ITM4133

ICT ISSUES IN EDUCATION

Muhammad Hashim
Faculty of Information Technology Industry
UNISEL
TOPICS
1 ICT in education – concepts and overview
2 ICT in Malaysia’s education system – policy and strategies
3 Types of learning system: e-learning, blended learning and distance
learning
4 Key challenges in integrating ICT in education
5 ICT supported curriculum
6 ICT infrastructure and financing issues in education
7 ICT maintenance, evaluation and support system related issues
8 Staff development for ICT education
9 Organizational change and leadership
10 ICT in higher learning institution
11 ICT in skill-based training institution
12 Occupational issue on ICT graduates
13 Open source for education
14 Tools and applications for education
 ICT in Education – Concepts & Overview

• “Computer in education” become popular term in

educational policy-making in the early 1980s.
• The term “IT – Information Technology” late 80s
signifies a shift of focus from computing technology
to the capacity to store and retrieve information.
• The term “ICT – Information and Telecommunication
Technology” appear around 1992 when email
started become available to the general public.
 ICT – Term & Definition

• “Diverse set of technological tools and resources

used to communicate, and to create, disseminate,
store, and manage information.”

• “The system of various technologies, tools, and

devices that are used to transmit, process, store,
create, display, share or exchange information by
electronic means” (UNESCO)
 Introduction
• Globalization and technological change - processes that have
accelerated in tandem over the past fifteen 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.
• 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,” :
 Introduction
• The International Labor Organization defines the requirements
for education and training in the new global economy simply as
“Basic Education for All”, “Core Work Skills for All” and “Lifelong
Learning for All”.
• ICTs - which include radio and television, as well as newer digital
technologies such as computers and the Internet have been
touted as potentially powerful enabling tools for educational
change and reform.
• ICTs help expand access to education, strengthen the relevance
of education to the increasingly digital workplace, and raise
educational quality by making teaching and learning into an
engaging, active process connected to real life.
 Introduction
• However, the experience of introducing different ICTs
in the classroom and other educational settings all
over the world over the past several decades
suggests that the full realization of the potential
educational benefits of ICTs is not automatic.
• The effective integration of ICTs into the educational
system is a complex, multifaceted process that
involves not just technology - but also curriculum
and pedagogy, institutional readiness, teacher
competencies, and long-term financing.
 History……
• The introduction of microcomputers in education
has brought high expectations that it would
make education more effective and motivating.
• However, when many surveys have shown that
computers were used mainly as a supplement to
the existing curriculum.
• Between 1992 – 1995, investments in h/w, staff
development & ICT research program are
decreased.
 History……

• Political interest in ICT boosted when World

Wide Web became available.
• The interest came with some rhetoric:
i. With ICT, societies will change into
information societies.
ii. Citizens need new competencies
iii.ICT will generate educational innovations.
 Issues of ICT in Education

i. Curriculum
ii. Infrastructure
iii. Staff development
iv. Organizational change and leadership
v. National educational policy
vi. Security
 Global Trends in ICT and Education

1. Mobile Learning
2. Cloud Computing
3. One-to-one Computing
4. Ubiquitous Learning
5. Gaming
6. Personalized Learning
7. Redefinition of learning spaces
8. Teacher-generated open content
9. Smart portfolio assessment
10. Teacher managers/mentors
 Worst Practices in ICT for Education

1. Dump hardware in schools, hope for magic to happen

2. Design for OECD learning environments, implement elsewhere
3. Think about educational content only after you have rolled out
your hardware
4. Assume you can just import content from somewhere else
5. Don't monitor, don't evaluate
6. Make a big bet on an unproven technology
7. Don't think about (or acknowledge) total cost of
ownership/operation issues or calculations
8. Assume away equity issues
9. Don't train your teachers
 ICT in Malaysian Education System
Policy & Strategies

• Malaysia has long recognized the transformational ability of ICT that would
propel the country from p-economy to k-economy.

• The national ICT Council (NITC) was formed in under the 6th Malaysian Plan
(1990-1995) to ensure ICT would be well integrated into the fabric of the
Malaysian society.

• National ICT Agenda (NITA) was formulated in the 7th Malaysia plan (1996-2000)
as a catalyst to transform Malaysian economy into value-based economy with
development human capital, infrastructure and applications .

• Malaysia Multimedia Super Corridor(MSC) was established in 1996 as a world

class hub for development and nurturing of the Nation's ICT industry that
provides first-world knowledge and infrastructure, at developing-nation costs.
 ICT in Education Policy
• Malaysia recognizes that the transformation of its education
system is fundamental to achieving its objectives.
• The Ministry of Education, with the participation of non-
governmental agencies, is focusing on the development of new
media for use as educational, organizational and partnership-
building tools, and as a means for bridging the country’s digital
divide and empowering learners.
• Due to its belief that ICT can revolutionize education and
learning, the Ministry plans to integrate ICT into education on a
fundamental level, incorporating systems to facilitate
management, information gathering, access, and various forms
of communication.
 ICT in Education Policy
MoE articulation of ICT in education focused on 3 main
areas:
i. ICT will be used as an enabler to reduce the digital
divide between the country’s schools by enabling
ICT access for all students;
ii. ICT will be used as teaching and learning tools in
education, taught as an independent subject and
integrated into others; and
iii. ICT will be used to enhance efficiency, effectiveness
and productivity of management in education.
 Malaysia ICT Development Plan

i. Intensify the development of the ICT infrastructure;

ii. Expand access to and equity for ICT facilities;
iii. Improve assessment and evaluation systems using ICT;
iv. Emphasize ICT integration into teaching and learning processes;
v. Improve ICT knowledge and skills of students, teachers and other
personnel;
vi. Intensify usage of ICT in education management;
vii. Improve the management and maintenance of ICT equipment;
viii. Increase research and development efforts in ICT; and
ix. Increase cooperation between educational institution and the
community towards expansion of ICT in education.
 Implementation Strategies

Implementation strategies to achieve Malaysia’s ICT in education objectives

include:

i. Preparing appropriate ICT equipment and infrastructure for all schools;

ii. Introducing ICT curriculum and support for ICT integration into general
teaching and learning;
iii. Upgrading the ICT skills and knowledge of both teachers and students;
iv. Increasing ICT use in educational management; and
v. Upgrading ICT maintenance/management in educational institutions.
 ICT Initiatives in Education

1) ICT for all students to bridge the digital divide between schools

i. The Smart School project

ii. Computer laboratories
iii. Teaching of Mathematics and science in English
iv. WebTV
v. SchoolNet
vi. School Access Centres
vii. Transforming all the schools to smart schools
 ICT Initiatives in Education

2) ICT as a teaching and learning tool

• The Ministry does not see ICT as the silver bullet to attain a higher level of
educational excellence. ICT remains as a tool or enabler.
• In terms of teaching and learning, the Ministry endeavors to employ ICT to
make lessons more interesting, relevant, and meaningful.
• Ministry had produced a variety of teaching and learning materials ranging
from audio CD, video CDs, interactive CD ROMs, web-based multimedia
contents as well as providing access to on line teaching and learning
materials.
• A total of 3778 titles of teaching and learning materials have been
produced and dispersed to schools from 1999 – 2008.
 ICT Initiatives in Education

3) ICT as a productivity tool

• Computers can be used in a variety of ways and situations in support of
operations in schools such as maintaining students’ records, managing
curriculum content, supporting pedagogy; maintaining timetables and
classes; financial management, communication; library management;
inventory management and hostel management.
• Smart School Management System (SSMS) was built as a comprehensive
system encompassing 10 school management functions into 32 modules.
This later morphed into a web based school management function called
Web School Management System (WSMS) in 2006.
• In 2009, an updated school management system called Sistem
Pengurusan Sekolah (SPS) is introduced.