Reflection Paper (on the article related to ICT in education)

  

ICT in Education

In today’s rapidly evolving world, the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education has become increasingly prominent. ICT encompasses a wide range of digital tools and technologies that facilitate the acquisition, storage, processing, and dissemination of information. From computers and smartphones to the internet and educational software, ICT has revolutionized the way we teach and learn, transforming traditional classrooms into dynamic and interconnected learning environments.

In this reflection paper I am going to talk about the article written by Yeshi Lhendup in Druk journals on topic “ICT in Bhutanese Education”. He talks about positive impact in Bhutanese people. He says “ICT Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has brought significant changes in almost all aspects of our lives — more so in recent years — and it is indeed developing faster than ever before”. He also state that during 14 convocation ceremony of Royal University of Bhutan,  His majesty shares about scale of growth and scope, and the consequences of lagging behind. If we are not able to embrace and leverage technology, we will be invariably left behind.

Then in his article, firstly he talks about how the Bhutan has adopted teaching ICT in school. It is a kind of long story for Bhutan to achieve the vision of becoming ICT integrated teaching and learning. ICT in the Bhutanese education system was introduced in the late 1990’s with ICSE Computer studies offered in a few high schools. In early 2000, the then Ministry of Health and Education started working to introduce ICT education. In 2002, computer application was introduced as an optional subject in class IX in eight high schools, and was gradually expanded to other high schools that had computer labs.

 

One of the biggest developments in ICT education came with the Chiphen Rigpel Project, run by the Ministry of Information and Communications and NIIT India. The project established computer labs in 168 schools, introduced ICT literacy curriculum for all students from class VII and above, and trained more than 5,000 teachers in basic ICT skills. Then this is how the Bhutanese education become focusing more on ICT as necessity. ICT encourages collaboration amongst students and facilitates them working collectively. Students can hone their powers of teamwork by immersing themselves in various online activities. Projects can be worked on conjointly using forums or by exchanging documents in their virtual learning environments.

Aims and objectives of ICT in Education is to help the learners become competent and confident users of ICT who can make efficient, effective and creative use of basic application software in their everyday activities; and, to encourage the learners to become critical.  Not only it is used for creating interactive e-learning modules, virtual classrooms, and online tutorials in education but also in business it enables to sell products and services online through e-commerce platforms and digital market. Teacher and student can teach and learn even without coming to school. For example, During COVID-19 lockdown, teacher have used different software and online application to teach student. Teacher can teach using Google classroom and zoom meeting to make teaching interactive and helpful. Teacher can use power points and Games, and can provide internet homework and assignments to assess student’s progress. There is also online grading Systems and many more to keep students engaged.

ICT, with its range of options and resources, benefits learning in many ways; cost effectiveness, paperless classroom (which is more eco-friendly), better efficiency in learning and teaching, time-effectiveness and minimum risks, interactive and collaborative approaches to teaching and learning, direct instructions, independent learning resources for students, attractive audio-visual presentations for teaching and well-designed activities that can nourish learning spirit. ICT has great benefits in education.

In conclusion, the ICT in education has had a profound impact on the teaching and learning process, revolutionizing traditional classrooms and opening up new possibilities for educational engagement. Through this reflection paper, I will delve deeper into my personal experiences with ICT in education, critically evaluating its strengths, limitations, and potential future directions. By examining the benefits, challenges, and future implications of ICT, we can gain a comprehensive understanding of its role in shaping the education of today and tomorrow.