incommunicado

Sep. 24th, 2006 | 09:57 pm

Book launch: ICT strategies for school
by laxman Mohanty and Neharika Vohra

link: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2006/09/11/stories/20060911000802...

A disappointing finding of the authors is that most principals have skirted learning about IT and have not taken an active role in ICT implementation in schools.

Laxman Mohanty, Director of Silicon Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, and Neharika Vohra, Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, take us to school, to study how ICT is used there.

"The aim of the book is not to make a principal an ICT specialist, but to make him/her aware of the information available and issues involved and to aid in his/her role as an ICT strategist and implementer at school," write the authors in their preface to ICT Strategies for Schools, from Sage (www.indiasage.com) .

"The aim of ICT should be to engage students at three levels, viz. technical, practical and critical," says the book. The first is about technology; the second relates to research. And the last, that is, the critical level, teaches students `to evaluate the appropriateness of the message, audience, and method used.'

The authors see at least three shifts in education goals, as a result of widespread use of technology: "Exploration and problem solving rather than memorising and learning the status quo; processing of information rather than mere collection of information; and search for patterns and connections rather than linear sequential reasoning."

To achieve these, what is needed in schools is `seamless integration of all three elements, viz. IT education, ICT in education, and ICT in administration'.

But are school principals IT savvy? A disappointing finding of the authors is that most principals have skirted learning about IT and have not taken an active role in ICT implementation in schools. "They have assumed that IT is not their cup of tea and thus it is best to leave it to professionals." Essential concepts that principals must know include free e-mail, online newspapers, search engines, desktop search, spyware, use of credit card on the Net, spams, hoaxes, and chain mails.

A frequent question is whether laptops/notebooks should be given to students. In answer, Mohanty and Vohra cite `a longitudinal study by Newhouse and Rennie (2001)' which found that `the use of portable computers in a school in western Australia did not bring in the expected increase in engagement and performance'.

One of the case studies in the book is about virtual school facilities in Delhi Public School, East of Kailash. "Under `Digital Library' Classteacher.com had provided links to several useful Web sites that students could use and get relevant material/information for their project work.

The links were appropriate to the age group of the student concerned," reads a snatch. Online testing is next on the school's agenda, one learns.

"Objective type of questions can be handled by the computer and this can reduce the workload of teachers who can now concentrate on subjective type of answers."

Educative for educators.