THe Future Of ICT

The Scottish Government (2004) state in the experiences and outcomes of ICT, “This area of specialist study has particular relevance in preparing children and young people for the challenges of rapidly changing digital technologies. It will enable learners to prepare for more advanced specialised study and careers within computing science.” (no page given).

This reflects how quickly technologies develop and change and as teacher we must prepare pupils for the advances. One way of achieving this is, the teaching of transferable skills through ICT should be highlighted to learners, so that pupils should see the relevance and purpose of ICT in the classroom. Buckingham (2007) explains the importance of this, “By building connections between classroom uses of technology and children’s out-of-school experiences, they have been regarded as a way of capitalizing on the benefits of ‘informal’ learning, and of validating the diverse ‘learning styles’ of different students.” (p.117). To do this, a practitioner must be aware of what is available to support them and current technology ‘trends’ which interest learners. In my past experiences I have used thinking this in my lessons, by getting the children to create their own Facebook pages on their hero and this was a successful lesson as the class were motivated as it was relevant to them.

                                                  Is this a classroom of the future?

 However, the effect of technology could have adverse effects on the children of today’s society too. There is the potential for pupils to become too engrossed in ICT and become disengaged with ‘typical’ classroom exercise involving textbooks. ‘Digital Natives’ are also exposed to more material than previous generations and Watson (2010) highlights the prospective effects of this, “What children get taught at school, and the values they are given by their parents outside school, is diluted by the information and attitudes disseminated by technology, especially by mobile devices over which parents and teachers can exercise very little control.” (p.29)

Muirhead, Hicks and Bishop as cited in Wheeler (2005) discuss the possibilities of technology in schools. They say how it is almost impossible to predict what future technology will be, they talk about how maximise the use of it, “Without visionary leadership, new technologies are unlikely to be widely promoted among teachers, but with insightful and creative head teachers adopting and championing ICT, success is more probable.” (p.161). Overall, I believe a teacher must instil enthusiasm and confidence in the children in order to engage pupils and achieve success in the teaching by creating ICT competent learners, ready to adapt and use new technologies successfully.

References
Buckingham, D. (2007). Beyond Technology. Polity Press: Cambridge
The Scottish Government (2004). Curriculum For Excellence, Experiences and Outcomes. Available at: www.ltscotland.org.uk/.../technologies_principles_practice_tcm4-540...  [Last accessed 23/02/12]
Watson, R. (2010). Future Minds. Nicholas Brealey Publishing: London
Wheeler, S. (2005). Transforming Primary ICT. Learning Matters Ltd: Exeter