic legitimating of the construction process of media, the process of reconstruction in the context of teaching and learning and the arrangement in permanence result as new tasks.
5: EVALUATION, SELF-STEERING, CONTROL AND SELF-CONTROL
(assessment, control and self control organizing feedback, tracking, self controlling by portfolio, last and not least controlling)
The assessment in ICT environment serves mainly two purposes: on the one hand the institutional and administrative steering, control and evaluation qualification processes and on the other hand the steering and evaluation of of teaching and learning processes. Regarding the current circumstances it can be observed the extension of the technical and media infrastructure for institutional and administrative tasks, in particular as a consequence of micro-structured modularization and international competition. From the perspective of pedagogical functionality the steering and evaluation of teaching and learning processes and the involved actors are at least of the same, if not of higher importance. Here we observe right now significant deficits. There is a reconstruction of the assessment as a steering instrument for the environment of teaching and learning needed. In this context a set of instruments is moving into the focus such as self-observation, self-description, differencited and scaled processes of feedback and tracking of activities, the realisation of minutes and portfolios, symmertic feedback of students regarding feedback, the steering of learning processes and finally motivating assessments of teachers.They are integral part of a scientific qualification process based primarily on self-directed and self-organised processes, that in the sense of a research-based study and learning-based research is edging closer to academic qualification and initiation to the premise of science.
As universal recording machines ICT media are good instruments of assessment. But nonetheless they include a whole range of problems regarding the security of data and privacy. Moreover the attention should focus on program-embedded solutions that support the self-steering with respect to the privacy, room for options and choices, social awareness and distinctive ideas.
6 - ORIENTATION ON LEARNING COMMUNITIES
(collaborative learning supported by hypermedia-environments, changing roles and patterns, symmetric learning behavior, new relationship between learners as partners, coaching strategies, changing perspectives, ad-hoc relationship and free communities)
The most important and comprehensive innovation supported by hypermedia-environments are collaborative learning scenarios. There is a big chance for changing traditional roles and making and taking new roles. Patterns of behaviour can be changed and new patterns should be set up, that refer to a symmetric teaching and learning behaviour. A new relationship between learners makes them partners first of all and allows support for learning strategies, which are best described by coaching strategies and coaching scenarios. Changing perspectives, changing characters and social roles allow to construct a stage for multi-perspective learning scenarios. Ad-hoc relationship, a free choice of preferred partners and situated relationships lead to the possibility to form free communities and learning groups. So traditional pedagogical concepts or models are expanded by an new model, that leads to more freedom in relationships, changing roles and characters and not at least reference to shared expertise and resources of knowledge.
Technology /ICT in Education
ICTs stand for information and communication technologies and are defined, for the purposes, as a “diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, and to create, dis- seminate, store, and manage information.” These technologies include computers, the Internet, broad casting technologies (radio and television), and telephony. In recent years there has been a groundswell of interest in how computers and the Internet can best be harnessed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of education at all levels and in both formal and non-formal settings. But ICTs are more than just these technologies; older technologies such as the telephone, radio and television, although now given less attention, have a longer and richer history as instructional tools. For instance, radio and television have for over forty years been used for open and distance learning, although print remains the cheapest, most accessible and therefore most dominant delivery mechanism in both developed and developing countries. The use of computers and the Internet is still in its infancy in developing countries, if these are used at all, due to limited infrastruc-ture and the attendant high costs of access.
Types of ICTs are commonly used in education
e-learning
Although most commonly associated with higher education and corporate training, e-learning encompasses learning at all levels, both formal and non-formal,that uses an information network—the Internet, an intranet (LAN) or extranet (WAN)—whether wholly or in part, for course delivery, interac- tion and/or facilitation. Others prefer the term online learning. Web-based learning is a subset of e- learning and refers to learning using an Internet browser (such as Netscape or Internet Explorer).
Blended learning
Another term that is gaining currency is blended learning. This refers to learning models that combine traditional classroom practice with e-learning solutions. For example, students in a traditional class can be assigned both print-based and online materials, have online mentoring sessions with their teacher through chat, and are subscribed to a class email list. Or a Web-based training course can be enhanced by periodic face-to-face instruction.“Blending”was prompted by the recognition that not all learning is best achieved in an electronically-mediated environment, particularly one that dispenses with a live instructor altogether. Instead, consideration must be given to the subject matter, the learning objec- tives and outcomes, the characteristics of the learners, and the learning context in order to arrive at the optimum mix of instructional and delivery methods.
Open and distance learning
Open and distance learning is defined by the Commonwealth of Learning as “a way of providing learn- ing opportunities that is characterized by the separation of teacher and learner in time or place, or both time and place; learning that is certified in some way by an institution or agency; the use of a variety of media, including print and electronic; two-way communications that allow learners and tutors to interact; the possibility of occasional face-to-face meetings; and a specialized division of labour in the production and delivery of courses.”
Learner-centered environment
The National Research Council of the U.S. defines learner-centered environments as those that “pay careful attention to the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs that learners bring with them to the classroom.” The impetus for learner-centredness derives from a theory of learning called construc- 11 tivism, which views learning as a process in which individuals “construct” meaning based on prior knowledge and experience. Experience enables individuals to build mental models or schemas, which in turn provide meaning and organization to subsequent experience. Thus knowledge is not “out there” ,independent of the learner and which the learner passively receives; rather, knowledge is created through an active process in which the learner transforms information, constructs hypothesis, and makes decisions using his/her mental models. A form of constructivism called social constructivism also emphasizes the role of the teacher, parents, peers and other community members in helping learners to master concepts that they would not be able to understand on their own. For social constructivists, learning must be active, contextual and social. It is best done in a group setting with the teacher as facilitator or guide.
The Effectiveness of ICTs in Education
ICTs are a potentially powerful tool for extending educational opportunities, both formal and non-for mal, to previously underserved constituencies—scattered and rural populations, groups traditionally excluded from education due to cultural or social reasons such as ethnic minorities, girls and women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly, as well as all others who for reasons of cost or because of time constraints are unable to enroll on campus.
• Anytime, anywhere. One defining feature of ICTs is their ability to transcend time and space. ICTs make possible asynchronous learning, or learning characterized by a time lag between the delivery of instruction and its reception by learners. Online course materials, for example, may be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ICT-based educational delivery (e.g., educational programming broadcast over radio or television) also dispenses with the need for all learners and the instructor to be in one physical location. Additionally, certain types of ICTs, such as teleconferencing technologies, enable instruction to be received simultaneously by multiple, geographically dispersed learners (i.e., synchronous learning).
• Access to remote learning resources. Teachers and learners no longer have to rely solely on printed books and other materials in physical media housed in libraries (and available in limited quantities) for their educational needs. With the Internet and the World Wide Web, a wealth of learning materials in almost every subject and in a variety of media can now be accessed from anywhere at anytime of the day and by an unlimited number of people. This is particularly significant for many schools in developing countries, and even some in developed countries, that have limited and outdated library resources. ICTs also facilitate access to resource persons,mentors, experts, researchers, professionals, business leaders, and peers—all over the world.
· ICTs help prepare individuals for the workplace.
One of the most commonly cited reasons for using ICTs in the classroom has been to better prepare the current generation of students for a workplace where ICTs, particularly computers, the Internet and related technologies, are becoming more and more ubiquitous.Technological literacy, or the ability to use ICTs effectively and efficiently, is thus seen as representing a competitive edge in an increasingly globalizing job market.Technological literacy, however, is not the only skill well-paying jobs in the new global economy will require. EnGauge of the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (U.S.) has identified what it calls “21 Century Skills,”which includes digital age literacy (consisting of functional st literacy, visual literacy, scientific literacy, technological literacy, information literacy, cultural literacy,and global awareness),inventive thinking, higher-order think ing and sound reasoning, effective communi- cation, and high productivity.
The use of ICTs help improve the quality of education
Improving the quality of education and training is a critical issue, particularly at a time of educational expansion. ICTs can enhance the quality of education in several ways: by increasing learner motivation and engagement,by facilitating the acquisition of basic skills, and by enhancing teacher training.14 ICTs are also transformational tools which, when used appropriately, can promote the shift to a learner-centered environment.
Motivating to learn. ICTs such as videos, television and multimedia computer software that combine text, sound, and colorful, moving images can be used to provide challenging and authentic content that will engage the student in the learning process. Interactive radio likewise makes use of sound effects, songs, dramatizations, comic skits, and other performance conventions to compel the students to listen and become involved in the lessons being delivered.More so than any other type of ICT, networked computers with Internet connectivity can increase learner motivation as it combines the media richness and interactivity of other ICTs with the opportunity to connect with real people and to participate in real world events.
Facilitating the acquisition of basic skills. The transmission of basic skills and concepts that are the foundation of higher order thinking skills and creativity can be facilitated by ICTs through drill and practice. Educational television programs such as Sesame Street use repetition and reinforcement to teach the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes and other basic concepts.Most of the early uses of computers were for computer-based learning (also called computer-assisted instruction) that focused on mastery of skills and content through repetition and reinforcement. (See section below on Computer- Based Learning.)
Enhancing teacher training. ICTs have also been used to improve access to and the quality of teacher training. For example, institutions like the Cyber Teacher Training Center (CTTC) in South Korea are taking advantage of the Internet to provide better teacher professional development opportunities to inservice teachers. The government-funded CTTC, established in 1997, offers self-directed, self-paced Web-based courses for primary and secondary school teachers. Courses include “Computers in the Information Society,”“Education Reform,” and “Future Society and Education.” Online tutorials are also offered, with some courses requiring occasional face-to-face meetings.15 In China, large-scale radioand television-based teacher education has for many years been conducted by the China Central Radio and TV University,16 the Shanghai Radio and TV University and many other RTVUs in the country.At Indira Gandhi National Open University, satellite-based one-way video- and two-way audio-conferencing was held in 1996, supplemented by print-materials and recorded video, to train 910 primaryschool teachers and facilitators from 20 district training institutes in Karnataka State. The teachers interacted with remote lecturers by telephone and fax
The Uses of ICTs in Education
Education policymakers and planners must first of all be clear about what educational outcomes are being targeted.These broad goals should guide the choice of technologies to be used and their modalities of use.
Each of the different ICTs—print, audio/video cassettes, radio and TV broadcasts, computers or the Internet—may be used for presentation and demonstration, the most basic of the five levels. Except for video technologies, drill and practice may likewise be performed using the whole range of technologies. On the other hand, networked computers and the Internet are the ICTs that enable interactive and collaborative learning best; their full potential as educational tools will remain unrealized if they are used merely for presentation or demonstration.
Radio and TV broadcasting usess in education
Radio and television have been used widely as educational tools since the 1920s and the 1950s, respectively. There are three general approaches to the use of radio and TV broadcasting in education:
1) direct class teaching, where broadcast programming substitutes for teachers on a temporary basis;
2) school broadcasting, where broadcast programming provides complementary teaching and learning
resources not otherwise available; and
3) general educational programming over community, national and international stations which provide general and informal educational opportunities.
The most notable and best documented example of the direct class teaching approach is Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI). This consists of “ready-made 20-30 minute direct teaching and learning exercises to the classroom on a daily basis. The radio lessons, developed around specific learning objectives at particular levels of maths, science, health and languages in national curricula, are intended to improve the quality of classroom teaching and to act as a regular, structured aid to poorly trained classroom teachers in under-resourced schools.
General educational programming consists of a broad range of programme types—news programs, documentary programs, quiz shows, educational cartoons, etc.—that afford non-formal educational opportunities for all types of learners. In a sense, any radio or TV programming with informational and educational value can be considered under this type. Some notable examples that have a global reach are the United States-based television show Sesame Street ,the all-information television channels National Geographic and Discovery ,and the radio programme Voice of America .The Farm Radio Forum , which began in Canada in the 1940s and which has since served as a model for radio discussion programs worldwide, is another example of non-formal educational programming
Teleconferencing uses in educational
Teleconf erencing refers to “interactive electronic communication among people located at two or more different places.” There are four types of teleconferencing based on the nature and extent of interactivity and the sophistication of the technology:
1) audioconferencing;
2) audio-graphic conferencing,
3) videoconferencing; and
4) Web-based conferencing.
Audioconferencing involves the live (real-time) exchange of voice messages over a telephone network. When low-bandwidth text and still images such as graphs,diagrams or pictures can also be exchanged along with voice messages, then this type of conferencing is called audiographic. Non-moving visuals are added using a computer keyboard or by drawing/writing on a graphics tablet or whiteboard.
Videoconferencing allows the exchange not just of voice and graphics but also of moving images. Videoconferencing technology does not use telephone lines but either a satellite link or television net- work (broadcast/cable). Web-based conferencing , as the name implies,involves the transmission of text, and graphic, audio and visual media via the Internet; it requires the use of a computer with a browser and communication can be both synchronous and asynchronous.
Teleconferencing is used in both formal and non-formal learning contexts to facilitate teacher-learner and learner-learner discussions, as well as to access experts and other resource persons remotely. In open and distance learning, teleconferencing is a useful tool for providing direct instruction and learner support, minimizing learner isolation.
Computers and the Internet use for teaching and learning
There are three general approaches to the instructional use of computers and the Internet, namely:
1) Learning about computers and the Internet, in which technological literacy is the end goal;
2) Learning with computers and the Internet, in which the technology facilitates learning across the curriculum
3) Learning through computers and the Internet, integrating technological skills development with curriculum applications.
Learn about computers and the Internet
Learni ng about computers and the Internet focuses on developing technological literacy. It typically includes:
- Fundamentals: basic terms, concepts and operations
- Use of the keyboard and mouse
- Use of productivity tools such as word processing, spreadsheets, data base and graphics programs
- Use of research and collaboration tools such as search engines and email
- Basic skills in using programming and authoring applications such as Logo or HyperStudio
- Developing an awareness of the social impact of technological change.
Learning with computers and the Internet
Learning with the technology means focusing on how the technology can be the means to learning ends across the curriculum. It includes:
•Presentation, demonstration, and the manipulation of data using productivity tools
•Use of curriculum-specific applications types such as educational games, drill and practice, simulations,tutorials, virtual laboratories, visualizations and graphical representations of abstract concepts, musical composition, and expert systems
•Use of information and resources on CD-ROM or online such as encyclopedia, interactive mapsand atlases, electronic journals and other references.
Technological literacy is required for learning with technologies to be possible, implying a two-step process in which students learn about the technologies before they can actually use them to learn.
Learning through computers and the Internet mean
Learning through computers and the Internet combines learning about them with learning with them. It involves learning the technological skills “just-in-time” or when the learner needs to learn them as he or she engages in a curriculum-related activity.
Computers and the Internet used in distance education
Many higher educational institutions offering distance education courses have started to leverage the Internet to improve their programme’s reach and quality.
Telecollaboration
Online learning involving students logging in to formal courses online is perhaps the most commonly thought of application of the Internet in education. However, it is by no means the only application. Web-based collaboration tools, such as email, listservs, message boards, real-time chat, and Web-based conferencing, connect learners to other learners, teachers, educators, scholars and researchers, scientists and artists, industry leaders and politicians—in short, to any individual with access to the Internet who can enrich the learning process. The organized use of Web resources and collaboration tools for curriculum appropriate purposes is called telecollaboration.
Issues in the Use of ICTs in Education
- Effectiveness
- CostEquity and
- Sustainability
are four broad intertwined issues which must be addressed when considering the overall impact of the use of ICTs in education.
Effectiveness
The educational effectiveness of ICTs depends on how they are used and for what purpose. And like any other educational tool or mode of educational delivery, ICTs do not work for everyone, everywhere in the same way.
Cost
Broadly speaking, educational television broadcasts and computer-based and online learning are more expensive than radio broadcasts. There is disagreement, however, over whether television broadcasts are cheaper than computer-based and online learning. That said, categorical assessments of cost-effectiveness are difficult to make because of lack of data, differences in programs, problems of generalization, and problems of quantification of educational outcomes and opportunity costs. Speak ing specifically of computers and the Internet, Blurton argues that “ when considering whether ICT is “cost-effective”in educational settings, a definitive conclusion may not be possible for a variety of reasons. However, when considering the alternative of building more physical infrastructure, the cost savings to be realized from sharing resources, and the societal price of not providing access, ICT as a means of enabling teaching and learning appears to be an attractive and necessary alternative.” A common mistake in estimating the cost of a particular ICT educational application is to focus too much on initial fixed costs—purchase of equipment, construction or retrofitting of physical facilities, initial materials production, and the like. But studies of the use of computers in classrooms, for example,show that installation of hardware and retrofitting of physical facilities account for only between 40% to 60% of the full cost of using the computers over their lifetime, or its total cost of ownership . In fact, while at first glance it may seem that the initial purchase of hardware and software is the costliest part of the process, the bulk of the total cost of ownership is spread out over time, with annual maintenance and support costs (known as variable or recurrent costs) constituting between 30% to 50% of the total cost of hardware and software. The cost of professional development, another variable cost, also accumulates over time.
Equity
Given the wide disparities in access to ICTs between rich and poor countries and between different groups within countries, there are serious concerns that the use of ICTs in education will widen existing divisions drawn along economic, social, cultural, geographic, and gender lines. Ideally, one wishes for equal opportunity to participate. But access for different actors—both as users and producers—is weighted by their resources. Hence, initial differences are often reproduced, reinforced, and even magnified.A formidable challenge, therefore, continues to face planners of international education: how to define the problem and provide assistance for development. The introduction of ICTs in education, when done without careful deliberation, can result in the further marginalization of those who are already underserved and/or disadvantaged.
Sustainability
One aspect of development programs that is often neglected is sustainability. The long history of development aid has shown that too many projects and programs start with a bang but all too soon fade out with a whimper, to be quickly forgotten. This is true for many ICT-based educational projects as well. In many instances, these projects are initiated by third party donors—such as international aid agencies or corporations—and not enough attention is paid to establishing a mechanism by which the educational institution or community involved can pursue the project on its own or in partnership with other stakeholders after the initiating donor exits. But cost and financing are not the only barriers to sustainability. According to Cisler, the sustainability of ICT-enabled programs has four components:
· social
· Political
· Technological
· economic.
Key Challenges in Integrating ICTs in Education
Although valuable lessons may be learned from best practices around the world, there is no one formula for determining the optimal level of ICT integration in the educational system. Significant challenges that policymak ers and planners, educators, education administrators, and other stakeholders need to consider include educational policy and planning, infrastructure, language and content,capacity building, and financing.
Implications of ICT-enhanced education for educational policy and planning
Attempts to enhance and reform education through ICTs require clear and specific objectives, guidelines and time-bound targets, the mobilization of required resources, and the political commitment at all levels to see the initiative through. Some essential elements of planning for ICT are listed below.
a. A rigorous analysis of the present state of the educational system. ICT-based interventions must
take into account current institutional practices and arrangements. Specifically, drivers and barriers to ICT use need to be identified, including those related to curriculum and pedagogy, infrastructure, capacity-building, language and content, and financing.
b. The specification of educational goals at different education and training levels as well as the
different modalities of use of ICTs that can best be employed in pursuit of these goals. This
requires of the policymaker an understanding of the potentials of different ICTs when applied in
different contexts for different purposes, and an awareness of priority education needs and
financial and human resource capacity and constraints within the country or locality, as well as
best practices around the world and how these practices can be adapted for specific country
requirements.
c. The identification of stakeholders and the harmonizing of efforts across different interest
groups.
d. The piloting of the chosen ICT-based model. Even the best designed models or those that have
already been proven to work in other contexts need to be tested on a small scale. Such pilots
are essential to identify, and correct, potential glitches in instructional design, implementability,
effectiveness, and the like.
e. The specification of existing sources of financing and the development of strategies for gener
ating financial resources to support ICT use over the long term.
The infrastructure-related challenges in ICT-enhanced education.
A country’s educational technology infrastructure sits on top of the national telecommunications and information infrastructure. Before any ICT-based programme is launched, policymakers and planners must carefully consider the following:
• In the first place, are appropriate rooms or buildings available to house the technology? In countries where there are many old school buildings, extensive retrofitting to ensure proper electrical wiring, heating/cooling and ventilation, and safety and security would be needed.
• Another basic requirement is the availability of electricity and telephony. In developing coun tries large areas are still without a reliable supply of electricity and the nearest telephones are miles away. Experience in some countries in Africa point to wireless technologies (such as VSAT or Very Small Aperture Terminal) as possible levers for leapfrogging. Although this is currently an extremely costly approach, other developing countries with very poor telecommunications infrastructure should study this option.
• Policymakers should also look at the ubiquity of different types of ICT in the country in general, and in the educational system (at all levels) in particular.
Pedagogy and Curricula Transformation with Technology
The purpose of this to investigate the factors that influenced five middle teachers as they implemented and integrated instructional technology in their curricula. Along with determining the effects implementation and integration of instructional technology had on their pedagogy and curricula. The study involved empirical research with both qualitative and quantitative data. Data analysis included a cross-case analysis of multiple case studies. This time period was selected because it provided the opportunity to test the ST3AIRS Model in a school setting from the beginning process of implementation and integration of a new technology.
ST3AIRS Model consists of eight steps developed to overcome contextual barriers to teachers as they integrated technology. These eight steps are staff development, time to learn, trainer that was qualified, transition time to implement technology, access to hardware and software, involvement by teachers in the process, recognition of teachers, and support for teachers. The ST3AIRS Model focused on strategies for the implementation and integration of the teachers involved in the study to influence changes in their pedagogy, along with curricula changes related to the implementation and integration of this technology. Research by Dexter, Anderson, and Becker (1999) found that contextual barriers influence instructional practices, teaching strategies, classroom management, technical expertise, curriculum directives, and organizational support for teachers. Support for the teachers involved in the study included staff development sessions, technical assistance, support for modifications of laboratory lessons and techniques to improve student learning, and problem solving strategies and techniques to support integration.
Innovative Pedagogical Practices Using Technology
Information and communication technologies (ICT) have affected diverse aspects of our lives for some decades. However, schools maintain their image as traditional organizations with predispositions to a somewhat conservative structure. This inhibits the adoption of change and slows down the process even in institutes that are willing to consider alterations in their teaching and learning processes. In addition, attempts to transform traditional structure usually encounter resistance; the range of opposition is dependent on several factors constituting the school milieu. Tyack and Cuban (1995) use the term "school grammar" (e.g., age-graded classrooms, rigid time units) to express the engraved standardized institutional template.
The organizational and designed implementation of ICT into whole educational systems began about a decade following the incorporation of computers in education. While in the 1980s computers in education were a relative novelty, during the 1990s national plans for large-scale implementation of computers and Internet connections were evident in several.
Change in school structure occured in correspondence with transformations in the social and economical environment within which the school is inscribed and operates. Success in implementing this change required a certain degree of vision and willingness to 'yearn' for and embrace change, a term coined by Papert (1993). Nowadays, as ICT has a fundamental impact on our lives, it is only natural to anticipate that the implementation of ICT in school will affect its grammar and lead to fundamental transformations in its structure (Watson, 2001).
The increased emphasis on worldwide integration of information and communication technology into educational systems since the 1990s facilitated significant efforts in several countries to pre-plan this implementation and to allocate adequate government funds. Consequently, in recent years, an increasing number of countries have been endorsing ICT implementation as part of their national education policy, including aspects such as installation of computer infrastructure in schools, connecting computers to the Internet, and teacher training. Special attention has been given to diffusion of innovative ICT practices as an ongoing process in several aspects of school life, such as the curriculum, teaching and learning processes, timetables and planning of learning space. However, one of the main difficulties concerning the diffusion of innovative ICT-based practices in schools is finding ways to engage teachers and students in using the new technologies effectively .
Theories dealing with the diffusion of innovations have been developed in fields such as economics and marketing, in an attempt to identify factors affecting the release and marketing of new products. Hitherto, most attempts to apply these theories to education have concentrated on higher education, on teachers, and on nationwide diffusion of innovation processes. Attempts to apply these theories for examining ICT implementation at the elementary and secondary school levels are scarce.
Innovation in Education and ICT Roles
In the digital era, in which endless information is available at the push of a button, and learning is ubiquitous, theoretical and empirical aspects have been examined regarding the impact of ICT on educational processes. Educational transformation processes and their evolvement have become highly interesting research themes with theoretical (e.g., cognitive or curricular issues) as well as practical (e.g., policy or planning issues) implications. However, innovation in itself is not a clearly defined concept, and educational innovation using ICT is rather vague and multifaceted.
In general, an educational innovation can be regarded as a shift in educational paradigm; schools assume the role of being the primary agents for preparing students to function in and become an integral part of the information society. This paradigm shift is oriented towards lifelong learning; schools’ main goal, accordingly, is to supply skills and competencies required for living and working in a continuously changing world. ICT serves as a driving force behind the design, establishment and evolving of this paradigm-shift, affecting both contents (new technology-related concepts and skills included in the curriculum, re-arranging of the curriculum) and general skills (e.g., learning how to learn, acquiring generic knowledge-manipulation skills and teamwork skills). Consequently, innovations can be defined in operational terms as the wide range of activities and means (e.g., curricular decisions, learning materials, learning configurations, lesson plans, tools and resources) that reflect the school’s educational and philosophical orientation towards lifelong learning. Eisner (1994) unveils a relatively novel notion of education: The ultimate aim of education is to enable individuals to become the architects of their own education and through that process to continually reinvent themselves…
Numerous frameworks have been developed and offered, aiming to characterize the ways ICT supports and promotes educational change. Technology-based innovations may facilitate transition from traditional to emerging pedagogical paradigms, leading to novel approaches to instruction in a number of dimensions constituting the school milieu, including the curriculum, time configuration, teacher and student practices and roles, grouping and collaboration. These innovations can be specified within four main dimensions: curriculum content and goals, student practices, teacher practices, and the ways of ICT use in schools. Another approach to the examination of ICT implementation in schools is offered by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), referring to “a framework for understanding the system wide factors that influence the effective use of educational technology”.
ICT has the prospective to affect schools irreversibly, and may contribute to teaching and learning processes and outcomes, in meeting students’ individual needs, providing a rich educational environment and presenting educational materials in ways that motivate and stimulate meaningful learning and arouses motivation in students. ICT may offer new possibilities of reorganizing educational processes, thereby creating innovative teaching and learning opportunities. However, the extent of this contribution yet needs to be explored, since there is controversial evidence as to this issue.
ICT, when implemented in a school, is perceived innovative in itself. However, ICT-supported innovations are defined herewith as pedagogical solutions and means of supporting a shift from traditional educational paradigms towards emerging pedagogical approaches based on current understanding of learning, e.g. learner-centered and constructivist acquisition of lifelong learning skills (Pelgrum, Brummelhuis, Collis, Plomp, and Janssen, 1997; Mioduser et al., 2003). Therefore, an innovation is a qualitative educational shift towards a new educational paradigm as an enduring process.
Exploring Teachers’ Self-Efficacy toward the Web Pedagogical
Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge (WPCK).
Over the past decades, one of the important issues for educational reform and innovations is the integration of technology into education. Several studies in the area of educational technology have proposed the “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge” (TPCK) by building on Shulman’s idea of “pedagogical content knowledge” to elaborate teachers’ technology integration into pedagogy (e.g., Mishra & Koehler, 2006). They suggested while technology is integrated into the instruction, the technological pedagogical content knowledge is required. However, Web is a special but highly important technology for contemporary education. The TPCK, discussing “technology” in general, may not be sufficient for providing particularly adequate information to improve teacher preparation and professional development when the Web is integrated into instruction.
Therefore, this study suggests that teachers may require the Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge (WPCK), as extended from the ideas of PCK (Shulman, 1986) and TPCK (Mishra & Koehler, 2006), to teach with the Web, shown in Figure 1.
As shown in Figure 1, suggest that teachers should combine the web knowledge with their original PCK to WPCK while teaching with the Web. The Figure 1 (a) represents the Web knowledge and Shulman’s (1986) PCK framework. The Figure 1 (b) illustrates our WPCK framework. However, according to the Figure 1 (b), this study highlights the knowledge which combines web knowledge with pedagogical content knowledge, shown as the shadow part (i.e., Web Content Knowledge (WCK), Web Pedagogical Knowledge (WPK), and Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge (WPCK)).
FIGURE 1. The framework of Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge.
In recent two decades, educational researchers have highlighted the significance of the teachers’ self-efficacy. The teacher’s “self-efficacy” has conceptualized as the perceptions of their own competence and ability of teaching to facilitate students’ knowledge, values and behaviors. As the growing development of the Web-based instruction, the studies emphasizing the teachers’ self-efficacy toward the Web instruction may be important as well. Furthermore, an investigation about teachers’ self-efficacy toward the WPCK may provide noteworthy information on how to improve teacher education and teacher professional development. For the reason, the major purpose of this study is to explore teachers’ self-efficacy toward the Web instruction, in particular, toward their knowledge of Web pedagogical content.
Accordingly, the main objectives included:
1. Develop a new questionnaire, based on our framework of WPCK, to assess a group of teachers’ self-efficacy toward the WPCK.
2. Explore the correlations between teachers’ self-efficacy toward the WPCK, their attitudes regarding the Web-based instruction, and their background variables (i.e., age, years of teaching, Web experience, and experience of Web-related instruction).
Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge (WPCK)
consisted of the six scales, is presented below:
1. Web-general: measuring teachers’ confidence in their knowledge about their use of the Web in general, such as use of Web-related tools, e.g., Be able to click the hyperlink to connect to another Website.
2. Web-communicative: assessing teachers’ confidence in their knowledge relative to Web-based communication or Web-based interaction, e.g., Be able to read others’ messages in a chatroom.
3. Web-Pedagogical (WP): evaluating teachers’ confidence in their knowledge about the existence, components and functions of the Web as they are used in educational settings, e.g., Be able to use the Web to enhance students’ learning motivation.
4. Web-Content (WC): measuring teachers’ confidence in their knowledge about the manner in which the Web and content can mutually reinforce each other, e.g., Be able to search for various materials on the Web to be integrated into course content.
5. Web-Pedagogical-Content (WPC): surveying teachers’ confidence in their knowledge about how to identify appropriate online learning activities to fit the needs of a particular course and the practice of appropriate pedagogies to support online activities, e.g., Be able to use Web resources to guide students’ learning activities for a certain course unit.
6. Attitudes toward Web-based instruction (Attitudes): measuring the extent of teachers’ agreement regarding the usage of Web-based instruction, e.g., Web-based teaching can enhance students’ learning motivation.
Conclusion : Pedagogy over ICT
Information Communication and Technologies (ICTs) provide a window of opportunity for educational institutions and other organizations to harness and use technology to complement and support the teaching and learning process. E-learning is an example of the use of these ICT-supported teaching and learning methods whose use in educational institutions is gaining momentum with the passage of time.
Educational systems around the world are under increasing pressure to use the new information and communication technologies (ICT) to teach students the knowledge and skills they need in the 21st century. Within the past decade, the new ICT tools have fundamentally changed the way people communicate and do business. They also have the potential to transform the nature of education: where and how learning takes place and the roles of students and teachers in the learning process.
The challenge confronting our educational systems is how to transform the curriculum and teaching-learning process to provide students with the skills to function effectively in this dynamic, information-rich, and continuously changing environment. ICTs provide an array of powerful tools that may help in transforming the present isolated, teacher-centred and text-bound classrooms into rich, student-focused, interactive knowledge environments. To meet these challenges, learning institutions must embrace the new technologies and appropriate ICT tools for learning. They must also move towards the goal of transforming the traditional paradigm of learning.
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