Difficulties that prevent some institutions in being able to embed ICT fully

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Permalink Reply by faryal mazhar on June 15, 2013 at 8:42am

Technology affects the teaching and learning in a positive way. A big barrier to embedding ICT fully is the lack of training or skills that the teachers have with ICT or using such tools. I think if we do not research for relevant websites, explore new software and hand on experience with ICT we will remain hesitant to use it.
Another barrier is lack of resources ,most of school do not invest money to buy new technology and equipments for class rooms so it is difficult to create e- learning environment
Third thing is traditional management, so it is very important to train the management first. If they will be trained then they can motivate the teacher to take initiative to embed ICT in their lesson.

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Permalink Reply by Muneeza Akhtar on June 21, 2013 at 1:12pm

Hi Faryal,

Thank you for giving the detail answer. I agree with all three points that you have mentioned but sometimes even if the teacher is provided with the resources and teachers use the resources in the class effectively.There is no incentive for the  teachers. The teacher who is searching for the new ICT tools to integrate with different subjects are putting much more effort  and if there is some sort of encouragement then the teacher will be more enthusiastic to integrate ICT with different subjects and  you are right that the management should be trained that how effective ICT integrated lessons are nowadays in teaching and learning. 

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Permalink Reply by Shazia Afzal on June 21, 2013 at 12:18pm

I think the main barriers are the hardware/software cost and resources cost. The institutions have to spend on the devices, software and the human resource to train not only teachers but in some cases to train students as well. At the same time, they feel insecure that after spending too much money there is no guarantee for the success. However, this is the case with small budget organisations in developing and underdeveloped countries. In developed countries, institutions are getting benefits by the use of technology in teaching and learning.

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Permalink Reply by Muneeza Akhtar on June 21, 2013 at 12:51pm

Hi Shazia, Thank you for replying. I agree with you that developed countries are getting the benefit by using advanced technology and the training of teachers and students are also important. The organizations in under developed countries are too sacred too buy the expensive resources but I think that organizations should test the resources simply just on one class to see how effective  the resource is and then try to buy for the whole college or school. I also think that sometimes people are too set in their old ways that they are afraid to try new things.If there are less number of resources in the school/college teacher can overcome this problem with proper planning.

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Permalink Reply by Shazia Afzal on June 30, 2013 at 1:11pm

Hi Muneeza, Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Actually I am on holidays in Saudi Arabia with my husband and children; a break from teaching. Yes, you are right; the institutions should buy some resources at small scale and find out the effectiveness of those resources before that they buy at large scale. They should do some surveys before using the technology such as what is required, is there any free version of that type of software, etc. They should also encourage their staff by rewarding them for their hard work in using the new technology. The institutions should also try to get some funding from internal or external agencies. The institutions should realize this fact that it is essential to keep up with pace of digital age; sooner the better. Otherwise they will suffer from the long term loss which they probably will not be able to handle. 

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Permalink Reply by Muneeza Akhtar on June 30, 2013 at 2:33pm

Hi Shazia, Thank you for replying.  You are absolutely right about that institutions should keep up with the pace of digital age and it is better to start early and should try the trial version of resources so they will know the effectiveness of ICT tool in teaching and learning before buying it.

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Permalink Reply by Vee Paisie on July 20, 2013 at 12:08pm

having 'technology' in my classroom is fine, but ask me first. Administrators who think they know on what to spend the money often make bad choices resulting in impractical tools (such as a max of iPads, laptops, and desktops).

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