Educational Aspects of ICT

In various contemporary educational institutions information technology plays a significant role nowadays. In Polish kindergartens, schools and universities new information workrooms with access to Internet have been created and are still being created. More and more classrooms and lecture halls as well as kindergarten rooms are equipped with computers with access to Internet and multimedia projectors. Not all students and teachers make use of these tools eagerly, mainly because they are not competent enough, however it can be noted that multimedia techniques become more and more popular in our educational institutions. Lectures and classes, during which the lecturers and students do not use a multimedia projector and exclusive multimedia presentations prepared mainly in popular Microsoft PowerPoint are scarce. I have an impression that lecturers and students more and more often regard lack of use of multimedia technology as a lack of adequate and reliable preparation for the classes.

Selected Fields of Application 

Several years ago research was carried out in Poland to determine the weight of schoolbags of the youngest pupils. It turned out that most frequently the schoolbags weighted 4kg and even 6 kg (three times as much as it is permitted by paediatricians). At the same time an enormous publicity was won by KidSmart programme directed to children at pre-school age and children of elementary education, which has been already introduced in 60 countries worldwide and which covers over 10 million children. Within the framework of IBM KidSmart the elementary education institutions and pre-school institutions received computer sets designed especially for children. They consist of a computer in colour, children-safe case and educational software which supports elementary education programme within the scope of teaching mathematics, English language and logical thinking. These materials diversify gaining new skills and make the process more attractive. Participation of children in the programme shapes ability to make use of a computer properly and the sense of responsibility for actions taken to use the latest technologies in the adulthood. In response to too heavy schoolbags, a new educational project called Light as a feather - multimedia locker for a student = light schoolbag was developed and executed by the Regional Education Authority in Katowice, which consisted in giving up excess of textbooks, exercise books and school accessories and equipping children with netbooks with adequate didactic software so that they were able to use them both at school, during classes and at home. One of the important purposes of the above mentioned actions was not only to support development of children’s abilities of using information technology, but also to increase competences of teachers to use it in elementary education, in everyday work with a child. 

KidSmart Array

Thanks to information technology the world is commonly called a Global Village nowadays. Educational opportunities resulting from ICT development increase at a fast rate and gain newer and newer dimensions. Thanks to it, the access to knowledge sources increases, and the knowledge seems to be at hand today. Remote education does not surprise anybody nowadays, and its quality does not raise reservations, thus fighting stereotypical and conventional take on education, which is now perceived as a lifetime process, taking place not only during one’s childhood and youth. To a large degree this status quo meets the concept of a man’s subjectivity as a being that is free, independent to take decisions on his educational, professional, personal – life way. The possibility of communicating with people from all over the world, sending information from and to virtually each place on Earth, even for educational purposes, has become an everyday life for us. Modern educational possibilities have their source on Earth, but do not end here.

Educational possibilities increase their range continuously and transcend even beyond our planet

The purpose of the International program ARISS (Amateur Radio on The International Space Station) is to popularize astronautics among school and academic young people, by enabling mutual communication with ISS crew. On 18^th January, 2011 the Polish high school students tried to establish radio communication with the astronauts of the International Space Station. In a participating school a competition for questions for astronauts was organised – secondary school students were supposed to ask them in English. The questions concerned the astronauts’ life without gravitation, frequency of contacts with their families, methods of preparing meals, etc.  

Polish students and their star-teacher

Organising the session was possible thanks to cooperation of the secondary school with the Ostrów Shortwave Club. The club made all necessary equipment for realisation of this undertaking available. The connection was to last ca. 10 minutes – when the station was flying over Europe. It was the first trial to establish communication, however it was not fully completed, since interferences on a certain frequency made the proper communication impossible. The secondary school students heard the astronauts, whereas the astronauts did not hear the students. But the researchers from the space station contacted the school after the unsuccessful session and this conversation was possible due to the technical possibilities of NASA. The purpose of such projects is to increase knowledge of the Earth and the space, to develop interests and passions of the young people.

Space-studensts from Płock

 
So it is difficult to determine what other places we will be able to reach. E-learning on the Moon? The whole world was previously said to be open for us, including the world of education, now it can be safely said that we enter a boundless space of education (and this boundlessness is not the end of it).

Music is universal language 

One of the fields which is close to me is use of information technology for learning how to play music instruments thanks to YouTube. The enormous movie resources including records how a given composition is being performed with the possibility to replay and stop any part of it repeatedly is a good method and an idea of musical self-education and development of someone’s passions.  

On YouTube portal one can find educational films which include step by step presentation how to play a given song. I know it by experience that it is difficult to learn the basics of instrument playing without a specialist and a direct contact with a teacher. However, after having mastered certain key skills, learning to play by Internet could be effective. If something goes wrong, YouTube repeats a given sequence without impatience, which could be naturally felt by a teacher.  

How To Play Stairway To Heaven By Led Zeppelin On Guitar?
Thomas will show you

Nevertheless it should be remembered that learning always requires authentic motivation and engagement of a student, in particular when learning by Internet. On the one hand, it can be a difficulty in achieving a success, on the other hand it develops a need of taking responsibility for one’s own education, the self-development and it contributes to have a feeling of being in charge and being able to decide about one’s own life, in accordance with a postulate of subjective perception of each human being.

Need inspirations? 

Art of (e)motion - Drifting by Andy McKee 

Sungha Jung - Rylynn by Andy McKee

Igor Falecki - Polish 4 years old drummer

 

 So start to play as soon as possilbe!