s267517

Assignment 1

Brody Burrows

ICT in Education
ICT in education has steadily grown and become more prevalent over the
last 25 years. The Australian National Curriculum contains a focus on
Digital and Design Technologies. The Australian National Curriculum
(2016) states that students develop Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) capability as they learn to use ICT effectively and
appropriately to access, create and communicate information and ideas,
solve problems and work collaboratively in all learning areas at school and
in their lives beyond school. This learning area is designed to be
delivered to all students from years F-10. Students these days are born
into a world where they are using technology from a very young age. By
school age the students are already familiar with most of the technology
used such as IPads and computers, thus giving them an advantage
compared to students coming into the schooling system 10 years ago.
Modern technology also gives an advantage to children with learning
disabilities, with the technology being able to tailor a lesson to a students
need. For example, there are thousands of different apps available to
download onto an IPad which helps students who suffer from dyslexia.
Every year education is improving. In todays society technology is a vital
part of ones everyday life. ICT is an acronym for Information and
Communication Technology. ICT is an excellent tool for us to use as
teachers as it is engaging for the students and all students can use it no
matter their ability. Since the Australian Curriculum has adopted ICT into
its learning areas, it has allowed us as teachers to evaluate ourselves
better as we have had to train in these technologies as well as the
students. Compared to 20-30 years ago, students results can be accessed
by the click of a button. The use of ICT in the classroom allows us as
teachers to engage the students much more. ICTs such as IPads,
Television and Computers that combine text, sound and colourful images
can be used to provide challenging and accurate work whilst keeping the
students engaged (Tinio, 2002). There are many different educational ICT
tools that many schools are using. Programs such as Mathletics which is
an online maths website, allow students to access the work whenever
they want from a computer or a device such as an IPad or IPhone.
Programs such as this, automatically give both the parents of the child
and the teacher up to date results on the childs work. By having
programs such as Mathletics that are engaging for the students to use, it
encourages them to do practice outside of school due to the fun nature
of the learning.

s267517

Assignment 1

Brody Burrows

ICT Tools
One of the most popular ICT tools used around Australia in schools is
IPads. IPads were created by Apple in 2010, following on from their
successful launch of the iPhone in 2007. When IPads were first released
they were mainly used for browsing the internet, emails and social media
such as Facebook and Instagram. Once developers realised how easy and
kid-friendly the device is many educational apps were created. Since the
IPads inception there have been over 20,000 educational apps created
(Alyahya, 2012). With the educational potential that IPads could create,
they started being brought into schools in 2011 and have increased their
presence in schools every year since. For example at my local area school
there are 25 IPads and 72 students. Due to having such a small school,
classes will have to be combined. A 4/5/6 class has 3 different year levels;
the use of IPads in the classroom would be extremely beneficial as the
work can be tailored to the individual students need, this allows each
student to reach their maximum potential. The price of an IPad has
decreased significantly since their inception allowing them to be used by
schools all over Australia. It is also now possible for schools to apply for
grants to receive IPads, thus increasing the likelihood of this technology
coming into the school. In the classroom the IPad can be used in many
ways for both communicating and learning.
The use of IPads in the classroom is becoming extremely popular with
children who suffer from learning difficulties. Dyslexia Quest is an app that
assists the child to build memory and other learning skills. An app such as
this can help a child stay motivated and engaged in learning where they
could have formerly lost confidence. Sight-words is also another app that
is commonly used in the classroom. This app is aligned with the Australian
Curriculum and provides free, printable words which are designed to
promote learning in both the classroom and at home (DyslexiaHelp, 2016).
With the use of IPads both at school and at home, it allows the child to
keep up to date with their work even on different devices. All that is
required for this to happen is for the child to log in and they will be able
to pick up where they last finished. The Horizon Report (2015), suggests
that in the coming years students will be able to bring their own device
to school. This could have both a positive and negative impact on the
classroom. With the students bringing their own device it will allow them
better access to school materials at home and also continuing on with
work from school. It will also allow the students to have any app of their
choosing on the device, due to it not being monitored by the school. This
could distract the student severely during lessons.
Conclusion

s267517

Assignment 1

Brody Burrows

In conclusion, ICT has become increasingly more prevalent over the past
two decades. The introduction of modern technology such as IPods, IPads
and interactive whiteboards have all had a positive effect in the
classroom. The students now have easier access to a wider variety of
resources at the click of a button. There are many apps such as Mathletics
which are aligned with the Australian National Curriculum and allow the
teacher to monitor the progress of each individual and find out which
students are strong or weak in certain areas. IPads are becoming one of
the main technological devices used in classrooms around Australia. This
is because of the factor that they are easy to use and most families have
one at home so the students are already familiar with using it. IPads are
becoming increasingly popular among teachers for students with learning
difficulties. Their easy to use educational games allows the students to
stay motivated and interested in topics that they would normally show
little to no interest in. All in all, technology is becoming increasingly
popular among schools as it helps promote a positive learning
environment for the students. All of these technological advancements
promote a convincing argument for integrating ICT into all aspects of
pedagogy.

s267517

Assignment 1

Brody Burrows

References

Alyahya, S. (2012). iPads in Education: A Qualitative Study of Students Attitudes

and Experiences. Retrieved August 25, 2016, from
https://www.editlib.org/p/40913/?nl=1
Australian Curriculum. (2016). Digital Technologies. Retrieved August 24, 2016,
from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/digitaltechnologies/curriculum/f-10?layout=1
Baskin, C., & Williams, M. (2006). ICT integration in schools: Where are we now
and what comes next?. Retrieved August 25, 2016, from
http://ajet.org.au/index.php/AJET/article/viewFile/1280/653
DyslexiaHelp (2016). Apps for Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities. Retrieved
August 28, 2016, from http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/tools/apps
NMC. (2015). The NMC Horizon Report: 2015 K-12 Edition. Retrieved August 28,
2016, from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2015-nmc-horizon-report-k12-EN.pdf
Tinio, V. (2002). ICT in Education. Retrieved August 24, 2016, from
http://www.saigontre.com/FDFiles/ICT_in_Education.PDF