Lesson 3

Uses of ICT Policies in the Teaching and

Learning Environment
Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

• Identify ICT policies that are incorporated into the design and
implementation of teaching -learning activities and have a deeper
understanding of the uses of ICTs in facilitating the teaching and
learning process
• Incorporate ICT policies in the design and implementation
of teaching-learning activities

Time Frame 2 days

Introduction
This module will provide the student with a deeper understanding of the uses
of ICTs in facilitating the teaching and learning process as well as the role that ICTs
play in the larger educational and national context. Students will explore ways in
which ICTs can be used for professional development, educational management,
and school administration and publicity.

Activity
1. You will research other schools’ ICT policies and best practices by
surfing the World Wide Web and write down your discoveries using the
graphic organizer.
 2. You will do a class observation on how ICT practices are utilized in the
classroom

Analysis
1. Where is the most research on the impact of ICT focusing on?

2. What policies do reports on the use of ICT practices that impacts

teaching and learning in the classroom?

Abstraction

Globally, researchers and policymakers acknowledge the importance of developing

a school-based ICT policy plan to facilitate the integration of information and
communication technology (ICT) in education. Despite this interest, little is known
about how schools can improve their local ICT policy capacity and how to
launch an ICT policy plan.

In many countries, the use of ICT in education and training has become a
priority during the last decade. However, very few have achieved progress. Indeed,
a small percentage of schools in some countries reached high levels of effective use
of ICT to support and change the teaching and learning process in many subject
areas. Others are still in the early phase of Information and Communication
Technologies adoption. Those schools with sufficient ICT resources have better
results achievements compared to those schools that are not well-equipped. Finally,
teachers are more convinced that the educational achievements of pupils are
anticipated to good ICT use. There is a high percentage of teachers in Europe (86%)
say that students are more motivated when they used computers and the Internet in
class.
 A lot of resources have been invested by many governments across the world
to ICT development to improve teaching and learning using technology in schools.
New educational ICT policy issues emerged, and new patterns of ICT related
practices are evident in education. To support traditional learning methods, many
teachers use ICT to know how ICT can promote teaching and learning, as explained
by Khattak, (2015). Furthermore, it has been proven that students have lots of
benefits to new technologies.

Literature shows that ICT has a potential to enhance the teaching and learning
process in many ways if it is well-utilized in learner-centered schools According to
research conducted by Dzidonu, (2010), it shows that learning activities that are
challenging, authentic, multisensorial and multi-disciplinary, students are motivated
with higher attendance report, motivation and academic accomplishment as a result
of ICT programs.

When there are potential and promise of ICT use in education, there are also
'perils' related to the distraction of existing traditional teaching and learning
practices, such as the high costs, increased responsibilities on teachers, equity, and
issues around data privacy and security. Four broad tangled issues must be
addressed when considering the overall impact of the use of ICTs in education,
effectiveness, cost, equity, and sustainability.

Policies related to technology use in change and evolve, often along a

somewhat predictable path, and technological innovations often outpace the ability
of policymakers to innovate on related policy issues. Such policies take different
forms and are formulated and proposed by various institutions in different countries.
No matter what country, a lack of rigorous, relevant evidence typically complicates
attempts to draft impactful ICT/education policies. The educational effectiveness of
ICTs depends on how they are
used and for what purpose. ICTs do not work in other educational tools or
educational delivery for everyone, everywhere in the same way.

In developing countries, education takes place under situations that are

substantially different from those in developed countries. The poorest countries
spend the least proportionately on non-salary related educational expenditures. The
Philippines is one of many developing nations that have turned to information and
communication technology (ICT) as a tool to improve teaching and learning, whose
educational system reveals many of the same problems and limitations of its fellow
developing nations. Unfortunately, implementation endures from several
weaknesses: the absence of documentation and information on how ICT is used;
there is a lack of coordination between public and private sector efforts; and not
sufficient teacher preparation. More specifically, there is uncertainty about whether
computers in schools are fully utilized for educational computing. There were also
concerns that computers meant for students were instead being used only by
teachers for lesson plans preparation or playing games.

Educational researchers stated that lack of documentation regarding ICT use is

a problem that exists in many countries. In developing countries, data that could
help determine how scarce educational resources should be distributed or how
effectively they are being used are simply not available. Finally, teacher preparation
is not sufficient. Some training programs for teachers emphasize the use of specific
software packages, but the integration of ICT in the curriculum is overlooked (Ng
et. al, 2009). If teachers dare to use ICT without adequate training, they are likely to
do it inaccurately.
 Therefore, Philippine national policy has been formulated in the advanced use
of ICT in education. The Senate Committee on Education, in cooperation with the
DECS, launched Project CARES in March 2001. Project CARES was designed to
upgrade the use and application of ICT in public elementary and secondary schools
nationwide (Rimando, 2001). The primary concern of the project is the school
administration to respond to the need for accurate and timely data that
administrators and teachers need to manage their classes.

Philippines as a developing country are committed to instilling schools with

ICT, hopeful that these technologies will improve teaching and learning in today's
knowledge society. Subsequently, the government and the private sector have
introduced programs to deliver schools with computer hardware and software,
Internet connectivity, and teacher training. However, substantial gaps still exist in
ICT program implementations. There is a lack of data on schools’ use of ICT, so
there is little basis for policy formulation; furthermore, there is a lack of
coordination between public and private sector efforts. Within the ICT program,
thus leads to wasted time, money, and human resources. Finally, there is a demand
for further teacher training in both computer literacy and ICT integration in the
curriculum. These gaps must be sufficiently addressed before ICT can have a
significant impact on teaching and learning in Philippine schools (Rodrigo, 2001).

A. Policy Recommended Programs that have applications to education

teaching- learning:

1. ICT in Education Masterplan for all levels, including a National Roadmap

for Faculty Development in ICT in Education. A National Framework Plan
for ICTs in Basic Education was developed.

2. Content and application development through the Open Content in

Education Initiative (OCEI), which converts DepED materials into
interactive multi-media content, develops applications used in schools and
conducts students’ and teacher’s competitions to promote the development
of education-related web content.

3. PheDNET is a “walled” garden the hosts educational learning and teaching

materials and applications for use by Filipino students, their parents, and
teachers. All public high schools will be part of this network with only
DepEd-approved multi-media applications, materials, and mirrored internet
sites accessible from school ‘s PCs.

4. Established Community eLearning Centers called eSkwela for out-of-school

youth (OSY), providing them with ICT-enhanced alternative education
opportunities.

5. eQuality Program for tertiary education through partnerships with state

universities and colleges (SUCs) to improve the quality of IT education and
the use of ICT in education in the country, particularly outside of Metro
Manila.

6. Digital Media Arts Program, which builds digital media skills for the
government using Open Source technologies. Particularly the beneficiary
agencies organizations, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, National
Commission and for Culture and Arts, State Universities, and local
government units.
 7. ICT skills strategic plan, which develops an inter-agency approach to
identifying strategic and policy and program recommendations to address
ICT skills demand- supply type.

B. Some Issues on ICT and Internet Policy and Regulations

Issue No. 1: Freedom of Expression and Censorship.

• The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that everyone
has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, likewise the
right to freedom of opinion and expression.
• Censorship restricts the transmission of information by blocking it or
filtering information.

Issue No. 2: Privacy and Security

• Privacy means “personal privacy,” the right of individuals not to
have their home, private life, or personal life interfered with.
priivacy of communication refers to the protection from interference with transmission
over the phone or the internet.
• Information privacy must be used for purposes and will not be
disclosed to others without the consent of the individuals.

Issue No. 3: Surveillance and Data Retention

• Indirect Surveillance – no direct contact between the agent and the
surveillance subject and but evidence of activities can be traced.
• Dataveillance –the use of personal information to monitor a person’s
activities.
• Data Retention – the storage and use of information from
communication systems.

Issue No. 4: E-pollutants from E-waste

• A large amount of E-waste is generated by ICT.

• These are in particular, terminal equipment for computing,
broadcasting, telephony, and peripherals.
• Material waste can be destroyed by crushing, toxic material brought by
the different equipment requires top management.

Application

The availability and the use of the new ICTs also encourage new types
of learning interactions: between teacher-learner, teacher-teacher, learner-experts,
and between learners-computer.
In a continuum from traditional to the new environment, where would you position
your school? Place an X mark where you think your school is.

In the space below, write a brief explanation for your answer.

Closure

Now that you have already known the implications of ICT Policies and Safety
Issues in Teaching and Learning, you can now proceed to the next module, which
will discuss on Theories and Principles in the Use and Design of Technology-
Driven Lessons.