Digital Pulse - Ch 2 - Sec 3 - Missing the Connection? Using ICTs in Education

Summary

This is the first in a series of short articles on the role of ICTs in education and development. It provides a brief overview of the many issues and pros and cons of ICT introduction and utilization in the field of education. It proposes a series of questions about whether ICTs are truly integrated in education or simply just added extras, about whether or not they constitute a wise investment given shrinking budgets, about the ability of teachers to fully realize the potential of ICTs in the classroom and about whether or not ICT introduction is reducing gaps or creating new ones.

Key Points

There are basically two opposing schools of thought on the role of ICTs in education. One suggests that ICTs have simply contributed to a widening of the gap between the tech-rich north and the tech-poor south and that they are contributing to an emerging gap within states between the elites with access to IT and those without. Furthermore, ICT advances are typically driven by the needs of wealthy IT countries. The others school argues that ICTs have the potential to allow developing countries to catch-up. The ‘leapfrogging' thesis has countries bypassing the initial stages of development (e.g. heavy inudustrialization) and avoiding the expensive problems confronting the early adopters of the knowledge economy. ICTs will revolutionize the way people live. While these two sides reflect the optimistic and pessimistic views, the debate has been largely rhetorical and lacks detailed examination of the ways that ICTs can have concrete impacts in areas like education for development. Arguments that ICTs can provide high quality learning resources and improve efficiency are largely taken for granted and without critical evaluation. Not as much consideration is given to how their introduction will affect teachers and their methods. [Click here for more detailed examination of this particular issue in "DEEP Impact" within this document] The fact that computers are usually the only ICTs considered also hampers the depth of the debate.

Crucial to the effective utilization of ICTs is a framework for long-term, sustainable planning and investment strategies that will allow organizations that go down this route to keep pace and not find themselves in positions of obsolescence a year or two later. Strategies must be flexible and must allow countries and individual communities the opportunity to experiment with combinations of ICTs to develop their own best practices. Technology is a means to improving education, not an end in itself and curricula must constitute more than simply teaching students how to use computers. The focus should be on the promotion of information literacy, the ability to generate new knowledge, and the development of an information culture based on critical thought.

The debate over which technologies are appropriate and relevant also requires greater attention. The utility of low-cost solutions needs to be examined over and above those premised on the newest and best hardware and software. Many developing world ICT projects have failed because the parts and technical expertise need for maintenance were not available. In order for them to be successful, ICTs need to become part of a broader development strategy that is guided by sound and effective policy. Questions regarding who will pay for ICTs in school, what role the private sector should play, what the appropriate balance is between investment in training vs. infrastructure, what kinds of software will be used, and how institutions that do adopt ICTs will cover recurrent costs all need to be answered. An examination of the role of ICTs in interaction with human behaviours and consideration of a full range of technologies will ensure a place for ICTs as real tools for education.

Source: Yusuf Sayed, "Missing the Connection?" at Insights Education (February 2003).