THE EFFECTS OF ICT-ENABLED

LEARNING WITHIN THE

EDUCATION SYSTEM

DIAMONETTE SYNCON
UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES
April 17, 2015
 The effects of ICT-enabled learning within the education system

The effects of ICT-enabled learning within the education system

Abstract

There is an exponential growth in the use of information and communication technologies

(ICTs). This has pervasive impacts on the socialization and lifestyle of persons and extends to the

mode of operandi within the workplace. Therefore, it is only natural to have increasing interest

and investment being put into the use of ICT in education globally. Education allows one to be

socially adept and optimizes the competitive edge of an individual within the job market. Studies

have shown that integration of ICT in education has the ability to proliferate and improve the

current education standards and amenities. The essay highlights the responsibilities that ICT has

assumed within classrooms and the significance of ICT in education as it relates to creating

students who are well trained and have the viable advantage in the work environment. It points

out the various impacts on students, teachers and administrative processes that the integration of

ICT has induced. Regardless of the various limitations of implementing ICT-enabled learning,

especially in third world countries, steps are being taken to employ ICT-enable learning in the

Jamaican schools. This is geared towards sustainable development for the nation.

With knowledge-based societies being pervasive around the world, it is important to

generate a holistic learning approach that will facilitate and advance such an occurrence. In this

technologically savvy generation, technology can be used to promote and even enable a learning

continuum. The implementation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the

classrooms is a viable option to enhance the education process and by extension the education

system. To fully analyze the effects of ICT in education a basic understanding of the variables

involved must be outlined. An operational definition for ICTs provided by the United Nations
 The effects of ICT-enabled learning within the education system

Development Programme (UNDP 2012) suggests that ICTs are information-handling tools a

varied set of goods, applications and services that are used to produce, store, process, distribute

and exchange information. Essentially, ICTs are the technologies used in the conveying,

manipulation and storage of data by electronic means (The Open University 2013). The

Glossary of Education Reform (2013) maintains that an education system refers to the formal

public schooling which comprises everything that goes into educating public-school students at

the national level. Education is the development of an individual according to his needs and

demands of society of which he is an integral part. When ICTs are incorporated in the education

process the roles, importance and impact of ICT-enabled-learning on the education system

becomes more apparent.

The roles of ICT-enabled learning may range from merely utilizing ICT as a tool to

support the conventional way of teaching, to a completely transformed way of teaching and

learning induced by courses that are fully ICT-enabled. Byron and Gagliardi (2014) and Punie et.

al. (2006) both suggest four to five dimensional levels to ICT-enabled learning, each starting

from the use of ICT as a supplementary implement then progresses to where ICT is used as a

facilitator of change and innovation. However, Byron and Gagliardi (2014) are more focused on

the formal education system of primary and secondary education while (Punie et al. 2006) are

dedicated to university level education offered in both the formal and informal settings. The five

basic modes of using ICT in the formal education system outlined by Australian Education

Council (1996); Byron and Gagliardi (2014) include: firstly the support mode where ICT is used

to augment presentations and increase the accuracy of the work, secondly the exploration and

control mode, where the student is able to explore, examine and experiment with and also create

situations. Thirdly, the resource mode is where the technology is used to access information and
 The effects of ICT-enabled learning within the education system

other resources, whether on-line through means such as the internet or off-line using storage

devices and other software and finally the link mode describes when technology is used for

communication between individuals for example electronic mail and desktop video

conferencing. As proposed by (OECD 2005; Punie et. al 2007) the university level has four

prongs to using ICT-enabled learning which includes: web-supplemented courses, web

dependent courses, mixed-modes courses and fully online courses. The web supplemented

courses focus on classroom-based teaching but include elements such as putting a course outline

and lecture notes online, use of e-mail and links to online resources, while in fully online

courses, students can follow courses offered by a university in one city from another town,

country or time zone. Fundamentally, these four levels are the epitome of what policy makers

intend for the integration of ICTs in education. The fully online courses represents what

developed countries would like to achieve from integrating ICTs in the learning process in terms

of reduced costs (no commuting, no textbooks, etc.), flexibility and accessibility of courses.

The universal purpose for undertaking ICT-enabled learning is to better develop the

current generation of students for a workplace setting where ICTs (particularly computers, the

Internet and related technologies) are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Tinio (2003) posits that

the capability to use ICTs effectively and efficiently offers a competitive edge in a globalizing

job market. She also suggests that technological literacy is not the only skill that will be required

in the new global economy. Furthermore, the North Central Regional Laboratory (U.S) declares

that there is an upsurge of what it labels as 21st Century Skills which includes digital age

literacy (consisting of functional literacy, scientific literacy, technological literacy, information

literacy, cultural literacy, and global awareness), inventive thinking, higher-order thinking,

effective communication, and high productivity. The transformative potential of technology as

 The effects of ICT-enabled learning within the education system

seen in other sectors can be achieved in education if its role in the classroom is no longer limited

to being a mere implement to the traditional forms of teaching. ICT-enabled learning gears

towards sustainable development of societies; it can be used to chart the path towards improving

job markets and creating information societies.

Despite thousands of impact studies, the influence of ICT use on student achievement

remains dicult to measure. The complication arises due to the nature of the assessment, which

is a multidimensional and long term kind rather than an immediate learning assessment (eg. an

exam). The integration of ICT in the formal education system will affect various aspects of the

system itself along with the teaching and learning process. This therefore means the impacts of

ICT-enabled learning or ICT in education are extensive and influential. The five main aspects

that will be impacted are the curriculum, the teaching and learning processes, the roles of the

teacher, the educational management and the assessment and evaluation of both students and

teachers. The influence of ICT-enabled learning on the curriculum is shown when traditional

closed curriculum which is based on fixed content that students are obligated to learn and

reproduce is shifted to a goal oriented curricula. Now syllabuses can be changed according to

learners needs. Oliver (2002) observed that technology not only supports what is being learnt in

schools and universities, it also influences changes to the way students are learning. There is a

shift from a content-centred curriculum to a competency-based curriculum. This correlates to

moving away from teacher-centred forms of lesson delivery to student-centred forms. Learning

using ICT actually motivates the students and increases the interest and propensity to learn. The

teachers have limitless information resources with which to conduct lessons and are not limited

to only what they know of a particular topic or the information offered in a prescribed text.

Pedagogical techniques are also affected as indicated earlier; Trucano (2005) suggests that
 The effects of ICT-enabled learning within the education system

impact of ICT in the formal education system is largely dependent on the pedagogical methods

utilized by the teachers. Advantages associated with ICT-enabled learning for administrative

assessments include students accepting more responsibility for their own learning and its

assessment while developing expertise in the process. For teachers, the application of a student-

centred curriculum can be monitored and this can be used by teachers for assessing and

improving their own performance in order to meet national standards.

If ICTs are to be implemented in the Jamaican education system it would face quite a few

limitations that will more than likely lead to results that are not representative of what is seen in

the developed countries. One of the main expected limitations relates to funding and necessary

resources or the lack thereof. In the event that the Ministry of Education (of Jamaica) does not

implement ICTs in education across the board then the Digital Divide the split between those

who have access to and control of modern ICTs and those who have limited access or none at all

that the island is already experiencing may increase exponentially. We continue to lag behind

as it relates to technology and are still critically dependent on our labour force in this information

age where knowledge societies are prevailing. Fortunately, the Ministry of Education of Jamaica

is undertaking a project that intends to effectively initiate ICT-enabled learning within the formal

Jamaican education system. The aim and inclusive mandate of the operation is to improve the

quality of education within the Jamaican schools with specific interest in the secondary level

institutions. This is guided towards enhancing the learning experience and improving the level of

passes in the CXC/CSEC exams. All of the strategic objectives are expected to lead towards

national development. At this point in time the phase should shift from testing to fully

implementing the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the education

sector so as to bridge the digital divide and to enhance knowledge.

 The effects of ICT-enabled learning within the education system

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