Higher education
students and ICT
Le Dong Phuong
Vietnam Institute of Education Sciences
ICT in the Vietnamese society
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Later arrival than most of ASEAN countries
Affordability of ICT hinders the initial infusion
of ICT into social life
Vietnam has a quick pace of ICT application
Government policies encourage integration of
ICT in various aspects of social life
Education sector poises to be leader in the
ICT revolution in Vietnam
Le Dong Phuong
Higher education students and ICT
ICT and higher education
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Much has been talked about making Vietnam
an ICT-strong nation
Knowledge economies instead traditional
industries pushes for higher demands on HE
and advanced skills
ICT as cost-effective means for expanding
higher education
ICT helps with students’ mobility across
borders
Le Dong Phuong
Higher education students and ICT
ICT education for students in
Vietnam
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Starting from lower secondary school,
repeated/expanded at higher levels
Basic understanding + often used application
+ ‘computer’ reasoning (programming,
coding)
Much ‘chalk and talk’ style rather than handon practice
Required by the curriculum, not really
demanded by students
Le Dong Phuong
Higher education students and ICT
Do we know how
students are using ICT?
???
How much understanding
about students’ ICT usage?
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Agreement on the importance of ICT in the
modern times
Little researched
Mostly confined to computer skills as part of
learning outcomes
Le Dong Phuong
Higher education students and ICT
Easy access to ICT
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Libraries
Internet cafes
Home computers, private laptops
Smart phones, tablet PCs, media players…
Affordable ICT (wide range of ICT equipment
at different price range)
Le Dong Phuong
Higher education students and ICT
Students’ ICT skills
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Lack of clear identified ICT skills for students
Learning of ICT skills mostly by students
themselves, not much formal guidance from
HEIs
Poor understanding of ICT
Skewed ICT skills by students (chatting,
games, social networks vs. information
discovery, self-study, data mining)
Le Dong Phuong
Higher education students and ICT
Project Pathways to HE in 5
universities
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Support disadvantaged students accessing ICT:
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Outcomes
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Privileged computer access
Extra computer training
Subsidized use of resource center/libraries
Low usage
Little impact
Causes:
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poor ICT skills and poor English!!!!!!
???????
Le Dong Phuong
Higher education students and ICT
Internet to students of Binh
Duong University
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Importance
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Information
Documents
Purposes
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Learning
Entertainment
Jobs
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More than 50% daily
More at the later years of
study
Le Dong Phuong
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Information searching
Communication with
lecturers, fellow studnets
Entertainment
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Frequency
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Study
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Needs for internet
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Music > Chat > Blogging >
Games
Female students focused
more on study
Lack of guidance on
internet usage
Higher education students and ICT
Out-of-class time in HEIs in
Hanoi
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Much time for internet (~12 hours per week),
more at the end of semester
Internet access mostly from home/dorm
(67%) > library (40%) > internet café > smart
phones
Not much for study, news and entertainment
mostly
Le Dong Phuong
Higher education students and ICT
What to do?
Development of appropriate
ICT skills by students
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Understanding the ICT skills, knowledge and
attitudes possessed by new and existing students
Knowing where, when and how do students acquire
these ICT skills
Understanding of HE outputs in the context of
industrialization and modernization
Awareness of graduates’ skills and how these match
up to employers' needs now and in the future
Aligning institutional objectives and initiatives
regarding student ICT skills
Le Dong Phuong
Higher education students and ICT
Development of appropriate
ICT skills by students
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Development of ICT skills shall be closely linked to
education processes in the HEIs
Teaching staff must be example for students also in
terms of ICT application
Provision of formal and informal ICT guidance for
students (teaching and learning centers)
Infusion of e-learning elements into current HE
curriculum
Teaching ICT related English
Le Dong Phuong
Higher education students and ICT