Ict in Teacher Education

ICT in Teacher Education Dr. R. Sivakumar Assistant Professor Department of Education Annamalai University Annamalai Nagar – 608002. Abstract Information and Communication Technologies has a great potential to contribute positively towards knowledge dissemination, effective learning and the development of more efficient education service. In teacher education, student-teachers acquire appropriate knowledge, skills and competences on how to integrate technology in education. The knowledge and competences are how to use ICT in teaching and learning has gained enormous importance in today’s teacher education programs.
The integration of information and communication technologies can help revitalize teachers and students. This can help to improve and develop the quality of education by providing curricular support in difficult subject areas. Use of ICT in learning settings can act to support various aspects of knowledge construction and as more and more students employ ICTs in their learning processes. ICT enabled education will ultimately lead to the democratization of education. Introduction Teacher is considered to be the architect of the nation. One can realize how important education is which makes one a teacher.
Teacher education is looked after by a systematic operation of various agencies involved in it. Various education commissions and a number of expert committee have discussed the aims of teacher education in India. One of the main reasons is the inadequate academic, professional and pedagogic preparation and insufficient level of knowledge and the skills of the faculty. Besides this, traditional versus modern methods of teaching, outdated knowledge and information and lack of skills, teachers attitude, aptitude and authenticity of their sources of knowledge are some of the other core issues.

Owing to knowledge explosion and tremendously fast changing ICT, the teachers sometimes find it rather difficult to cope with the new intellectual challenges being thrown up by the changed global and local context. Therefore, they need to acquire new knowledge, and reliable and authentic information. In present scenario, teachers need to help their students in: how to learn, how to grow in future, how to develop study skills, how to conduct fundamental research, how to examine, evaluate and assess information This is necessary if the teachers really want to survive in the ICT world of education.
A teacher plays a significant role not only in class teaching learning situation but in social engineering too. Society gives a respectable place to teachers who are really perspective empowered. This empowerment is not at in terms of physical perspective. It is in academic, intellectual, social, and national perspectives. ICT in Education Information and Communication Technologies has a great potential to contribute positively towards knowledge dissemination, effective learning and the development of more efficient education service. Information and Communication Technologies are becoming increasingly pervasive in reaching schools.
It is essential that teachers and teacher-educators have a thorough working knowledge of these media and their influence on the performance and engagement of their students. ICT includes, but is not limited to, personal computers, laptops, printers, LCD projectors, palm devices, iPods, fax machines, cell phones, Internet, Intranet and Web-Based Education that offers accessibility, flexibility and innovativeness in teaching and learning. Teachers have ability to use digital technology, communication tools, and networks appropriately to solve information problems in order to function in an information and knowledge society.
This encompasses three areas of ICT literacy, namely cognitive, technical, and social. ICT integrated teacher education is more important to Indian education system that is committed to maintain global partnership as well as leadership in knowledge-based society. ICT in education are not only new tools bringing evolution and changes. They raise new fundamental paradigms, new fundamental concepts, which change profoundly our societies, which change knowledge and access to knowledge. The digital natives will bring this new context, whatever the schools do or not. This is a new challenge for schools and for teachers.
Digital natives are not only new pupils, a kind of new step in the humankind; they are the main actors of the new digital society, the new citizens of the knowledge society. Learning and teaching in the digital society. It should be no surprise that teachers who, like other professionals, are expected to be lifelong learners, must also meet the challenges of digital and mobile technologies. It is not simply a matter of mastering new technology; since the entire traditional paradigm has been up-ended, they must re-examine their profession and redefine their role of the teachers in the learning process.
Understanding and mastering technology is the starting point of a process of creating a new school. ICT in Teacher Education Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have the potential of educational challenges. In teacher education, student-teachers acquire appropriate knowledge, skills and competences on how to integrate technology in education. The knowledge and competences are how to use ICT in teaching and learning has gained enormous importance in today’s teacher education programs.
This is because student-teachers’ adoption of ICT use in the classroom has strong positive correlation with the pedagogical training rather than technical skills a particular ICT-related teacher education program or course must seek to promote the following aspects of knowledge so as to help students-teachers know how to use technology in the teaching and learning processes: * Knowledge of problems or situations that can be solved by technology. * Knowledge of the kind of technology that can solve this kind of problem. * Knowledge of how the technology can solve a specified problem.
This kind of knowledge is known as Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK). It is important that student-teachers are trained on how to use ICT in delivering of education to make learning more meaningful for using Education Technologies to support instruction. Student-teachers should be introduced to TPCK concept and should work in an environment that promotes this understanding for effective integration of technology in their future teaching. ICT courses in teacher education must also strive to develop a sound understanding of the learning theories and ways how ICT can be used to enhance teaching and learning.
It is expected that ICT courses in teacher education should make student-teachers appreciate that the choice of any particular technology should be grounded not only on specific learning theory but also on pedagogical needs and the context. This ICT course must promote among student-teachers the knowledge and competences related to the application of ICT to promote teaching and learning process. Using ICT in education includes: * the use of ICT as object of study: which refers to learning about ICT which enables student-teachers to use ICT in their daily life. the use of ICT as aspect of a discipline or profession: meaning that ICT is used for development of ICT skills for professional or vocational purposes. * ICT as medium for teaching and learning which focuses on the use of ICT for the enhancement of the teaching and learning process. To effectively use the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve learning, the following essential conditions must be met: * Students and teachers must have sufficient access to digital technologies and the Internet in their classrooms, schools, and teacher education institutions. High quality, meaningful, and culturally responsive digital content must be available for teachers and learners. * Teachers must have the knowledge and skills to use the new digital tools and resources to help all students achieve high academic standards. Teacher education institutions are faced with the challenge of preparing a new generation of teachers to effectively use the new learning tools in their teaching practices. For many teacher education programmes, this daunting task requires the acquisition of new resources, expertise and careful planning.
In approaching this task it is helpful to understand: * the impact of technology on global society and the implications for education, * the extensive knowledge that has been generated about how people learn and what this means for creating more effective and engaging student- centred learning environments, * the stages of teacher development and the levels of adoption of ICTs by teachers, * the critical importance of context, culture, leadership and vision, lifelong learning, and the change process in planning for the integration of technology into teacher education, * the ICT competencies required of teachers related to content, pedagogy, technical issues, social issues, collaboration, and networking, * the importance of developing standards to guide implementation of ICTs in teacher education, * the essential conditions for successful integration of ICTs into teacher education, * important strategies to consider in planning for the infusion of ICTs in teacher education and managing the change process. Integrating ICT into teaching
The integration of information and communication technologies can help revitalize teachers and students. This can help to improve and develop the quality of education by providing curricular support in difficult subject areas. To achieve these objectives, teachers need to be involved in collaborative projects and development of intervention change strategies, which would include teaching partnerships with ICT as a tool. ICT enhancing teaching and learning process Introduce ICT into their classrooms: teachers should believe in the effectiveness of technology, teachers should believe that the use of technology will not cause any disturbances, and finally teachers should believe that they have control over technology.
The use of ICT will not only enhance learning environments but also prepare next generation for future lives and careers. The integration of ICT into teaching and learning processes contributes to increase the interaction and reception of information. Such possibilities suggest changes in the communication models and the teaching and learning methods used by teachers, giving way to new scenario which favours both individual and collaborative learning. Students using ICTs for learning purposes become immersed in the process of learning and as more and more students use computers as information sources and cognitive tools. The influence of the technology on supporting how students learn will continue to increase.
In the past, the conventional process of teaching has revolved around teachers planning and leading students through a series of instructional sequences to achieve a desired learning outcome. Learning approaches using contemporary ICTs provide many opportunities for constructivist learning through their provision and support for resource-based, student centred settings and by enabling learning to be related to context and to practice. Use of ICT in learning settings can act to support various aspects of knowledge construction and as more and more students employ ICTs in their learning processes, the more pronounced the impact of this will become. Teachers generate meaningful and engaging learning experiences for their students, strategically using ICT to enhance learning. ICT enhancing the quality of education
ICT increases the flexibility of delivery of education so that learners can access knowledge anytime and from anywhere. It can influence the way students are taught and how they learn as now the processes are learner driven and not by teachers. This in turn would better prepare the learners for lifelong learning as well as to improve the quality of learning. In concert with geographical flexibility, technology-facilitated educational programs also remove many of the temporal constraints that face learners with special needs. Students are starting to appreciate the capability to undertake education anywhere, anytime and anyplace. One of the most vital contributions of ICT in the field of education is- Easy Access to Learning.
With the help of ICT, students can now browse through e-books, sample examination papers, previous year papers etc. and can also have an easy access to resource persons, mentors, experts, researchers, professionals, and peers-all over the world. This flexibility has heightened the availability of just-in-time learning and provided learning opportunities for many more learners who previously were constrained by other commitments. Wider availability of best practices and best course material in education, which can be shared by means of ICT, can foster better teaching. ICT also allows the academic institutions to reach disadvantaged groups and new international educational markets.
As well as learning at any time, teachers are also finding the capabilities of teaching at any time to be opportunistic and able to be used to advantage. Mobile technologies and seamless communications technologies support 24×7 teaching and learning. Choosing how much time will be used within the 24×7 envelope and what periods of time are challenges that will face the educators of the future. Thus, ICT enabled education will ultimately lead to the democratization of education. Especially in developing countries like India, effective use of ICT for the purpose of education has the potential to bridge the digital divide. Uses of ICT in language arts How ICT improves the teaching/learning of language or how to improve language teaching through intelligent and informed use of technology * Searching and using Internet resources for language materials and lessons * Searching literature-based, creative writing, problem-solving Internet projects with the option of using interpersonal exchanges, virtual gatherings, peer feedback or mentoring to support student learning. * Constructing technology-enhanced lessons or lesson plans within a language art curriculum Uses of ICT in science * How ICT improves the teaching/learning of science or how to improve science teaching through intelligent and informed use of technology * Searching and using Internet resources for science materials and lessons * Science education on the Internet Use of computers software and calculators for science teaching * Use of computer to simulate scientific phenomena and use of graphic calculators to collect and analyse data * Constructing technology-enhanced lessons or lesson plans within a science curriculum Uses of ICT in mathematics * How ICT improves the teaching/learning of mathematics or how to improve mathematics teaching through intelligent and informed use of technology * Searching and using Internet resources for mathematics materials and lessons * Use of computer software and calculators for mathematics teaching * Use of computers and graphic calculators to collect and analyse data and to build and test mathematical models of the real-world * Constructing technology-enhanced lessons or lesson plans within a mathematics curriculum Uses of ICT in social studies How ICT improves the teaching/learning of social studies or how to improve social studies teaching through intelligent and informed use of technology * Searching and using Internet resources for social studies materials and lessons * Searching problem-solving, enquiry and creative thinking materials with the option of using interpersonal exchanges, virtual gatherings, peer feedback or mentoring to support student learning * Constructing technology-enhanced lessons or lesson plans within a social studies art curriculum Conclusion The teacher education system empowered by ICT driven infrastructure can have a great opportunity to come up to the centre stage and ensure academic excellence, quality instruction and leadership in a knowledge-based society. ICT has revolutionized the entire concept of education. It is really a challenging task to strengthen ICT in teacher education because a large majority of the teacher education institutions are unequipped or under-equipped in the terms of digitized and high-tech infrastructure. References Ahmed, S. and Singh, M. (2010).
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