ICT (information and communication technologies) are processes and methods for interacting with information that are carried out using computer devices, as well as telecommunications.
The role of ICT in modern society
Currently, one can observe a constant increase in the influence of media technologies on humans. They have a particularly strong effect on children: twenty years ago, a child would rather have watched a film than read a book. However, today, under the powerful press of information, advertising, computer technology, electronic toys, game consoles, etc., modern youth is increasingly detached from reality. Now, if the student cannot avoid reading the book, he no longer goes to the library, but downloads it to his tablet. You can often see the following picture: a group of young people is sitting in a park, park or shopping and entertainment complex, they donāt communicate with each other, all their attention is focused on smartphones, tablets, laptops. If a similar phenomenon continues to be observed, then soon the children will completely forget how to communicate. And so, the ministries of education of many countries on our planet, instead of developing among schoolchildren an interest in lively communication and study in general, decided to take the path of least resistance and give the children what they want. According to some experts, the childās brain perceives new information better if it is presented in an entertaining way, which is why they easily perceive the data offered in the lesson using media (in this regard, the use of information and communication technologies in the field of education is constantly growing today). It is difficult to argue with this, but the reverse side of the coin of such an educational process is that children stop communicating with the teacher, which means that their ability to think is reduced. It is much better to rebuild the learning process so that it is not boring and always supports the childās thirst for new knowledge. But this issue will have to be left to the conscience of officials.
The concept of communication and information technology
The processes of informatization in modern society, as well as the closely related reform of educational activities, are characterized by the improvement and mass distribution of modern ICT. They are actively used to transfer data and ensure the interaction of teacher and student in the modern system of distance and open education. Today, the teacher is required to possess skills not only in the field of ICT, but also to be responsible for the professional use of information and communication technologies in his direct activities.
The term "technology" came to us from the Greek language, and in translation it means "science". The modern understanding of this word includes the application of engineering and scientific knowledge to solve specific practical problems. Then information and communication technology is a technology that is aimed at transforming and processing information. But that is not all. In fact, information and communication technology is a general concept that describes various mechanisms, devices, algorithms, and data processing methods. The most important modern ICT device is a computer equipped with the necessary software. The second, but no less important equipment, is the means of communication with the information posted on them.
ICT tools used in the modern education system
The main means of ICT technology for the information environment of the education system is a personal computer equipped with the necessary software (systemic and applied in nature, as well as tools). The system software primarily includes operational software. It provides the interaction of all PC programs with equipment and a PC user. This category also includes service and service software. Application programs include software, which is an information technology toolkit - working with texts, graphics, tables, etc. The modern education system makes extensive use of universal office software and ICT tools such as word processors, preparation of presentations, spreadsheets, graphic packages, organizers, databases, etc.
Development of information and communication technologies
With the organization of computer networks and similar means, the education process has moved to a new quality. This is primarily due to the ability to quickly obtain information from anywhere in the world. Thanks to the global computer network the Internet, instant access to the planetās information resources (electronic libraries, file storages, databases, etc.) is now possible. This popular resource has published over two billion different multimedia documents. The network provides access and allows the use of other common ICT technologies, including newsgroups, email, chat, lists, mailings. In addition, special software has been developed for communicating online (in real time), which, after establishing a session, transfers text (entered from the keyboard), as well as sound, image and various files. Such software makes it possible to organize joint communication of remote users with software running on a local personal computer.
The emergence of new information compression algorithms available for transmission over the Internet has significantly improved sound quality. Now it began to approach the quality of a regular telephone network. As a result of this, there has been a leap in the development of a relatively new ICT tool - Internet telephony. Using special software and peripherals through the network, you can organize audio and video conferences.
Information and communication technology and its capabilities
To organize effective search in telecommunication networks, automated search programs are used, the purpose of which is to collect data on various resources of the world wide web and provide the user with quick access to them. Thanks to search engines you can find documents, multimedia files, address information about people and organizations, software. The use of ICT allows you to open up wide access to educational, methodological and scientific information, in addition, it becomes possible to quickly organize consulting assistance, as well as modeling scientific and research activities. And, of course, conducting virtual classes (lectures, seminars) in real time.
Video tutorial
Today, information and communication training technologies provide for several classes of presentation of material that are significant in terms of distance and open education. One of them is television and video recordings. Video files and related ICT tools allow a large number of students to become familiar with the content of the lectures of the best teachers. Video recordings can be used both in specially equipped classrooms and at home. An interesting fact is that in European and American courses of study the main material is presented on videotapes and in print.
Television ICT
Television is the most common ICT in the classroom, it plays a huge role not only in the modern educational process, but also in people's lives, because almost every house has a TV. For a long time educational television programs are used all over the world and are a very striking example of a distance learning method. Thanks to this ICT tool, it became possible to broadcast lectures to a wide audience with the aim of increasing its overall development without subsequent control over the acquisition of knowledge.
Electronic educational editions
A very powerful technology that allows you to transfer and store the entire volume of the studied information is electronic educational publications. They are distributed both in computer networks and recorded on optical media. Individual work with such material gives a deep understanding and assimilation of data. This technology allows (with appropriate revision) the use of existing courses in individual training and self-testing of acquired knowledge. Electronic educational editions, in contrast to traditional printed material, allow submitting information in a dynamic graphic form.
Classification of ICT tools by methodological field
ICT tools are:
1. Educational. They communicate knowledge, form skills of practical or educational activity, providing the required level of assimilation of the material.
2. Fitness equipment. Designed to practice various skills, consolidate or repeat the lesson learned.
3. Reference and information retrieval. Report information on the systematization of information.
4. Demonstration. Visualize the studied phenomena, processes, objects in order to study and research them.
5. Imitation. They represent a certain aspect of reality that allows one to study its functional and structural characteristics.
6. Laboratory. Allow to conduct experiments on existing equipment.
7. Modeling. They make it possible to draw up a model of an object, a phenomenon with the aim of studying and researching it.
8. Estimated. Automate calculations and a variety of routine operations.
9. Educational and game. Designed to create a learning situation in which the activities of students are implemented in a playful way.
Didactic tasks that are solved with the help of ICT
1. Improving the organization and increasing the individualization of training.
2. Improving the productivity of students' self-training.
3. Individualization of the teacher.
4. Acceleration of replication, as well as access to the achievements of teaching practice.
5. Increasing motivation for learning.
6. The activation of the educational process, the possibility of attracting the student to research.
7. Providing training flexibility.
The negative impact of ICT tools on the student
Information and communication technology, implemented in all forms of training, leads to a number of negative consequences, including a number of negative psychological and pedagogical factors affecting the studentās health and physiological state. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, ITC leads to the individualization of the educational process. However, therein lies a serious flaw associated with total individualization. Such a program entails the coagulation of an already scarce living dialogue dialogue between the participants: students and teachers, students among themselves. She offers them, in fact, a substitute for communication - dialogue with the computer. And in fact, even a student who is active in speech will become silent for a long time when working with ICT tools. This is especially true for students of distance and open forms of education.
Why is it so dangerous?
As a result of this form of training, throughout the lesson, the student is busy silently consuming material. This leads to the fact that the part of the brain that is responsible for the objectification of human thinking is turned off, in fact, immobilized for many years of study. It must be understood that the student does not already have the necessary practice of forming, formulating thoughts, as well as dialogic communication in a professional language. As psychological studies have shown, without developed communication, the studentās monological communication with himself will not be formed at the proper level, exactly what is called independent thinking. Agree that the question asked to oneself is the most reliable indicator of the existence of independent thinking. As a result, if we take the path of individualization of learning, then we can miss the very possibility of forming a creative process in a person whose origin is based on dialogue.
Finally
Summing up, we can note one more significant drawback of information and communication technologies, which arises from the main advantage - the general availability of information resources published on the network. Often this leads to the fact that the student follows the path of least resistance and takes ready-made essays, problem solving, projects, reports, etc. on the Internet. Today, this already familiar fact confirms the low efficiency of this form of training. Of course, the prospects for the development of information and communication technologies are high, but it is necessary to introduce them carefully, without manic totalization.