Education in the ICT revolution

IN ORDER to cope with the impact of the information communications technology (ICT) revolution, education institutions must be flexible and overcome barriers to change, said a lecturer from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) at a public forum yesterday.

Delivering her working paper "The effect of Information, Communication and Technology on education", Dk Hjh Siti Norainna Pg Hj Besar of the UBD's Academy of Brunei Studies (APB) said new technology was affecting every aspect of education, from the physical layout of classrooms to how teachers and students communicate.

Dk Hjh Siti Norainna explained to an audience, mainly comprising undergraduates and lecturers, that ICT affects the education system in three ways: the education institution's physical structure; management and administration; and practice. These effects transcend all levels of educational institutions, she said.

"Therefore, institutions must renovate themselves," she added.

In physical terms, "financial planning has to fulfil the requirement of a computer laboratory or computer class. There is a need to take into account the class space allocation, facilities (wireless broadband), virtual campus and the library," Dk Hjh Siti Norainna said.

The lecturer also called for the management and administration of educational institutions to give greater consideration to ICT. "With implementation of ICT in educational institutions, there is a need for a change in the education syllabus. We need enough staff to arrange the schedule and provide training for teachers," she said.

"Practice makes perfect. The learning and teaching process will change with ICT," she added.

"In addition to the facilities provided (such as an interactive white board), teachers and students communicate through emails, chatrooms, social networking sites and blogs," Dk Hjh Siti Norainna said.

Despite the benefits of ICT, the tool also posed challenges. Citing examples from research and case studies from other countries, Dk Hjh Siti Norainna said there were cases where students gained access to (negative materials) such as pornographic pictures, the sale of alcohol and cigarettes online, online hate sites and many other online venues considered not suitable.

Another obstacle is the teachers and administrators themselves. Teachers and administrators are reluctant to integrate ICT in the learning and teaching process, she said.

"The feeling of being content (with the status quo), unpreparedness, being afraid of change, lack of confidence and an inability to adapt to the changes in (ICT) were among the reasons for teachers failing to incorporate ICT in their teaching routine," she said.

The lack of ICT experts was another challenge. "We need experts to manage the ICT equipment and software. They are the ones skilled enough to integrate ICT in the curriculum and the ones skilled enough to play an active role in creating the ICT content," Dk Hjh Siti Norainna said.

Such experts are needed to ensure that the ICT content adheres to and is appropriate for the nation's religion and culture, she added. "To create your own software is expensive. The easiest way is to purchase software from other countries," she said.

"However, it is a risk that this software may contain material inappropriate in our culture," she added.

In order to overcome these challenges, Dk Hjh Siti Norainna made five recommendations.

Create an Internet access policy that enabled students to benefit optimally from ICT.

"Monitor the students' activities online by installing filtering software over open Internet access as part of an Internet-use agreement between students and the schools."

Train teachers in ICT and give them their own ICT equipment. "This would provide teachers with easy access to ICT and change their previously negative perception of the tool to positive."

Provide institutions with up-to-date and innovative software and hardware by granting financial assistance. "It is undeniable that this is a challenging responsibility, especially in countries experiencing financial problems and political turmoil."

More research needs to be done on ICT and education, to identify problems and provide solutions. "Even with new innovative technology to facilitate us, it does have its weaknesses. It affects our daily activities, social interactions and in community especially in education," Dk Hjh Siti Norainna added.

The Brunei Times