ict in education

ICT in schools

Why do we need ICT in schools? Was education not happening before computers came into existence? Why is this paradigm shift necessary? The shift is necessary because this is the age of information and technology, an age that requires that teachers facilitate the gathering of this information and not merely teach.

Unfortunately, in India, ICT is largely associated with the use of computer and Internet. What one uses ICT for and how one uses it, is not addressed sufficiently. Schools and colleges acquire computers, Internet connection, LCD projectors and then send their teachers for crash courses that supposedly teach them to use technology. The trouble is this whole approach is devoid of focus. But, until teachers are made to realize the need of ICT, no amount of computerization can help.

What is ICT supposed to be used for in the class?             

A question I often hear teachers who are unwilling to take the ICT plunge is, ‘Can the student learn anything without the teacher explaining or intervening? And my answer to that is, ‘Students also have ideas of their own and knowledge that they gathered from daily life; this knowledge and ideas are not accepted or utilized by teachers. Using ICT this can be achieved in a big way.’