ICTs
are a potentially powerful tool for extending educational
opportunities, both formal and non-for mal, to previously underserved
constituencies—scattered and rural populations, groups traditionally
excluded from education due to cultural or social reasons such as ethnic
minorities, girls and women, persons with disabilities, and the
elderly, as well as all others who for reasons of cost or because of
time constraints are unable to enroll on campus.
• Anytime, anywhere. One
defining feature of ICTs is their ability to transcend time and space.
ICTs make possible asynchronous learning, or learning characterized by a
time lag between the delivery of instruction and its reception by
learners. Online course materials, for example, may be accessed 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week. ICT-based educational delivery (e.g., educational
programming broadcast over radio or television) also dispenses with the
need for all learners and the instructor to be in one physical
location. Additionally, certain types of ICTs, such as teleconferencing
technologies, enable instruction to be received simultaneously by
multiple, geographically dispersed learners (i.e., synchronous
learning).
• Access to remote learning resources. Teachers
and learners no longer have to rely solely on printed books and other
materials in physical media housed in libraries (and available in
limited quantities) for their educational needs. With the Internet and
the World Wide Web, a wealth of learning materials in almost every
subject and in a variety of media can now be accessed from anywhere at
anytime of the day and by an unlimited number of people. This is
particularly significant for many schools in developing countries, and
even some in developed countries, that have limited and outdated library
resources. ICTs also facilitate access to resource persons, mentors,
experts, researchers, professionals, business leaders, and peers—all
over the world.
· ICTs help prepare individuals for the workplace.
One
of the most commonly cited reasons for using ICTs in the classroom has
been to better prepare the current generation of students for a
workplace where ICTs, particularly computers, the Internet and related
technologies, are becoming more and more ubiquitous. Technological
literacy, or the ability to use ICTs effectively and efficiently, is
thus seen as representing a competitive edge in an increasingly
globalizing job market.
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