Integration of Information Technology activities into School CurriculumWord格式文档下载.docx

Integration of Information Technology activities into School CurriculumWord格式文档下载.docx

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DrMeenakumari*,Prof.M.Radhakrishna**

Internetbasedlearningisatoolformanyproblemsituations.Whileintegratedintoaschoolsystemitcouldbeofgreathelpinremediallearning,absenteelearning,recapitulation,individualization,self-pacing,lookahead,takingcareofadiversegroupofstudentswhileaddressingthemediangroup.Whenviewedasdistancelearningenvironmentitoffersopportunityforthedropouts,extendsreachtothosewhodidnothaveaccesstoeducation.Whenlookedatfromthepointofviewofnon-formal/supplementary/non-crediteducationitprovidesopportunityforgroupstolearnandupgradetheneededknowledgeandskills.Thisisusefulforworkinggroups,peoplewantingtochangetheirprofession.ThepaperdiscussesstrategiesandmodelstoimplementInternetbasedlearningsystemsforeachoftheabovesituations.Themodels/strategiesemphasizetheneedtointegratethesenewapproacheswiththeexistingstructuresformaximumeffectiveness.

Keywords:

ITcurriculum,Secondaryeducation,ITinstructionalmodel

1Introduction

Theschoolsystems,allovertheworld,haveadesiretointroducetheInformationTechnology（IT）orcomputerstudiesataveryearlystageintheeducationofthestudent.ForthepurposeofthisarticleITandcomputerstudieshavebeenconsideredequivalentandthetermIThasbeenusedtorepresenteitherofthem.Inmostcountries,theITeducationhasbeenimplementedbyintroducinganITsubjectinthecurricularactivitiesofthestudents,fromtheupperprimaryleveltillhighersecondarylevel（Alevel）.Abouttwotothreehoursofcurriculumtimeperweekisallocatedforthissubject.TheconventionalcurriculumintroducedinschoolsincludesIntroductiontocomputers,softwaretoolslikewordprocessors,spreadsheets,databasesetc.,programminglanguages,InternetandWebpagedesign.TheemphasisisonformalteachingoftheITasanindependentsubjectdealingwithafewisolatedconceptsandsometechniques.

TheconsequenceofthisapproachisthattheadditionalITsubjecttakesawaythetimefromeithertheotherschoolsubjectsandthusreducingtheemphasisonthesesubjects,oraddanadditional2to3hoursaweektothecurriculumandtheschooldurationandthusincreasingtheburdenonthestudent.Ineithercase,thequalityofeducationisadverselyaffectedandwithoutreallyprovidinganyadvantagetoeitherthestudentortheeducationsystem.

Theconventionalinstructionalapproachdescribedinthelastsentenceofpara1above,inregardtoteachingITmakeslearningdifficultandisoftensuspect.Thiscriticismisvalidinrespectofteachingofanyothersubjectoftheschoolcurriculum.Veryrarelytheapproachcatchestheimaginationofthestudentandinspiresthestudent.Infacttheapproachiscounterproductiveandpositivelyloosesanopportunitytoprovideanexcitinglearningexperienceforthestudent.TheoverburdeningofthestudenthastobeseenintheAsiancontextofveryhighpressureonthestudenttodowellintheschoolinordertogainentryintouniversitylevelprofessionalcourses.

AnumberofmodelssuchasPiage’sconstructivistlearning,exploratorylearning,collaborativelearningandexperientiallearningmodelsoffersomefruitfulalternativestoconventionalinstructionalprocess.Aninterestingexampleofconstructivismisthatthechildrenduringtheirplayconstructtheirownworldsandexploretherelationshipsintheseworlds.Thechildlearnstheconceptspertainingtothisworldandtherelationshipsinthisworldthroughexplorationandwithoutthethreatofbeingevaluated.Thethreatofevaluationdoesnotallowthestudenttolearnorexperiencetheconceptsbutmerelyremembertheconceptsandapplications.Duringtheplay,thechildalsodevelopstheconceptsofcollaborationwithothers,accommodationoftheothers’pointofviewetc.ITeducationisverymuchamenabletoadoptingtheselearningmodelsandSeymourPappertandhisschoolhavemadesomenotableeffortstoapplysomeoftheselearningmodelsthroughtheLOGOenvironment.

Theapproach,ofteachingITskillsasspecificsubjectsinconventionalmannermayenablethelearningoftheseITsubjectsthroughrotelearning,butthestudentdoesnotgainintermsofapplications,doesnotdevelopanappreciationofthesubjects,maynotseetherelevanceofthesesubjectstohisdailyactivities.Thisresultsineducationthatisuninspiring,unexcitingandinefficient.Ofcoursethiscriticismmayequallybevalidforothersubjectstaughtinsecondaryschools.Howeverthesesubjectshadtheadvantageofbeingtaughtbyprofessionalteacherswithlongexperiencepartiallycompensatingforanylossoffocusonapplicationsandrelevance.ITeducationdoesnothavethisbenefitsastheITteachersarenotexperiencedteachersandoftentendtobecomputerprofessionalswithnoformaltrainingintheprocessofteaching.

ThusthereisaneedtodesigntheITeducationinamorecarefulmanner.ThedesigncoverstheissuesofITcurriculum,instructionalmodels,integrationoftheITintotheconventionalstudentactivitiesandstudentevaluation.ThispaperexploresawayofintroducingtheITcoursesattheschoollevelbykeepinginviewalltheaboveissues.

2ObjectivesofteachingITcoursesinschools

WeliveintheworldofITandwereceiveavarietyofservicesfromthesocietyanddeliveredthroughIT.Weareexpectedtoaccepttheseservicesandrespondtotheminapositivemannerfortheharmoniousliving.ThisrequiresthatthemembersofthesocietyhavecertainappreciationandacquaintancewiththeITservicesandapplications.Astudentwhocomesoutoftheschoolsystemhastofindajobinthesociety.

Mostofthejobsrequirethestudenttoworkinenvironmentsinfluencedbythecomputers,makeuseofITskillsandtoolstoperformthejobsinaneffectiveandefficientmanner,operatevariousinformationsystemsandITapplicationsofrelevancetothejob.ThisrequiresthattheschoolgraduateshaveacquiredproficiencyinabroadrangeofITskills.Itmustbeborneinmindthatthepurposeofthegeneralschooleducationsystemistopreparethestudenttoliveharmoniouslyandinasociallyresponsiblemannerinaworldofscience,technology,andcommerce.FurthertheeducationprovidesthestudentwiththenecessaryITskillsthatareneededtoperformtheworkassigned,andexposethemtotherelevantapplications.ThelastgoalistoensurethatthestudentisexcitedaboutlearningandlearnsinamannerthatintegratesITwiththerestofthecurriculumsothatthestudentfindsthelearningprocessasaholisticexperienceratherthanaseriesofunrelatedbitsandpiecesofknowledge.TheITcoursesshouldalsoprovidethebackgroundandpreparethestudentstotakeupprofessionalcoursesintherelevantarea.Generallythecoursesatsecondaryleveldonotprovideabasisforspecialisationbutprovidegeneralbackgroundtoappreciate,harness,integrateandunderstanddifferentareasofknowledgeneededinvarioushumanactivitiesandendeavours.

AlookatthetypesofjobsundertakenbyapersoneitherathisworkplaceorinlifeandtheiranalysiswouldhelpinrealisingthescopeoftheITactivities,ITskills,andITapplicationsthatneedtobeintroducedattheschoollevel.ItisimportanttorealisethattheITdoesnotprovidejobsintheseITfieldsbutwouldfacilitateperformingjobsinallotherareasofhumanactivityessentialforthesociety.Thetypeofjobsthatwecomeacrossafterpost-schoollevelareanofficeassistantwhousesITofficetoolstopreparedocumentsandreports,operatetest,andhelpindevelopingthecomputerisedinformationsystemssucharepayrolls,personnelrecords,ledgersandtransactions,inventorysystems,patientcareandmonitoring,operatorsofapplicationsystemsinhotels,travelindustryandhospitalityservicesetc,industrialworkerwhowouldoperatecomputer/microprocessorbasedequipment,workersfromservicesectorswhooperategeneralpurposeinformationsystemsorspecialisedapplicationssuchasmedicaltranscription,callcentresetc.,andteachersatprimarylevel.

Fromtheforegoingdiscussion,theobjectivesofteachingITatschoollevelmaybesummarisedandstatedasunder:

（1）Developcapabilitytooperatecomputersystemsandmicroprocessorbasedsystemswithconfidence

（2）DevelopappreciationofandacquaintancewiththeITandapplications,includingapplicationstoinstructionalprocess

（3）Developcapabilitytooperateandhelpindevelopinginformationsystems

（4）ProvidegeneralandspecificITskillsthatareneededbythejobmarket,societyandself

（5）IntroducesITandapplicationsinamannerthatintegratesthemintotheschoolactivitiesandrelatesthemtotheworldinwhichthepersonlives

（6）ProvidesthebasisforlearningITintertiaryeducation

3CoursePhilosophyandoutlines

Thediscussioninthissectionisdividedinto4parts–primary（5years）,lowersecondary（2to3years）,secondary（2to3years）,andhighersecondary（2years）.

3.1Primary

TheITintroductionmaystartinthelasttwoyearsoftheprimaryschool.Thecontentatthislevelmustexcitethestudent,makehimwonderatthecapabilitiesofthetechnology,nurturehis/herbasictalentssuchasdrawing,writing,storytellingandlistening,andbasicarithmetic.Sincethestudentneedstohandlethecomputerkeyboard,microphone,andstoragesystemsetc.,itisgoodtocreatespecialhardwareandsoftwareinterfacesthatarenotambiguous,easytouseandarerelevanttothesituation.Wi