Questions for Teachers: WHY ICT? Introduction – A teacher’s never-ending journey Benefits of ICT Usage for Teachers Positive Impact of ICT in Education (for Teachers – Students - Administrators) Negative Impact & Challenges Faced by Teachers Teachers' ICT Priorities Introduction For teachers, the professional journey is like a jigsaw puzzle. It begins with the end in mind. Teachers play a guiding role for today’s youth while they are in their most impressionable years and have the access to educate the future leaders. Six common questions that are constantly asked to teachers in their professional journey are What will you do if a lesson doesn’t work well? What are your personal and professional goals? How do you evaluate the success of your teaching? Tell about a teacher who has inspired you and what did you learn from him or her? What are your areas of strength in the curriculum? How do you keep your subject up to date? Will ICT be a solution for teachers? Let’s begin to look at: Bhattacharjee & Deb (2016) listed out…. The What are the benefits for teachers when using ICT in teaching? - - Lesson Planning o Helps in preparation and creating active learning environments Teaching Methodology o Helps to improve teaching skill and to apply innovative teaching methods o Provides quick access to resources for deep knowledge of teaching subjects to stay ahead of the competition with the students Assessment o ICT tools can be used to design and create innovative assignments which are more appealing to learners Feedback o Virtual lesson plans, grading software and online assessments can help to free up teachers’ time to work more on differentiated teaching and learning to meet individual student needs o Helps to provide timely feedback o Helps to dispatch information to students effectively Positive Impact on Teachers - - Staying current with teaching trends and technologies Improved and revitalized teaching Greater interaction with students of the 21st century Data can be used to diagnose effectiveness of practices and areas to be improved o Evaluate teaching practices o Give tailored feedback and interventions Transform courses into more personal and engaging learning experiences by using digital materials to increase access Able become more immediate and accessible in supporting students - Able to develop collaborative practice of teaching with partners, non-traditional and informal education providers, to share richer resources and effective approaches Data analytics of formative assessments and cognitive models of learning can provide real-time insights into student learning and enable personalize learning mastery and approaches for students Consistent approaches and knowledge sharing across multiple instructors Positive Impact on Students - Greater access to education and more flexibilities to which learners can tailor their education and learning preferences, scheduling needs, and geographic constraints Enhance learning experiences through blended learning models More opportunities for students with disabilities to participate in educational programs Open more communication for learners to engage with the content, with their fellow students, and with the instructor Provide opportunities for real-world learning so students can to develop the skills and competencies to find collaborative solutions Provide high-quality resources to students at a lower cost Positive Impact on Administrators - Increase ease and accessibility to review courses for improvement Improve interaction between instructors and support staff to increase staff satisfaction Provide diagnostic insights into student learning to give appropriate remedial actions to improve student retention Meeting current demands and staying competitive Enable ongoing professional learning for instructors that supports them in developing their skills Negative Impact of ICT in Education However, recent studies have shown that technology has a negative impact on the process of education (Fried, 2008; Wentworth & Middleton, 2014), particularly on the four areas stated below: 1. Deterioration of students’ competencies in reading, writing, and arithmetic, which are the basic three skills any student is expected to master; 2. Dehumanization of education in many environments and distortion of the relationship between teachers and students; 3. Isolation of students in a digital and virtual world that distances them from any form of social interaction; 4. Deepening of social inequalities between the haves and the have-nots that is students who can possess technology and those who cannot. A Study of the Negative Influences of ICT on Secondary School Students in Nigeria found that ICT usage causes students to • • • increase in exposure to pornographic sites, moral corruption and gaming, causes distraction during class hours, and declined focus to studies Other Disadvantages of ICT in Education 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Misleading and misguiding information Risk of cyber-attacks and hacks Managing courses online can be time-consuming Misuse of technology Network connectivity may be slow and not accessible causes loss of valuable time Require experience to handle ICT Computers can be high cost, both in initial setup and maintenance Keeping up to date with technology can be time-consuming and costly For successful implementation and to motivate teachers to use ICT, it is important to recognize the challenges and priorities faced by teachers. The following are the findings based on a survey done among 9,279 education professionals primarily from the U.S., also from 65 countries worldwide in June 2018. - What were teachers’ digital learning challenges? Juggling multiple digital tools for teaching/learning Student access to technology Integrating new ed-tech tools into my classroom Lack of time during normal business hours Implementing a new instructional approach Lack of digitized curriculum Lack of parent/guardian involvement or understanding Lack of effective professional learning opportunities Assessing and reporting on student understanding Mapping curriculum to learning objectives Lack of IT support What are teachers’ digital learning priorities? Integrating new ed-tech tools into my classroom Improving assessments, reporting, and data-driven decision making Implementing productivity tools/ strategies Implementing a new instructional approach Collaborating with peers/PLCs Digitizing curricular resources Increasing student access to technology Seeking out professional learning opportunities Consolidating various tools into one location/platform Boosting parent/guardian engagement Mapping curriculum to learning objectives CONCLUSION: According to Teachers Without Borders, teachers are multipliers and technologies are accelerators; developing limitless future leaders, while technologies drive the processes forward. It also expressed that the intent of ICT usage in education is not to substitute teachers but to develop better ones. Positive Impact on Teachers - - - - - Staying current with teaching trends and technologies Improved and revitalized teaching Greater interaction with students (employing social media for engagement and discussion with students in the 21 st century) Data can be used to diagnose the learning experience: o To identify both effective practices that have led to successful learning as well as underlying causes of failure, o to diagnose areas where the learning experience can be improved a) Instructors can use data gathered about student learning to provide targeted interventions and tailored feedback.) (Student learning data can provide valuable information about where instructors can place more emphasis on concepts if students are having difficulty, prompt them to initiate interventions or suggestions such as additional lessons or supplemental content, and suggest how they can incorporate content that engages students in activities that promote the attitudes and non-cognitive skills needed for real-world application of their knowledge. Similarly, this information can allow instructors to account for the different levels of knowledge and strengths of each student and advance each toward mastery and empower students by giving them more timely feedback and greater visibility into their learning progress.) b) Instructors and institutions can use student learning data to evaluate the efficacy of new teaching practices or new technologies. (The data can provide valuable information to instructors on which activities, classroom strategies, assessments, and technology applications have demonstrated linkages to improvements in student learning. This information can be used by faculty members to continuously improve their own teaching practice.) Technology can provide instructors with the means of creating active learning environments that connect students with content in different ways. (Technology-based tools can allow instructors new ways to approach content delivery in classrooms and online. For example, rather than traditional lectures, instructors using these tools can create active learning environments that encourage students to collaborate, participate in inquiry-based learning, and jointly produce content that demonstrates their learning. In addition, learning can be organized around realworld challenges and scenarios so students can master skills and work together to find collaborative solutions.) Transform courses into more personal and engaging learning experiences by using digital materials to increase access and create opportunities for collaborative and project-based learning (Technology can also assist instructors in designing high-fidelity, real-world challenges and scenarios, such as simulations and virtual laboratories, so students can collaborate to master skills in virtual settings. Technology solutions that meet a born accessible standard can ensure that all students will be able to participate in these active learning - - experiences, regardless of their diverse learning needs. In large introductory courses, personalized experiences can rebalance the expectation that students will succeed, rather than fail, by building instructor capacity for ensuring the success of all students, no matter the class size. Technology can also enable instructors to become a more immediate and accessible part of a student’s support system.) Able to develop collaborative practice of teaching with partners, non-traditional and informal education providers, to share resources and effective approaches to providing flexible and relevant learning experiences to students Technology-enabled assessments can provide a more immediate, complete, and nuanced picture of student needs, interests, and abilities, and do so at a scale far beyond paper-based assessments (Data analytics and cognitive models of learning can provide instructors with real-time insights into student learning. With these insights, instructors can provide immediate, targeted feedback to students in the moment and, over time, personalize learning content and approaches for many more students. Technology-based assessments can also ensure knowledge sharing and consistency across an individual instructor’s learning approaches and across multiple instructors’ approaches in the same school.) Technology enables assessment to be done through formative learning activities (Data-rich formative assessments can provide feedback on student progress to students, peers, and instructors, on how to proceed toward mastery) Technology also has the power to transform teaching by ushering in a new model of connected teaching. This model links teachers to their students and to professional content, resources, and systems to help them improve their own instruction and personalize learning. Online learning opportunities and the use of open educational resources and other technologies can increase educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning; reducing costs associated with instructional materials or program delivery; and better utilizing teacher time. Advantages and Challenges of using ICT in your classroom Advantages Engaged learning is essential. 'Chalk and talk' does have a place in schools, but video and technology can be an effective substitute for getting the point across. Studies have demonstrated that students with learning difficulties learn better when stimulated visually. Videos are cheaper to use than the 'real deal' in some cases, and why try to re-invent the wheel when there are resources already out there ready to support you. Prepares your students for the diverse use of technologies in the work force. Students can self-direct their learning to suit their own learning style (See, Gardner's Multiple Intelligences) Students will thank you for using an alternative approach that is more in-tune with their generation!! Keeping up-to-date with technology can be exciting and may even make you a valuable resource to not only your students, but to your peer teachers and even future career! Challenges Moving computers on wheels from room-to-room can be a nightmare especially in a single lesson. Slow connectivity can be a problem in some schools and eats into valuable lesson time. Some students can have a greater knowledge than the teacher!! (But good teachers will use this to their advantage - think; Inclusive Peer Learning!). Computers are a high cost, both in initial setup and maintenance! (See, Moore's Law). Some of your classes can turn into micro-management of appropriate material viewed by students. Keeping up-to-date with technology can be time-consuming and costly.