Information And Communication Technology (ICT) and Teaching
Sahalu Junaidu
[email protected]
Department of Mathematics
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
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Outline
 Introduction
 Why Use ICT for Teaching?
 How Effective is ICT-Mediated Instruction?
 Requirements for ICT Use for Teaching
 Tips for Successful ICT Use for Teaching
 Summary
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Introduction
 What is ICT?
a diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate, create,
disseminate, store, and manage information electronically in a digital
form. These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting
technologies (e.g., digital television), and telephony.
 What is Teaching?
Act of deliberately transmitting accumulated knowledge, skill and values from the
teacher to the learner.
 ICT and Teaching
 Can computers, the Internet, the Web and digital communications
equipments assist the teacher in creating and delivering instructional
material?
 Can ICT help enhance learning?
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Introduction
 Traditional teaching and learning process



Teacher-centered and lecture-based
Teacher as the expert and dispenser of knowledge to students
Students are passive, knowledge receivers and reproducers
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… Introduction
 The traditional view of the learning process characterized by the fact that
1. Learning is hard

if students are having fun or enjoying what they are doing in a learning activity, they
probably are not learning
2. Learning is a process of information transfer and reception
 Emphasizing students reproducing knowledge rather than producing their own
knowledge
 Students have little opportunity for developing their thinking skills
 Students as passive receivers, storers and repeaters of the transmitted information
3. Learning is an individual/solitary process

Void of collaboration
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… Introduction
 Changes in views of the learning process:
1. Learning is a natural process


The natural state of the brain is to learn, however, not everyone learns in the same
way
ICTs provide opportunities to support different learning styles
2. Learning is a social process


Students learn best in collaboration with peers, teachers, parents, and others when
they are actively engaged in meaningful, interesting tasks
ICTs aid collaboration, as discussed earlier
3. Learning is an active and not a passive process

Students must be actively engaged in the learning process, in activities such as
solving real problems
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… Introduction
 Student-centered learning environment:

learner interacts with other students, the teacher, information resources, and
technology

learner engages in authentic tasks in authentic contexts using authentic tools and is
assessed through authentic performance.

ICTs can provide powerful tools to help learners access vast knowledge resources,
collaborate with others, consult with experts, share knowledge, and solve complex
problems using cognitive tools.
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… Introduction
 Student-centered learning environment:
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Why Use ICT for Teaching?
 Some reasons for using ICT in teaching and learning:
1. supports new pedagogical methods
2. facilitates access to remote resources
3. enables collaboration
4. helps extend educational programs
5. helps develop skills for the workplace
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Why Use ICT for Teaching?
1. ICT supports new pedagogical methods
 Modern constructivist educational theory emphasizes critical
thinking, problem solving, “authentic” learning experiences,
social negotiation of knowledge, and collaboration
 These are pedagogical methods that change the role of the
teacher from disseminator of information to learning facilitator
 ICT has the potential to be used in support of these new
educational methods, using tools that enable students’ learning
by doing.
 E.g., Multimedia-rich courseware with appropriately placed
self-check exercises
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… Why Use ICT for Teaching?
2. ICT facilitates access to remote resources (human and material)
 Historically, information resources at libraries, schools, and universities have
only been available within the walls of these institutions, in a wide variety of
physical media, at certain times of the day, and in limited quantities
 The Internet represents the greatest collection of human knowledge ever
assembled, and it is available to every student and teacher equipped with ICT
 Thousands of websites now exist that contain collections of high quality
curriculum guides, lesson plans, and instructional activities.

E.g., through schoolnets like http://www.schoolnet.ca/home/e/
 Remote access to expensive scientific instrumentation and virtual
laboratories is also possible

E.g., CISCO remote labs
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… Why Use ICT for Teaching?
3. ICT enables collaboration
 ICT enables location-neutral educational collaborations
between individuals and groups of people.
 Student-student, student-teacher, teacher-teacher,
student-business mentors, etc
 ICT tools that enable this include
 Videoconferencing
 Email
 Online chats
 Wikis
 Blogs
 Etc.
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… Why Use ICT for Teaching?
4. ICT helps extend educational programs
 ICT makes it possible to deliver educational programs
anywhere in the world.
 Thanks to ICT, many “virtual universities” and “virtual high
schools” that require no physical campuses have been
established
 The Western Governors University, www.wgu.edu
 Virtual high school, vhs.concord.org
 African virtual university www.avu.org
 Supports learning anywhere, anytime and at any age
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… Why Use ICT for Teaching?
5. ICT helps develop skills for the workplace
 Having advanced ICT skills and knowing how to use discipline-specific
applications may help students secure suitable employment and
enhance their productivity once employed.
 ICT competency now considered an integral part to literacy in the job
place
 ICDL, ECDL are widely adopted by Ministries of Education in many
countries
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ICT-Mediated Instruction Vs F2F Instruction
 Early studies of ICT-mediated instruction’s effect on student learning
have been characterized as the “no significant difference” phenomena

(cf. http://www2.ncsu.edu/oit/nsdsplit.htm )
 No significant difference on performance measures was found
between students receiving ICT-mediated instruction and those
receiving traditional face-to-face instruction in a classroom.
 Regardless of the medium of instructional delivery – film, radio, television,

telephone, or computer – was used,
Both groups perform equally well
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… ICT-Mediated Instruction Vs F2F Instruction
 In a meta-analysis of over 500 individual studies, James Kulik (1994)
found:
1. Students usually learn more in classes in which they receive computerbased instruction …
2. Students learn their lessons in less time with computer-based
instruction …
3. Students also like their classes more when they receive computer help
in them …
4. Students develop more positive attitudes toward computers when
they receive help from them in school …
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… ICT-Mediated Instruction Vs F2F Instruction
 A study by ETS (1998) of student achievement in mathematics and
the use of ICT concluded that
“technology does matter to academic achievement, with the important
caveat that whether it matters depends upon how it is used”
 In another study of students in a German school and a school in the
United States concluded
“that the use of media and technology improves learning outcomes, instills
key qualifications for the information age, and increases motivation”
(Bertelsmann Foundation, 1998).
» (http://www.stiftung.bertelsmann.de )
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… ICT-Mediated Instruction Vs F2F Instruction
 Comparative study conducted by Junaidu (2004) of students
performance in a media-rich online course and in F2F instruction
Five F2F vs. Five Online Semesters
30
Percentage
25
20
Five F2F Semesters
15
Five Online Semesters
10
5
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Dr
op
ur
se
G
PA
F
D
D+
C
C+
B
B+
A
A+
0
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Requirements for ICT Use for Teaching
 ICT is not free

No good thing is!
 Creating an ICT-Enabled learning environment requires the following

ICT infrastructure


Hardware, software, etc
Appropriate courseware

Teacher preparation

Student preparation

Change management
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… Requirements for ICT Use for Teaching: Infrastructure
 In order to make use of digital ICTs


schools must be equipped with computers
Educational venues must be equipped with Internet connection
 There should be multimedia-rich courseware
 There must be enough and competent technical support personnel for the
the infrastructure
 ICT deployment must be guided by a deliberate plan
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Methods of ICT Infrastructure Provision
 Industry-Education collaboration

E.g., collaboration between BT, ICL, Local schools and University of Exeter school of
education
 To examine the impact of ICT on education
 ICL to supply multimedia computers and BT the networking and
access to remote services and the Internet to a number of schools in
the area
 Government-to-Education Technology transfer


equipping schools with computers inexpensively is to transfer the technology from
government organizations and businesses to schools
The Government’s Computers for Learning program (http://www.computers.fed.gov)
 donates surplus federal computer equipment to schools and nonprofit educational organizations
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Provision of Multimedia-rich Courseware
 Beyond equipment and software, appropriate content is necessary to make use
of ICT for educational purposes
 Luckily, educational courseware is increasingly available through growing Open
Courseware initiatives worldwide

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm , www.finalslcub.com , etc
 Appropriate educational content can also be accessed through “Schoolnets”:


Also known as “national education grids,” may contain curriculum guides; collaborative
online projects; email directories; links to other teachers, etc
Examples





UK’s National Grid for Learning (NGfL)
European Schoolnet (http://www.eun.org/index.html)
Canada (http://www.schoolnet.ca/home/e/)
Japan (http://www.schoolnet.or.jp/schoolnet/index-e.html)
South Africa (http://www.gp.school.za/gsnsite.htm)
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Teacher Preparation: Buy-in & Training
 To create ICT-enabled teaching and learning environments, it is also
necessary to provide ICT training for teachers
 Training in ICT-use now a requirement in GB to earn a teaching credential
 Elements of ICT Teacher Training
1. Skills with particular applications
2. Integration into existing curricula
3. IT related changes in curricula
4. Changes in teacher role
5. Underpinning theories in education
 Training for ICT-use only is not enough!
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Teacher Training Approaches
 There are promising approaches developed for teacher training
1. “Expert partners”


Many universities use in-house staff who are both qualified academics, and who have
expertise using ICT for instruction
Can be cost-effective when managed well
2. Training of trainers model



May be more cost-effective than on-site, small group individual ICT training
Teacher-leaders are selected based on prior experience with ICT in education, staff
development experience, etc
Once trained, the teacher-leaders can provide ICT training for their peers
3. Use of students as Technology Advisers

Enlist students to provide ICT support and training for teachers

E.g.,
Wake
Forest
University’s
Student
Technology
advisoRS
program(http://www.wfu.edu/Computer-information/STARS/index1.html)
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(STARS)
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Tips for Successful ICT Use for Teaching
 Have a clear vision and plan for technology-based education
 Launch an awareness & buy-in campaign for technology-based education


Bring all stakeholders (administrators, teachers, students, etc) on board for greater
success
Promote the demands of and changes necessary for ICT-mediated education
 Deploy requisite infrastructure & qualified support army for it
 Provide quality and accessible courseware
 Provide adequate preparation for staff and students
 Audit and evaluate your technology-based education project regularly
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Conclusions
 Teaching in today's digital world requires a paradigm shift
 Roles of both teacher and student change
 Outlined ways that ICT can be employed to enhance teaching and learning
 Presented some research evidences on how ICT improves teaching and
learning
 Pointed out some pre-requisites for enjoying the fruits of ICT in teaching
and learning
 Identified essential elements for successful ICT-mediated education
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The End
Questions / Comments
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References
1.
“Information and Communication Technologies in Teacher Education: A Planning Guide”,
UNESCO, 2002, www.unesco.org
2.
Kulik, J. A. (1994). Meta-analytic studies of findings on computer-based instruction. In E.L.
Baker & H. F. O'Neil, Jr. (Eds.), Technology assessment in education and training. Hillsdale,
NJ: Erlbaum
3.
Bertelsmann Foundation, (1998). “The potential of media across the curriculum: The
finding from the 1996-1997 evaluation at Athens Academy”. Gutersloh, Germany: Author.
Available: http://www.stiftung.bertelsmann.de/english/publika/neuersch/index.htm
4.
B. Means et al., “Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A MetaAnalysis and Review of Online Learning Studies,” 2009;
www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf
5.
S. Junaidu and J. Al-Ghamdi, “Comparative Analysis of F2F and Online Course Offerings:
KFUPM Experience”. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance
Learning (IJITDL), April 2004.
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