Download the impact of icts on educators and teaching in selected

THE IMPACT OF ICTS ON EDUCATORS AND TEACHING IN SELECTED
CAMEROONIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
By
Mbangwana Moses Atezah
&
Yeba Judith Sama Meno
INTRODUCTION
Information and Communication Technologies have globally emerged as a necessary
facility in enhancing academic activities of an institution. The concept of a global
village is the slogan of the present century and the focus of all life activities. The
World Wide Web has reduced the world to a small village where just a few clicks take
us around the world with no cost and dangers involved. Everything seems to be
rotating around the use of information, communication and technologies. It will be a
grave fault for educators to lag behind in the integration of ICTs in the teaching/
learning domain which is the main spring board of all other branches. As a matter of
fact every new technology should be tested by educators if it has to gain any grounds
at all. It is in this light that ICTs are being introduced in the educational systems of
many countries.
From the earliest times when computers were commercially available, they could be
found in use in educational institutions, and educators (Bork, 1980; Papert, 1980)
argued that computers should be used to support learning. There has always been
huge community support for this as illustrated recently in a survey of voters in the
USA which indicated greatest support for expenditure on ICT in schools when
compared with a list of alternative expenditures in education (Lemke, 1999).
However, there has always been debate among educators on how the technology
should be used and what improvements in student learning could be expected.
Initially computers were used to teach computer programming but the development of
the microprocessor in the early 1970s saw the introduction of affordable
microcomputers into schools at a rapid rate.
Computers and applications of
technology became more pervasive in society which led to a concern about the need
for computing skills in everyday life.
As public awareness grew, this need for
computer literacy became extremely influential and many schools purchased
computers based on this rationale. As a result, educators became more focused on
the use of the technology to improve student learning as a rationale for investment.
Today computers in schools are both a focus of study in them (technology education)
and a support for learning and teaching (educational technology). This study will
focus on the later, bringing out the impact of ICTs on educators and teaching in
selected schools in Cameroon.
Teachers are a key component in the learning environment and therefore the impact
of ICT on teachers and the strategies they employ to facilitate the environment are
critical.
Teachers need to continually work at updating their skills and knowledge in
the operation and use of ICT. This is in addition to their need to be up-to-date with
curriculum content and pedagogy. It is therefore important that they be supported
very carefully in practical and motivating ways. (Paul Newhouse, December, 2002)
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
OBJETIVE:
The main objective of the study is to find out the impact of the pedagogical
integration of ICTs on educators and teaching in some Cameroonian secondary
schools.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1. To find out the impact of ICTs on lesson planning.
2. To find out the impact of ICTs on in class teaching.
3. To find out the impact of ICTs on evaluation methods.
4. To find out the impact of ICTs on educator learner communication.
5. To find out the impact of ICTs on reflection on teaching.
MAIN RESEARCH QUESTION
What is the impact of ICTs on educators and teaching in some Cameroonian
Secondary schools?
SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the impact of ICTs on lesson planning in some?
2. How does ICTs impact on in class teaching in some Cameroonian secondary
schools?
3. What is the impact of ICTs on evaluation methods?
4. How does ICTs impact on educator learner communication?
5. What is the impact of ICTs on reflection on teaching in some Cameroonian
secondary schools?
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The theory of operant (behavior) conditioning
The American Psychologist B. F. Skinner believed that people can learn more
effectively if their environment is carefully controlled. He developed the principles of
operant (behaviour) conditioning which basically stated that: If the occurrence of an
operant is followed by the presentation of a reinforcing stimulus, the strength is
increased. (Skinner, 1938) This provides the simple tactic of reinforcing the correct
behaviour through reward and no action being taken for a wrong behaviour. This led
to the use of computers as teaching machines (Skinner, 1958). Today many
educational computer programs depend on supplying a set of stimuli, which are more
often than not multimedia in nature, followed by the measurement of a response.
However these programs often move away from being purely Skinnerian in nature by
not only rewarding correct responses but also attempting to correct the wrong
responses. There are many examples where operant conditioning is still used,
especially in the use of ICT with disruptive or low attaining pupils.
Operant conditioning emphasizes teaching and the role of the educator for setting up
the learning experiences. It sees learning as able to take place without teacher
intervention once the learning resource has been constructed. A computer is an
excellent tool for repetitive, didactic teaching and individualized learning pathways
can be quickly constructed and monitored.
LITERATURE REVIEW
MÉTHODOLOGY
-Case study research methodology
-Qualitative method
-Population of study-elected schools in Cameroon
-Sample of respondents- five Cameroonian Secondary Schools. The linguistic divide
in Cameroon calls for three Francophone schools, one Bilingual school and one
Anglophone school. The five schools represent the ten schools in the PanAf
project.
-Data from PanAf Observatory
- Data will be illustrated by using percentages, graphs, bar charts, histograms
-secondary data from documentaries, articles, publications, and other scientific
researches carried out in this domain.
DATA ANALYSIS
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE
REFERENCES