Integrating ICT in Teacher Education

This assignment delves into the significant impact of integrating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) within teacher education programs. It specifically examines how open online reflective journals can effectively enhance the learning process for aspiring educators. The analysis will explore various strategies for incorporating ICT tools into pedagogical practices, highlighting their potential to foster innovative and engaging teaching methodologies.

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Strategy for Integration of ICT
Unit EST204-ICT in education
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Executive Summary
This report highlights the use of information communication technology and how it has
created a revolution in the classroom globally. Apart from the importance of ICT, a literature
review has been provided to further emphasize the importance of this report and a strategic plan
which can be used for the implementation of ICT in the educational institution.
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Contents
Executive Summary.............................................................................................................1
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
Literature Review................................................................................................................4
My understanding of ICT in education................................................................................5
My teaching Philosophy......................................................................................................6
E-learning plan.....................................................................................................................8
Interactive whiteboard.........................................................................................................8
Audio visual devices............................................................................................................9
Social media.........................................................................................................................9
Google classroom................................................................................................................9
Justification of my strategy................................................................................................10
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................10
References..........................................................................................................................12
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Introduction
The current world is operating in a virtual age whereby information and communication
technology (ICT) has dominated many sectors of the economy. More specifically, ICT refers to
the processes which are used by businesses, individuals, governments, and organizations in
operating in a virtual world. This makes it possible to process, analyze and sort out information
to suit specific needs of the end user (Martínez-Caroal et al., 2015). The communication
component involves the use of a medium in the expression of information, emotions, and ideas.
Basically, the ICT integrates the audio as well as visual devices, techniques, and networks so that
organizations, individuals, businesses, and governments can have a clear mode of interaction
with each other (Morgado et al., 2014). However, it is worth noting that the tools that are used in
ICT undergo progressive upgrades. For instance, traditionally, the transistors were used for
communication and upgraded to use of radios and currently, there are artificial intelligence and
robotic technologies. With the continued use of ICT for the advancement of social, political and
economic development, the whole world is becoming connected by just a click. This has aided in
both interpersonal as well as intrapersonal communication globally (Clark & Mayer, 2016). The
advancement of technology and modern medium of communication has drastically changed the
life of everyone. This millennium thus calls for expanded use of social media and hence the need
for using ICT by all people. If ICT is applied in education, there are likely to be significant
improvements in communication knowledge as a strong relationship is created between the
students and their teachers. The use of ICT in education is thus of great importance for both
teachers and learners. This report discusses the use of ICT in teaching, curriculum plan, and
individual pedagogical approaches.
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Literature Review
The importance of ICT in education cannot be underestimated because it has profound
effects globally. According to Archer and Hughes (2011), education a transformative aspect of
the society such that ICT complements educational delivery in learning institutions. Therefore, if
education is integrated with ICT, the curriculum can be updated to foster various skills according
to societal needs. ICT has already provided a paradigm in education in the current century. Use
of computers and internet has made learning and teaching so interesting due to the wide media
that is available for use. Bearing in mind of the shortage of skilled teachers, ICT has provided an
option whereby online classes can be used instead of depending on actual teachers. Online
classes make people make collaborations enables sharing of content across the world among
pupils and teachers.
It is also sufficient to note that the young generation in this century is surrounded by tools
in information technology. This means that it becomes easy for them to easily integrate studies
with ICT. The blending of education with ICT has contributed to a rise in the protocols of taking
distance learning. This is because ICT has removed a negative notion that has been circulating in
castigation of the distance learning (Surjono, 2014). At the moment, the use of information
technologies such that many subjects can be taught with increased flexibility of the curriculum to
meet the learners' needs.
This report also notes the problems that the process of digitalizing the education sector
and more specifically the classroom faces. Of great importance is that the teachers have a
negative perception that digitalization and technology could probably lead to a replacement of
teachers in the near future. However, this can be termed as a misconception simply because
presently, there is still a high shortage of both trained as well as skilled teachers in the
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technology sector. It is therefore important to understand that the use of technology in education
is critical for enhancing communication between teachers and students and not replacing the
services of teachers. Seemingly, the reverse of the existing misconception could be true because
the technology requires the input of teachers for ease of content delivery (Juuti, 2016). Another
challenge which exists in the integration of technology in education is lack of technologically
trained teachers. This means that most teachers do not use the available technological resources
at a full capacity as compared to other countries.
My understanding of ICT in education
Considering the foundation of the orderly approach as used in learning and giving of
instructions, there is a rise in class learning which reflects four variables in education. These
include Responsibilities- when offering education, there is a need for creating a meaning in the
relevant topics being handled. This means that the teachers need to be fully aware of the student'
and societal expectations when teaching to enhance a high level of understanding (Caballé &
Clarisó, 2016). understanding of responsibilities by teachers should be connected to step 4
(constructive and noting methods) and step 6 (mass introduction and extra contributions made by
the educator).
Reflectivity- this refers to the ability of the teachers to have thoughts concerning giving
instructions. This means that their conscious should enable them to synchronize education
process alongside the learning styles of the pupils (Gikandi, 2013). More precisely, the recorded
reflectivity is very important in creating knowledge on the various styles of learning and how the
actual learning occurs. in the human brain, the left cerebellum has a high level of reflectivity
indicating that the intelligence factor should be connected in step 1 (the provisions of a lesson
design, class participation, and past lesson designs) and step 7 (gauges the aims of offering
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learning and instructions as well as the intended results). This learning framework should be
assessed, considered and facilitated through school organization, education, and learning.
Creativity: this refers to making a promise to produce new information, ideas and
thoughts from some other information. The impacts of creativity in learning is that it has led to
an expansion in the modern learning abilities. In this case, the educators need to invigorate and
empower imaginations in beneficial ways (Lee & Jin, 2015). As a result, the inventor mind
should be linked to step 2 (the set enlistment). Moreover, at step 8 (conclusion and homework),
the creativity and invention become critical for development, delivery, and enhancement to
maintain the quality of digital learning.
Cooperation- in order to support investments among their colleagues, teachers need to
have a high level of cooperation. For instance, it is clear that associating in meetings and
gatherings enhances self-directness and raises the esteem of the members' ideas progressively
and include a group (Gruner, 2016). The cooperation factor is linked to step 3 (the co-working
during learning in the classroom) and step 5 (assembled talking related to class work). The
teachers and learners should have an open mind concerning the specific use of ICT in
educational training (McGill et al., 2014). The unique thing with the current generation is that
the young people are able to capture things faster and in a different way than their parents could
have done. There is also a need for developing and taking care of digital systems, sensitivity and
social aptitudes in various organizations.
My teaching Philosophy
Generally, teaching can be viewed as a relationship between a mentor and a student. As
such, a teacher needs to facilitate and lead classroom activities by use of ICT. The teachers also
need to understand that the incorporation of ICT in education does not undermine the critical
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roles of teachers but rather improves their understanding (Lee & Jin, 2015). It is therefore
important that teachers come up with new methods of teaching by use of e-learning by use of
their individual skills to help the students, especially the weak ones. This is important because a
teacher has a duty so that by the end of the lesson, the students can be on the same page and not
lag behind. Some of the students also require some visual form of learning because it is termed
as one of the best methods of learning, bearing in mind that they leave long-lasting memories to
learners. In the development of the instructional curriculum, therefore, it is important to consider
using devices such as projectors.
It is worth making the students to understand the various teaching methods and train
students to help other students as well. It is also worth noting that students are also likely to learn
more from their peers as opposed to the normal teaching because they can easily make
discussions as they ask questions. Reddy & Kumar, (2014) argues that use of ICT tools has
enabled the dissemination of a high amount of digital content and thus the teachers do not have
to keep repeating the process if annual lesson preparations. ICT also makes it possible to present
digital content in various formats such as visual, audio, graphics and texts to meet the various
needs of various people. This also reduces the amount of time that the students need to get proper
content mastery. The digital integration of education makes learning easy for the disabled
children because they can access information with less strain.
E-learning plan
Since teaching has been practiced for a long period of time, the balance between the
student and the teacher changes as the student grows up. Therefore, the spread of knowledge
through teaching requires the use of specialized skills such that not anyone who is not an expert
can deliver the required content to impart knowledge. To achieve e-learning, the teachers need to
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be properly trained so that they can maximize the use of the ICT facilities at their disposal (Balta
& Duran, 2015). Each teacher should be provided ample time to the respective learning
institution so that they can effectively understand the technical aspects and be able to pass the
content to the children. The training on teachers should be carried out on the basis of the subject
expertise (Cherner et al., 2014). The idea of teachers being replaced by technology should be
wiped out and the teachers should learn to use the technology at disposal to enhance their
teaching abilities.
Interactive whiteboard
Although the initial installation of an interactive whiteboard is quite expensive, it is
widely used for ICT as a digital device which is attached to the laptop or tablet and can be easily
moved according to the individual needs of the teachers to make learning easy. It serves the same
purpose as a traditional blackboard (Mangano et al., 2014). The content on the interactive white
boars can be erased and also be saved for further reading. Upon installation, the teacher then
receives a thorough training to be able to use it well. The training should be conducted while the
students are out for vacations so that it does not interfere with the normal school curriculum. It is
also advisable that the e-learning program is introduced to the students at the start of a new
academic session as opposed to the mid of a session.
Audiovisual devices
The rise in the use of audiovisual systems in e-learning has been contributed by the fact
that these devices are now becoming more affordable. For instance, if a lecture is accompanied
by a video clip, it becomes easier for a student to remember as opposed to the conventional
lectures (De-Marcos et al., 2014). In this case, it would be effective to use the whiteboard as a
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teaching mode, visual learning is always beneficially having a good impact on the memory of a
student.
Social media
At the present generation, the wide use of internet connection and social media has been a
revolutionary occurrence. The social media has been important especially for the success of the
social media in distance learning. An example of the social media apps includes the google plus
and google hangouts in educational reasons. For instance, when seminars are held, people can be
invited to join in from different parts of the world. In this case, one does not need to be
physically present and can join through Skype or other media (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2015).
Google classroom
There exist several free applications that the students and educators can use for learning.
However, Google has brought about an exclusive application for teaching purposes. This saves
time and cost for the students and teachers because the papers can be submitted with ease
(Shaharanee et al., 2016). Using Google classroom, a student is able to work in an organized
way by keeping the curriculum on track and submission of assignments. In this case, I would use
google classroom technology to send notes and other study material among students and google
classroom is the secure mode of learning as most of the information is online.
Justification of my strategy
This plan has been created in an effort to increase the confidence of students so that they
can learn more and get an opportunity to understand the advances in technology. Therefore, the
student will be able to interact freely with teachers and fellow students and get the necessary
help. The strategic plan also designed to approach individual needs especially new concepts. As
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two students are not the same and have different learning capabilities (Juuti, 2016). The
technological programs would attend individual need and increase the level of understanding
among students. This strategic plan contains technological applications that offer interesting
features that are ready to understand and use especially in the developing countries. Since they
are designed to cater for each student, the learners have the basic knowledge for their uses. The
ICT makes the students to develop high levels of confidence so that the teacher-student
relationship can be strong enough (Surjono, 2014). These ICT technologies also make it easy for
the teachers to interact with the students and mentor other fellow students.
Conclusion
The notable differences between animal's ad human beings are that humans have a
conscious mind and hence the ability to learn and adopt changes. Since knowledge offers
empowerment for a better life, the teachers are very important to humans from a small age to an
old age. Technology has played a profound role in the ways and rates at which people learn. ICT
has been of great importance to the education system globally although some people may argue
that the traditional way is more effective, this is just but a subjective behavior because it depends
on the prevailing conditions. Based on the overall plan, the adoption of ICT in the current
curriculum cannot be avoided. This clearly means that the ICT is very important in education
systems.
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References
Archer, A., & Hughes, C. A. (2011). Explicit instruction: Efficient and effective teaching. New
York, NY: Guilford Publications.
Balta, N., & Duran, M. (2015). Attitudes of students and teachers towards the use of interactive
whiteboards in elementary and secondary school classrooms. TOJET: The Turkish
Online Journal of Educational Technology, 14(2).
Caballé, S., & Clarisó, R. (2016). Formative Assessment, Learning Data Analytics and
Gamification: In ICT Education. Morgan Kaufmann.
Cherner, T., Dix, J., & Lee, C. (2014). Cleaning up that mess: A framework for classifying
educational apps. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 14(2),
158-193.
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2016). E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven
guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. John Wiley & Sons.
De-Marcos, L., Domínguez, A., Saenz-de-Navarrete, J., & Pagés, C. (2014). An empirical study
comparing gamification and social networking on e-learning. Computers & Education,
75, 82-91.
Gikandi, J. (2013). How can open online reflective journals enhance learning in teacher
education?. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 21(1), 5-26.
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Gruner, S. (Ed.). (2016). ICT Education: 45th Annual Conference of the Southern African
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