ICT Policies and Issues: Implications to Teaching and Learning

Definition of ICT Policy

- The Oxford Dictionary has defined “policy” as a course of action adopted and pursued by a
government, party, ruler, statesman. It is any course of action adopted as expedient or advantageous.
Its operational definition of policy is a plan of action to guide decisions and achieve outcomes.

Thus, ICT policies are needed to put a road-map or course of actions to be pursued and adopted by
various governments, organizations, entities involving ICT.

These include principles and guidelines in the use of ICT which cover three main areas:
telecommunications (telephone), broadcasting (radio and television) and Internet

The New ICT technologies

More recent technological innovations increased the reach and speed of communications which can
be grouped in three categories:
1. Information Technology This includes the us of computers, which has become indispensable in
modern societies to process data and save time and effort. What are needed will be computer
hardware and peripherals, software and for the user, computer literacy.
2. Telecommunication Technologies These include telephones (with fax) and the broadcasting of radio
and television often through satellites. Telephone system, radio and TV broadcasting are needed in
this category.
3. Networking Technologies The best known networking technologies is Internet, but it has extended
to mobile phone technology, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VIOP) satellite communications and other
forms of communication are still in their infancy. In addition to Internet, this Category also includes
mobile telephones, cable, DSL, satellite and other broadband connectivity.

The DICT Road map

In our country, the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) has formulated
a road map to guide all agencies in the utilization, regulation and enhancement of ICT. Each project
has corresponding policy statements and guidelines.

The ICT for Education (ICT4E) is a program under the DICT that supports all the efforts of the education
sector in incorporating the use of ICT as well as in determining and gaining access to the
infrastructure (hardware, software, telecommunications facilities and others) which are necessary to
use and deploy learning technologies at all levels of education.

Among the policy recommended programs that have applications to education teaching-learning are:
(DICT Policy Recommended Programs that have applications to education teaching-learning)
1. ICT in Education Master plan for all levels, including a National Road map for Faculty Development
in ICT in Education. A National Framework Plan for ICTs in Basic Education was developed.
2. Content and application development through the Open Content in Education Initiative (OCEI)
which converts DepED materials into interactive multi-media content, develop applications used in
schools, and conduct students and teacher’s competitions to promote the development of
education-related web content
3. PheDNET, is “walled” garden the hosts educational learning and teaching materials and applications
for use by Filipino students, their parents and teachers. All public high schools will be part of this
network with only DepEdapproved multi-media applications, materials and mirrored internet sites
accessible from school ‘s PCs.
4. Established Community eLearning Centers called eSkwela for out-of-school youth (OSY) providing
them with ICT-enhanced alternative education opportunities.
5. eQuality Program for tertiary education through partnerships with state universities and colleges
(SUCs) to improve quality of IT education and the use of ICT in education in the country, particularly
outside of Metro Manila.
6. Digital Media Arts Program which builds digital media skills for government using Open
Source technologies. Particularly the beneficiary agencies organizations, the Cultural Center of the
Philippines, National Commission and for Culture and Arts, State Universities and local government
units.
7. ICT skills strategic plan which develops an inter-agency approach to identifying strategic and policy
and program recommendations to address ICT skills demand-supply type.

All the seven programs were guided by the roadmap that embeds policy statements that
relate to education specifically in the enhancement of human development for teaching and learning.

Some Issues on ICT and Internet Policy and Regulation

Global Issues
Access and civil liberties are two sets of issues in ICT policy which are crucial to the modern society.
The other concern is civil liberties which refer to human rights and freedom.
These include:
-freedom of expression
-the right to privacy -the right to communicate
-intellectual property rights

Access to the Use of Internet and ICT

Access means the possibility for everyone to use the internet and other media. In richer countries,
basic access to internet is almost available to all with faster broadband connections. There are still
countries where access to internet is still a challenge.

Infringement to Civil Liberties or Human Rights

What are specific internet issues on internet policy that have relationship to civil liberties or human
rights? Let’s study the examples that follow:

Issue No. 1: Freedom of Expression and Censorship.

- Under international human rights conventions, all people are guaranteed the rights for free
expressions. However with the shift from communicating through letter, newspapers and public
meetings to electronic communications and online networking, a need to look into how these new
means modifies the understanding of freedom of expression and censorship.
- The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that everyone has the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion, likewise the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
- Censorship restricts the transmission of information by blocking it or filtering information.

Some examples are the following:

a. Individual rights are given up in order to have access the electronic networks.
b. Censorship restricts the transmission of information by blocking it or filtering the Information.
Blocking is preventing access to whole areas of internet based upon the “blacklist” of certain Internet
address, location or email addresses while filtering is sifting the packets of data or messages as they
move across computer networks and eliminating those considered “undesirable” materials. The
selection of sites that are blocked or filtered has been considered as an issue.
c. Defamation actions may be used to silence critics. This action deters the freedom of expression.

Issue No. 2: Privacy and Security

Privacy policies are an issue. Most commercial sites have a privacy policy. When someone uses a site
and clicks “I agree” button, it is as if you have turned over private information to any authority that
may access it.

There are types of privacy as shown by the following examples:

a. For most, privacy means “personal privacy: the right of individuals not to have their home, private
life or personal life interfered with.
b. Privacy of communication refers to the protection form interference with communication over
the phone or internet. Respect for privacy of communications is an essential prerequisite for the
maintenance of human relationship via technological communications media. I
c. Information privacy is related to the use of computers and communications system which are able
to hold and process information about large numbers of people at a high speed. It is important to
ensure that information will only be used for purposes for which it was gathered and will not be
disclosed to others without consent of the individuals

Issue No. 3: Surveillance and Data Retention

Indirect Surveillance – no direct contact between the agent and the subject for surveillance and
but evidence of activities can be traced.
Data Surveillance –the use of personal information to monitor a person’s activities.
Data Retention – the storage and use of information from communication systems.

(Explanation: The use of electronic communications has enhanced the development of indirect
surveillance. Directed surveillance means surveillance that is: covert, but not intrusive. carried out for
the purposes of a specific investigation or operation related to the preventing or detecting of crime.
likely to result in the obtaining of private information about a person or persons. In the indirect
surveillance, there is no direct between the agent and the subject of surveillance but the evidence of
activities can be traces. The new and powerful form of indirect surveillance is data surveillance. It is
use of personal information to monitor a person’s activities while data retention is the storage
and use of information from communication systems.)

Issue No. 4: E- pollutants from E-waste

Large amount of E-waste is generated by ICT.
These are in particular, terminal equipment's for computing, broadcasting, telephony, and
peripherals.
Material waste can be destroyed by crushing, toxic material brought by the different equipment
requires utmost management.

(Explanation: Large amount of e-waste is generated by ICT. There are in particular, terminal
equipments used for computing (PCs, laptops), broadcasting (television and radiosets), telephony
(fixed mobile phones), and peripherals (fax machines, printers and scanners). The accumulated e-
waste is due to rapid turnover of equipment due to rapid improvement of software. While material
waste can be destroyed by crushing, toxic material brought by the different equipment requires
utmost management. Remedies include standardization and regulatory measures to increase the life
cycle of equipment before they become obsolete. Efficient extraction of toxic components and
requiring the recycling of both consumers and equipment vendors are selling must be required. If
not controlled then, e-waste will tremendously affect climate change, damage human lives, and
overload the capacity of the earth in carrying solid waste.)

Implications to Teaching and Learning

How do the policy guidelines, projects and issues relate to the teaching and learning?
For the Teaching and Teaching
Guide the teachers on what they should teach that relate to ICT, and how to teach it.
Technology should never replace any human teacher.
There are rules and regulations that govern the use of technology. Caution should be observed to
protect individual privacy.
All the issues and many more shall be part of the teaching content as each teacher will be
encouraged to use technology in teaching.

For the Learners and Learning

The learners of the 21st century are even more advanced than some of the teachers. However,
learners still need guidance on how to use, regulate technology use.
As there are positive and negative effects of technology use, learners should know the difference.
Learners should not only know the benefits of technology use, but they should also know how they
can be protected from the hazards that technology brings to their lives
Learners should take advantage of the potential of learning support they can derive such as the
development of higher order thinking skills, the development of learning communities through
collaboration, the enhancement of skills to manage the vast resources as 21st century learners and
many more.