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ICT in Education and Managing Educational Organizations in a Digital Age
Introduction
A wake-up call from the new breed of technologies has started changing the classroom paradigms of the educational institutions. Overhead projectors, interactive classroom, projectors, whiteboards and virtual means of communication contributed vitally in changing the apparent facets of the educational organizations. However, the coming and implementation of ICT in the classroom do not realize its potentials in placing positive impacts on educational sectors’ development (Motteram, 2013). A wide range of researchers and debates can be found in which authors of the readings have discussed ICT and IT in reference to its potentials of empowering the education sector, enhancing students and teachers’ learning and using the 21st skills, and encouraging change in the education industry of the 21st century. Despite of such ample material available, it is still difficult to evaluate and measure the impact of ICT on educational institutions in this digital age. This is so because putting technology before education is also prone towards numerous challenges due to which little evidence of significant success in improving educational outcomes are gathered and still there is lot more to come (Luckin, et al., 2012). Without considering the direction of the impacts of ICT, important actions required for supporting digital age, and the implications of learning technology, pedagogy and change management ideas can be difficult to be accumulated. The essay summarizes and synthesizes numerous readings in order to seek out answers for the following three problem questions.
1. What is the impact of ICT on education and students’ learning?
2. What important actions are required for supporting the development of digital age learning?
3. What are the implications about bringing together technology, pedagogy and change management ideas?
1- Impact of ICT on Education and Students’ Learning
The impact of ICT on education and students’ learning are explicit and clear from the time when the computer was first introduced in the educational organizations in North America and Western Europe). Computer Assisted Instructions (CAI) were expected to increase the triggered development of students’ learning but the outcomes were not up to the mark. This failure can be understood in connection with the key elements and influencing factors of the learning process of students adapted from the study of Voogt & Knezek, (2008). According to them, learning process is much prone towards the immediate social environment and society and not merely on the organizational setting set by the teachers of the schools and educational institutions. This the main reason why the students are not able to enhance their learning abilities by concentrating on the infrastructure, goals and content delivered to them using ICT. IT can be used as an object towards the needs of society (Voogt & Knezek, 2008).
Motteram, (2013) elaborated the use of technology in education as the key area for empowering the students and teachers through the provision of access to a wide-range of web-based tools permitting them to get engage in the work and communicate with live viewers. However, such extent of freedom also has an impact on changing the classroom from a mere place of study and threatens the primary role of educational places. Digital revolution can be used in order to bring the large scale and remote distance learning. Dexter, (2008) also talks for the potential of ICTs in developing a spirit of mutuality among the culture of the educational organization to create an engagement platform among the individuals. She emphasizes on developing the necessary environment for the teachers with technology-support pedagogy.
Kopcha, (2012) also confirmed the fact through survey ratings in which highest rating was received for two beliefs i.e. “I believe using computers with students increases their learning” and “The technology available was, for the most part, useful for teaching”. In the similar study it was also identified that time, students’ ability and competency to operate the technological means adversely affect their efficiency to perform in much improved way. Furthermore, Kozma, (2008) summarizes the use of ICT though the multi-dimensional aspects that promote;
• “learner-centered learning;
• active, exploratory, inquiry-based learning;
• collaborative work among learners and teachers; and
• creativity, analytical skills, critical thinking and informed decision-making” (Kozma, 2008, p. 1088).
2- Important Actions Required Supporting the Development of Digital Age Learning
After identifying the two sides of this coin, the readings direct us towards the extent of leadership contribution in associating the outcomes of ICT much better on the development of educational environment as well as the student’s learning experiences. This leadership can be examined from the angle of teachers, school leaders as well as policy makers. Motteram (2013) comprehended the distributed leadership approach as the possible solution behind the cognitive and active development of students through ICT. It should be noted that supportive school policy plans could never turn out as effective unless the regional and international policy makers work with them to form a mutual platform. No argument in stating that without teachers’ development, students’ learning process cannot be enhanced. Vanderlinde, Braak, & Dexter (2012, p.1340) suggested that ICT policy plans should include the room for “regular representations about the ICT at staff meetings, ICT hallways talks and ICT monitoring activities”. Schools should share server for making exchange of materials and tools among the teachers. Generally, an ICT policy plan should be focused on key domains of ICT vision development, financial ICT policy, ICT policy concerning infrastructure, ICT continuing professional development policy ad ICT curriculum policy. All the five domains can be used to make interaction among teachers, ICT coordinators, and school leader.
Kozma, (2008) also popped out several strategic policy recommendations for educational ICT. According to him, strategic policies formulated with the national ICT framework can help in the provision of rationale, setting of goals and vision for the education systems. Operational policies should consider the needs of each of the stakeholders including the parents of the students. Operational school polices should be aligned with the national policies (Kozma, 2008). Newhouse, (2010) further presented the six inter-connected organizations conditions mandatory for supporting the ICT learning and development of the digital learning environment in the institutions. These include strategic plan, vision, school culture, whole school approach, school infrastructure and organizational structure. According to his study findings, school principals and coordinators needs to centralize the resource allocation process. Another main point raised in the study was liaising with technical support (Newhouse, 2010).
It can be examined that school and system leaders should integrate the national policy in their organizational framework which can consequently result in the development of awareness, connection of new knowledge and technologies, provision of teachers with necessary resources, making connection among the teachers and involving them in the decision making process. Apart from that, nurturing students’ experience and cultivating shared beliefs within the school culture are also necessary for holding up the improvement and eliminating barriers towards the success of the ICT professional learning in the educational organizations. School leadership is a critical factor to facilitate using ICT to achieve success in students’ professional learning (Moyle, 2006).
3- Implications about Bringing Together Technology, Pedagogy and Change Management
Ideas
In order to implement the actions required for supporting the digital learning through integration of teachers, school leaders and policy makers, Moyle, (2006) expressed the philosophy of the Australian educators i.e.
“Leadership matters’ and ‘start with the pedagogies, not the technologies” (Moyle, 2006, p. 1).
It apprehends with the relationship necessary for bringing the technology, pedagogy and change management ideas at the mutual platform. Moyle (2006) has elaborated that ICT should be used as a students’ suite of learning tools and not a mere subject and course, which is taught in isolation to other areas of learning. Without focusing on this point, leaders cannot attain the goal of digitalize learning within the organizations. It can be analyzed that there is a need to re-conceptualize the lens through which the value of ICT can be absorbed in the educational institutions’ learning. The ideas gathered from the readings can be used in order to bring the change at the personal workplaces. In the capacity of the educator, it will become easy to match the technologies with the pedagogies. A powerful synergy between these three can help in fostering the educational sector of the country towards the extraordinary development dimension. It will also eventually help in dealing with the mysterious forces having strong impact on the digital learning of the students. Developing exciting and innovative experience in the learning process can help us to engage the learners through their learning process as discussed in the beginning part of the essay (Dede, 2010).
From the readings, it has become evident that there is a strong need to engage all the stakeholders, utilize easy to use technological platforms, and policy solving real life problems. It should be noted that in most of the readings, efficiency and engagement are used as the pillars for bringing the change. Personal involvement of teachers in the life of students can facilitate in transforming the positive attitudes, outlooks and behaviors among the individuals. The human interaction from community to school can help in eliminating the barriers that isolate the learning of students. Lesson plans additionally should be drafted after taking into account the consideration from all the stakeholders (Dede, 2010; Motteram, 2013; Luckin, et al., 2012).
The readings also suggest the need for the leaders to become isolate from the old and traditional teaching paradigms that centralized leadership and prevent innovation. Distributed leadership should be also encouraged within the educational organstaions where individuals as responsible educators should constantly plan lessons, curricula, and structure mandatory for integrating the technological use in school goals accomplishment. Technology and pedagogy can be combined for bringing change through focus (Newhouse, 2010), innovation (Motteram, 2013), capacity building (Luckin, et al., 2012), transparency (Vanderlinde, Braak, & Dexter, 2012), elimination of the non-essentials in the education policy and leadership (Vanderlinde, Braak, & Dexter, 2012). The relationship between these three forces (pedagogy, technology and change knowledge) can result in effective enhancement of the human and social capital. However, it should be noted that the triad of pedagogy, technology and change knowledge could only be implemented through the appropriate educational transformation.
Conclusion
The answers of the questions set in the beginning of the essay are realized in the form of policy and practical reformation of educational industry both at the local as well as international level. Now the need is to start its implementation without being partial towards old traditions and any specific stakeholders. Only in this way, true essence of using ICT in order to develop students learning and management of educational organstaions in digital age can be achieved. We, as an individual educator as well as a team should focus on integrating the operational policies with the national frameworks in order to bring consistency in practices for the benefit of the students and educational institutions as a whole.
References:
Dede, C. (2010). Comparing frameworks for 21st century skills . In J. A. Bellanca, & R. S. Brandt, 21st Century Skills: Rethinking how students learn. (pp. 54-75). Bloomington: Solution Tree Press.
Dexter, S. (2008). Leadersip for IT in schools. In J. Voogt, & G. Knezek, International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, Part 1 (pp. 543-554). Berlin: Springer Science .
Kopcha, T. J. (2012). Teachers’ perceptions of the barriers to technology integration and practices with technology under situated professional development. Computers & Education , 1109-1121.
Kozma, R. B. (2008). Comparative analysis of policies for ICT in Education. In J. Voogt, & G. Knezek, International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, Part 1 (pp. 1083-1096). Berlin: Springer.
Luckin, R., Bligh, B., Manches, A., Ainsworth, S., Crook, C., & Noss, R. (2012). Learning with technology. In decoding learning: The proof, the promise and potential of digital education. Nesta, 14-46.
Motteram, G. (2013). Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching. London: British Council 2013 Brand and Design/C607.
Moyle, K. (2008). Leadership and learning with ICT. Explore, Dream, Discover (pp. 1-11). San Diego: national educational computing conference (pp. 1-11). San Diego: National Educational Computing Conference.
Newhouse, C. P. (2010). SCHOOL LEADERSHIP CRITICAL TO MAXIMISING THE IMPACT OF ICT ON LEARNING. ACEC2010: digital diversity conference (pp. 6-9). MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: ACEC.
Vanderlinde, R., Braak, J. v., & Dexter, S. (2012). ICT policy planning in a context of curriculum reform: Disentanglement of ICT policy domains and artifacts. Computers & Education , 1339-1350.
Voogt, J., & Knezek, G. (2008). International handbook of information technology in primary and secondary education, part 1. Springer.
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