It's Time for ICT Integration into Teaching

Though some people may be critical and pessimistic about the presence of technology because of negative effects it may causes, it has promising role on the life of society. Though some people may reject the technological determinism, to some degree, it is undeniable that technology does determine and shape our society. It is hardly to deny that computer has changed the nature of job and work. The telephone has led to decline of letter writing, but the internet has changed the nature of interpersonal communication again, leaving written records unlike the telephone (Dusek, 2006).  

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) henceforth, as part of Technology has not only changed and shaped the society but also has transformed the world. It has broken the limitation of time and place. We now live in a world where everyone is connected to each other. By ICT, the social interaction is also affected by this transformation. ICT have permeated nearly every facet of society (Leng, 2008). Business and personal boundaries start to convergence. Besides, face to face communication have transformed to virtual communication. People in certain place in this world can know soon what happened in the other part of the world. Today, through the power of ICT, people can watch the history that it is.

ICT offers a deal of indulgences particularly to young learners. They are familiar with ICT.  Products of ICT such as internet, computers, laptop, cell phone, iPhone, iPad, and other gadgets are at their hands. These artifacts expose to them the varied digital experiences. These products as called social media have significantly influenced their interpersonal relationship. They let not a single day pass without being with them because they offer pleasures and immersion. They even sometime depend so much on them. They enjoyed very much being connected to others through this social media. They can spend some hours just playing online game or just surfing or goggling.

A series of surveys and reports have provided evidence of how people are using technologies, particularly social software and web 2.0, for communication and social networking and for creating and sharing a wide range of digital artifacts (Attwell & Hughes, 2010). Attwell et al. (2010) draw attention to the surveys conducted by Lenhart and Madden in America in 2005 and Ewan McIntosh in UK in 2008. Lenhart and Madden found that 56 % of young people in America were using computers for creative activities, writing and posting to the internet, mixing and constructing multimedia and developing their own content. Twelve to 17-year-olds look to web tools to share what they think and do online. One in five who use the net said that they used other people’s images, audio or text to help make their own creations. McIntosh found that the main use of the net by young people, by far, is for learning: 57 % use the net for homework, saying it provides more information than books; 15 % use it for learning that is ‘not school’; 40 per cent use it to stay in touch with friends; and 9 % for entertainment such as YouTube.

And yet this constant exposure to digital experiences has, in fact, changed how these young learners receive process and use the information. Consequently, the way they learn, interact, and communicate, when and where have also changed (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010). We should not expect that the students are able to comfortably sit listening to teacher explaining the lesson as we did when we were young learners. Their attention soon gets distracted. Instead of taking notes on the lesson, they will approach us asking to send the teaching material to their email. Besides, they will ask permission to shoot the PPT using their cell phone camera. We should not expect young learners who did not submit the homework would not give reason that seems to us “nonsense”. They would find excuses from, “I have finished it but I forget to bring it” to simple one, “I forget to do it”. All these excuses signal that they do not get engaged into the process of teaching and learning. The way we conduct the teaching material or the material itself does not trigger their curiosity.

Reflecting on the facts above, there is a need for teachers to adopt a new approach in teaching that is able to engage the young learners to be active participants. This new approach is the integration of ICT into teaching.  The change of attitudes of the young learner is not the only reason for the integration of technology into teaching and learning, but also there is abundant anecdotal evidence of the successful use of ICT in the classroom. Technology can help schools achieve such desirable outcomes as improved test scores, reduced failure rates, lower absenteeism, fewer student withdrawals, increased graduation rates, improved job placement rates, and overall improvement in motivation (Kent & McNergney, 2005)

Unfortunately, most of the teachers on the other hand are not easy with ICT. They have poor confidence in using technology as medium of teching content delivery. They are aware of the positive effect on ICT on their teaching (Saglam & Sert, 2012). And yet they are reluctant and not comfortable to use it (Jacobsen, Clifford, & Friesen, 2002). This teacher’s reluctance is caused by many reasons. Understanding and using ICT into teaching and learning require that a certain amount of time be dedicated to the preparation and planning activities. This time is often difficult to come by because teachers are facing many other works to do. Using ICT can require teachers to sacrifice their comfortable style of delivery. Incorporating new style of delivery involves certain risk of losing self-confidence in front of the student who may be better and know more than they do.