ICT and Education

ICT has a huge range of functions in education such as; communication, learning tools, administration, information sources and distance learning. ICT has therefore had quite an impact on education; for instance, the National Curriculum demands children be taught to use computers early on so as they progress into secondary, further and higher education, they are then adept in utilising applications software. Consequently, ICT is used in virtually all of the subjects that the students are taught, whether it be English, maths, modern foreign languages, etc.

ICT in the past

In the early 1980’s Britain introduced computers to schools. Due to inadequate investment by the government, every school was only provided with one computer. Many of the schools did not use the computers as the teachers were not trained properly and so could not deal with them. In addition there was not a simple upgrade policy and so complete purchasing has frequently meant that before long schools have outdated hardware. Moreover, information communications technology of any sort was only utilised by fascinated teachers, however it was not taught as a separate subject.

Benefits of ICT today

• Exciting interactive teaching packages are widely available on multimedia such as CD and DVD ROM’s which provide information in innovative and attractive ways.

• Offers access to information which was not available beforehand.

• Possible to link schools internationally

Beneficial ICT Services

• Internet Service and its materials

• Presentation Software

• Distance Learning

• Learning Tools

Advantages and disadvantages of the internet and its materials

The internet is a vast worldwide system of interconnected networks serving billions of peop...

... middle of paper ...

...Disadvantages of having computers over teachers for learning

• Teachers will be made redundant

• Computers cannot almost ever inspire students using the same approach as teachers can

• Pupils can get extremely uninterested of a dull computer screen, whereas they can be kept interested in the subject by good teachers

• Students may also lose vital skills of communication and social interaction

In conclusion the impact of Information Communications Technology on education has been an encouraging one because students are taught practical IT skill which can be used in working life as well. E-learning which plays a huge part in ICT in education, is rising in popularity year by year. Because of this people are beginning to go and learn on online courses such as Learn Direct and Web wise, whilst youngsters regularly use sites such as SAM Learning and BBC Bitesize.