An Overview of Impact of Information and Communication Technology in Education

In this paper, importance of ICT and its use in education is described. ICT means Information and Communication Technology. It is one type of communication technology that is used to process and communicate information. For this type of technology computers, the Internet, Broadcasting technologies such as radio and television are used. By using ICT information can be stored, retrieved, manipulated as well as transmitted.

In developing countries Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has great importance.Without ICT a society as well as country cannot able to develop.Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is treated as a wide subject.It helps us to transmit or receive information electronically in a digital form.In the globalization era the information and communication technology has made revolution in Policy-makers, educationists, non-governmental organizations, academics, and ordinary citizens.
The information and communication technologies have been used by academic researchers since the 1980s.Utilizations of ICTs in education are widespread and are continually growing worldwide.It is generally believed that ICTs can empower teachers as well as students.

Application of ICT in education
The internet has an integral part of every individual's life.The use of the internet in educational institution has increased at a rapid rate.It has given wings to scholars, educators, and allied staff in a multitude of ways.Software in schools has empowered them to uplift their communities through the use of technology related activities in the world of education.But there still remains a negative image of management software in the minds of many people.Educational institutions are key to eliminating these misconceptions through the reasonable implementation of educational management software in schools.They do this by implementing ICT to create positive outcomes for their most visible of stakeholders to their students.ICT is necessary for decision makers like education ministers, school administrators, and educational institutions to be sufficiently perceptive about methodologies that enable the implementation of information and communication technology in schools.Latest technologies can sprout novel education activities in addition to enhancing existing education systems.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a division of the United Nations, has made integrating ICT into education part of its efforts to ensure equity and access to education.The following, taken directly from a UNESCO publication on educational ICT, explains the organization's position on the initiative.
The main approach for Information and Communication Technology in Education is given below: First, the ICT has been developing very rapidly nowadays.Therefore, in order to balance it, the whole educational system should be reformed and ICT should be integrated into educational activities.
Second, the influence of ICT, especially internet cannot be ignored in our student's lives.So, the learning activities should be reoriented and reformulated, from the manual source centered to the open source ones.In this case the widely use of internet access has been an unavoidable policy that should be anticipated by schools authorities.
Third, the presence of multimedia games and online games by internet has been another serious problem that should be wisely handled by the educational institutions.The students cannot be exterminated from this case.They can have and do with it wherever and whenever they want.Schools, as a matter of fact, do not have enough power and time to prevent or stop it after school times.Meanwhile, most parents do not have enough times to accompany and control their children.So, the students have large opportunities to do with multimedia games or online games or browsing the negative and porn sites.Having been addicted, the students will have too little time to study, and even do not want to attend classes.
Fourth, the implementation of ICT in education has not been a priority trend of educational reform and the state paid little attention to it.Therefore, there should be an active participation, initiative and good will of the schools and the government institutions to enhance ICT implementation at school.Fifth, the teachers should be the main motivator and initiator of the ICT implementation at schools.The teachers should be aware of the social change in their teaching activities.They should be the agent of change from the classical method into the modern one.They must also be the part of the global change in learning and teaching modification.
Improving the quality of education and training is a critical issue, particularly at a time of educational expansion.ICTs can enhance the quality of education in several ways: by increasing learner motivation and engagement, by facilitating the acquisition of basic skills, and by enhancing teacher training.ICTs are also transformational tools which when used appropriately, can promote the shift to a learner-centered environment.
ICTs such as videos, television and multimedia computer software that combine text, sound, and colorful, moving images can be used to provide challenging and authentic content that will engage the student in the learning process.The teachers strongly felt that the visual aural combination if integrated judiciously with the textbook and syllabus, can work wonders in getting across abstract concepts and logics to the children in a short span of time.The potential of each technology varies according to how it is used CONCLUSION Therefore this paper is an attempt to present the important issues that must be addressed by both preservice teacher's education and in-service teacher professional development programs if schools and other educational institutions are to fully exploit the potential of computers and the Internet as educational tools.In terms of using internet and other ICT as a resource for lesson preparation, most of the teachers interviewed, admitted to never or rarely using it, while very few used the internet to gather information sporadically or regularly.The teachers particularly felt that they had both access and training inadequacy and hence were unable to utilize internet and other facilities.More teachers were comfortable however, with using computers as an individual than as a teacher.A positive find is that all those teachers who are not well versed with the computer and other technology, expressed keen interest in undergoing training for the same.They felt that if trained, they would be in a position to make use of resources available in the school.Support of school administrators and, in some cases, the community, is critical if ICTs are to be used effectively.In addition, teachers must have adequate access to functioning computers (or other technologies) and sufficient technical support.Shifting pedagogies, redesigning curriculum and assessment tools, and providing more autonomy to local schools all contribute to the optimal use of ICTs in education.Very few strong examples of integration of ICT into classroom teaching learning is visible, though some schools do use the audio visual aids and integrate teaching of some lessons.