21ST CENTURY LEARNING: ICT AS AN AGENT FOR CHANGE

By Aliah O. Diasmen

With the world moving rapidly into digital media and information, the role of ICT in
education is becoming more and more important especially in the process of empowering the
technology into the educational activities. There is a dramatic increase of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) that integrates with education. All possible types of (ICT) such
as; smart mobile phones, computers, are starting to replace a textbook in school and university with
an online e-book. These types of technology integrated into a classroom can be a great tool to
empower students to get a wide range of knowledge.
For education, the purpose of ICT is generally to familiarize students and teachers with the use and
workings of computers, related social and ethical issues. It is generally believed that ICT can
empower both teachers and learners. It promotes change to education in 21st century. ICT not only
transforms teaching but also the learning processes. The transformation gets to increase learning
gains for students that provide learners an opportunity to develop creativity, communication skills,
and other thinking skills. Besides, smart solutions for the future including laptop learning, e-learning,
smart classrooms, and stimulations is the key to education today. An entire learning environment is
needed in which students; teachers, administrators, and parents can easily communicate and
collaborate with each other, share secure information around the clock, and, ultimately, access a
world of knowledge beyond classroom walls. Essays, UK. (November 2018). Positive And Negative
Impacts That Ict On Education Education Essay. Retrieved from
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/education/positive-and-negative-impacts-that-ict-on-education-
education-essay.php?vref=1

The issue here is that students, however, feel lazy to attend the class if they can easily get the
study material from the web. Across the school or colleges, students might not value ICT that spent
too much time on presentation needs and copying without reading and understanding. At the same
time, students will search the information from the web and caught by “cutting and pasting”.
Through this type of behavior, reliability of the students will be affected. But if the teacher will use
or shared resources with the students to provide collaborative learning, it easier for teachers to
explain and will not waste their time on giving their own example. Once teachers have brought the
technicalities involved with classroom- related hardware and software resources, they can enhance
their teaching.

In today’s interconnected world, information and communication technology (ICT) is widely

used by our nation and it affects our lives every day. It gives great impact in education for the
learners and teachers as it has become an agent for change in education. ICT also help student and
teacher with activities that are provided in the websites. That kind of activities gives ideas to the
teachers in their teaching, so that students enjoy the class. As seen from the information above, ICT
can benefit both strong and weak students with their special needs. By the way, they especially
improved the performance in students’ English and on writing skills.