Teacher education and ICT
Information Technology
Inormation Technology has became the buzzword of this millennium.Changing technology is part and parcel o this rapidly changing social,cultural,political and economic times.while educationis being tansormed as a result of these changes.It is expected to make room for technological adaptations at all levels.Since social need changes rom time to time the educational pendulam has been pushed first in one direction and then the other.Ed o moreucation has to cater to the more knowledge able children are a speciality of theage.Education today has to cater the needs of knoweldgable children which is speciality of the age.At present the educationists have urged the need o preparing children for all their life,citizenship,home and family .Moreover they should be equipped as enterprising 'skilled labourers' for the global village.
Education and ICT
Oppinion of politicians and policymakers about the use of new technology in education over ten years,not come across any policy statement about ICT and education that is not unequivocally positive about the potential of ICT to improve educational outcomes. Moreover, this commitment has been matched by substantial financial investment in ICT in schools.
The convergence of inormation technology and communication technology has given birth to inormation and communication technology(ICT).There are still different views about what it means ‘to be good at ICT’ as a teacher. Exploring teachers’ views on this (and comparing them with policy levers and curriculum specifications) might be an interesting way forward.• Given the same ‘input’ in Initial Teacher Education courses, why do some students make much more progress than others in their use of ICT? Is it about teacher dispositions towards technology or learning styles and approaches? It is clearly not primarily a question of ‘providing more stuff’ about ICT for teachers and student teachers; there is already more ‘stuff’ than they can possibly cope with. It is more important to try and find out what strategiesteachers make progress in their ability to use ICT in subject teaching.
Teacher education and ICT
The quality of teachers and their continuing professional education and training remain central to the achievement of quality education. Yet today, the number and quality of teachers, teaching practice and teacher education are facing serious systemic challenges across the world. The situation must be redressed at a time when the world needs an estimated 9.1 million new teachers to reach internationally-agreed education targets by 2015. UNESCO believes that these challenges can be addressed through a holistic, systemic approach to education and teacher development systems in ways that also incorporate the enabling role of ICT. UNESCO facilitates initiatives related to the integration of ICT in teacher education by supporting existing teacher development communities of practice, multi-stakeholder partnerships, capacity building of policy-makers and the development of international standards on ICT competencies for teachers.
ICT in Teacher Education
Without willing and knowledgeable teachers, students cannot benefit from the educational opportunities afforded by technology. A radical transformation of learning environments is taking place. These changes have generated new information sources and new learning processes, which have contributed to changing the role of teachers.
Contrary to many teachers' fears, they are not an endangered species. Teachers and instructors are not at risk of being replaced by computers, but with the advent of ICT and the development of knowledge-based societies, their roles need to be redefined. Teachers are no longer dispensers of knowledge but are proactive facilitators who promote collaborative knowledge building and guide students, to navigate and process a multitude of information resources, and to use these resources in solving problems and making decisions on their own.Many countries in the region have realized the need for redefining teachers' roles and have responded by launching professional development programmes to train teachers in the use of computers. However, many of these training activities so far have been one-off, crash programmes which focus on computer literacy and do not enable teachers to actually integrate ICT into day-to-day classroom instruction.Learning to use computers and the Internet is a relatively simple task, but mastering ICT use as an effective tool to improve teaching and learning is not. Teachers need training not only in computer literacy but also in the pedagogical application of those skills to improve teaching and learning.But while ICT present new challenges for teachers, they also offer certain benefits. ICT can improve training by providing access to better educational resources; breaking the traditional isolation of teachers; and enabling individualized training opportunities.E-learning provides a way for teachers to gain new knowledge and skills. ICT also facilitate the new paradigm in teacher training that is emerging. Teacher training now involves a continuum of learning, from pre-service training, to in-service workshops and short courses; and to ongoing lifelong professional development.In "Teacher Professional Development in the Use of Technology", Sam Carlson and Cheick T Gadio list the following as being fundamental components in any professional development for technology programme:Direct connection to student learning .The goal of teacher proessional development is improved student achievement. The ICT that is used in the classroom should be relevant to student needs.Hands-on technology use. This requires development of core technology competencies and skills and actual application of skills in the classroom.Curriculum-specificapplications .Tothe fullest extent possible, teachers need to see a direct link between technology and the curriculum for which they are responsible.
New role of the teachers ,as fecilitator and guides,not simply as lecturers or instructors.Active participation of teachers and collegial
learning.professional development as an ongoing process.
A major factor that influences whether teacher training programme are successful or not is the attitudes of the teachers. Motivation and incentives are essential.
One way to motivate teachers to take part in ICT-training programmes is to accredit the courses. Another motivating factor is linking teachers' training progress to their salary.
Teachers can also become motivated by learning about how new technological skills allow them to break their professional isolation and share everything from lesson plans to the trials of the postion with other teachers. Also, teachers can be motivated to learn about technologies if they understand how technology can boost their productivity and improve learning in their classrooms.
UNESCO realises that any educational reform of a country means little without the support of those at the heart of education, and so teachers are at the core of our programme.
Professional development can not be seen in isolation, but should be considered in the context of the broader educational reform, involving the development of supportive policy, infrastructure and curriculum.
Future of ICT in Teacher Education:
The role of interactive multimedia in a perspective where learning is part of schooling, working or just living.. ICT also includes web TVs, Net PCs, and Web-Based Education that offers accessibility, flexibility and innovativeness in teaching and learning. 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.
Prof Ram Takwle (2003) says about IT driven education: "They are changing the methods of content generation, content storage, content packaging and content delivery and hence offer a new paradigm of education." These multimedia programs and packages are also intended to supplement the real classroom activities and help their easy assimilation. ICT especially in the 21st Century context of teacher education fulfills the following objectives.
It envisages excitement to the learner's eyes, ears, and more importantly the head.
ICT fulfills the needs of learners by providing items and packages of higher standard and interest.
It helps in transforming the definition of literacy, learning and knowledge; a definition that increasingly includes multimedia digitized literacy.
Multimedia provides a kind of control over the learning environment to the pupil teachers and they experience learning from their failures and I practices.
ICT facilitates the learner to have control on lesson, pace the sequence, content, feedback, which in turn enhances the efficiency of learning.
Unlike books, it is interactive in nature and creates motivation and interest among the learners, in turn meeting the individual unique needs effectively and efficiently
Develops the ability of self-learning and interacting individually, as the learner attains vast experiences effectively, efficiently and expeditiously,
ICT-empowered simulated situation minimizes dangers in the real world' e.g. practical in science, pilot training driving etc.
ICT is a powerful new development with ambitious role in teacher education, Digital and Internet.-based multimedia transforms the presents trend in the field. It takes just a computer to play multitude of media enabled programs and packages.
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 a society. ICT has revolutionized the entire concept of education, learning and research by offering new opportunities and challenges in creation and dissemination of information by way of Web TV's, Net PC's and Web-based education independent of time, pace and place. 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.
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