Navdeep Kaur, Roll No- 333;Sudhir, Roll No- 301
Higher
education systems have grown exponentially in the last five decades to meet the
demands of quality education for all. This aspect has further gained momentum
due to swift advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Demand for skilled and competent labour is ever increasing in the contemporary
globalised society. Competition in every sector ranging from access to quality
in higher education has emerged as determining factor of economic growth and
development. In order to increase the access to higher education and improving
its reach to the remotest parts of the country contribution of open and
distance learning facilities is on increase. In addition, it is catering to
life long learning aspirations and that too at affordable cost. The last two
decades have witnessed the inclusion of developments in ICTs in higher
education systems around the world. Even then the challenge to develop a higher
education system that is flexible and dynamic so as to holistically integrate
the technology in the management and delivery of learning programmes is
daunting. Though in Indian scenario higher
education is very old, modern higher education in India began with the
establishment of Hindu College in Calcutta in 1817. By 1855, there were 281
High Schools and 28 Colleges. To regulate them, three universities; Bombay,
Calcutta and Madras were established in 1857 by then British Indian Government.
The growth continued un-impeded and by 1947, there were 19 universities, 496
colleges with 2,40,000 students. University Education Commission, 1948-49
(popularly known as Radhakrishnan Commission) emphasized the need for setting
up an apex body to coordinate the growth and development of education at the
tertiary level and maintenance of standards in education. Thus, the University
Grants Commission (UGC) came into existence by an Act of Parliament in 1956. In
the last five half decades, the growth of higher education presents a very
impressive picture. There has been commendable quantitative expansion in terms
of students’ enrolment, number of teachers, colleges, universities and research
degrees. India is developing as a knowledge economy and it cannot
function without the support of ICT. The
government is spending a lot of money on ICT. In the higher education sector,
the National Mission on Education is emphasizing on the role of ICT in
increasing the enrolment ratio in higher education. School education in India
has a problem of high dropout rate and we need to work on how to decrease this
rate. Similarly, in the field of higher education, we need to increase the
number of students. Therefore, if we make our learning more engaging with the
use of ICT, it can completely change how our education system works. Also, we
should examine the challenges of cost-factor and availability of trained
teachers in the process of dissemination of education with the help of ICT. The
gap between demand and supply of higher education has necessitated the
governments and institutions to formulate the policies for the better use of
ICT. And, in order to bridge the gap, it is necessary to evolve the cooperation
between the public and private sectors. The education ICT policy should
identify specific ways in which the application of ICT will enhance the
educational capacity and the capability of higher education institutions.
According to a recent study, innovations such as using Twitter to send messages
are really helpful in disseminating education. In a similar fashion, the use of
YouTube in sharing video information will go a long way in disseminating
education. During the last decade, higher education has gained importance in
India’s changing policy landscape as the government realizes that India’s
strength lies in education. Through
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) India can expand its Educational
policies all over the country. Education can become easily accessible and
reachable to all. It will be helpful for our country to attain its past
glory.
·
Helpful
for Distance learning for higher Education: ICT can be helpful
for providing Distance learning. It can
be further helpful for improving learning experiences. With the help of ICT
learning can become interesting and accessible. Though in the case of Open and Distance Learning Institutions,
technological development is crucial to ensure sustainability, oppose
competition and manage threats. However, in the developing world, the financial
implications of technological development become a serious challenge in
endeavors to keep abreast of latest technology, but more so to innovate and
lead technological development. Although it can be cost-saving when applied
correctly, these technologies are very costly to acquire. Good collaboration
among ODL institutions and the sharing of resources might be a viable option to
address some of these financial challenges. But in spite of having so many
challenges the importance of ICT is that it will be helpful to provide
Education to all. It overcomes the
geographical barriers and opens the window of Education for all those people who
want to continue their learning.
·
Impact on Students’ performance: Because of the use of ICT in Education students are now
taking interest in their studies. The
use of Youtube, Social Networking sites and Blogs are very helpful for
developing the interest of the learners in their studies. It also provides a platform to the learner
where they can express their own point of view and discuss different topics
through forming different groups in social networking sites. It is further helpful for learners to
identify their weak area of learning. It
enables the students for self improvement.
They can easily access to the relevant source of information. With the
help of e- learning and Virtual classes students can be able to contact with
the eminent resource persons in the field of Education. They can easily ask their queries to them and
get a relevant solution.
·
Changing Scenario: There is a
worldwide need felt for integrating ICT into education in order to improve the
pedagogy to reflect the societal change (Plomp et al, 2007). The main goals of
ICT adoption in the education field are reducing costs per student, making
education more affordable and accessible, increasing enrollments, improving
course quality, and meeting the needs of local employers (Ozdemir and Abrevaya,
2007). Low overheads and cost efficiency are attracting many private players in
the field of Internet enabled education. This is also being driven by
technological advances, competitive pressures and the positive experiences of
many early adopters (McGorry, 2002). The main factors that affect the adoption
of ICT in education are the mission or goal of a particular system, programs
and curricula, teaching/learning strategies and techniques, learning material
and resources, communication and interaction, support and delivery systems,
students, tutors, staff and other experts, management, housing and equipment,
and evaluation (UNESCO, 2002). National vision, supported by coherent
strategies and actions is the most important factor in integrating ICT in
education. Successful implementation of ICT requires strong national support
from government and local support from relevant institutions and education
authorities (Cross and Adam, 2007). Sharma (2003) explains that the political
powers of any nations affect the introduction of any new technology. Sharma
(2003) and Amutabi and Oketch (2003) explain that cost is an important issue
that decides and guides the adoption and growth of Information and
Communication Technology especially in developing 10 countries. Ozdemir and
Abrevaya (2007) mention that the institutions, which are granted public status
and are supported by government funds, as well as those, that are larger in size,
are the ones to adopt the new technologies to support education. However, it is
also observed that since technology adoption involves high fixed costs,
institutes, which implemented such technology, did not upgrade it as time
progressed. The presence of an ICT champion is necessary at all levels of the
system. The strong presence of such leadership is evident wherever ICT
integration has been initiated successfully (Mason, 2000). Along with ICT
training, one needs an ICT related support mechanism to gradually induce the
integration (Lai & Pratt, 2004). This is needed as many teachers in face of
technical difficulties may tend to revert to the older teaching (non-ICT based)
methods. Teachers need support in using and integrating ICT into the curriculum
and teaching methods (Lai & Pratt, 2004; Amutabi and Oketch, 2003; McGorry,
2002). Teachers, who perceive greater ICT-related support being available to
them, use technologies in their teaching much better (Tondeur et al, 2007).
Thus ICT has completely changed the present educational scenario and
provide education accessible to all. It
has removed the geographical barriers and opens the window of learning to all.
Anyone can learn through the mode online and distance learning. ICT has shown a new way which makes it
possible that now learning can be anytime, anywhere. Though there are many challenges for the
proper implementation of ICT in higher education but after implementing it, it
will definitely takes the new revolution in higher education in India.
Reference:
Snehi, Neeru. (2009)
“ICT in Indian Universities and Colleges: Opportunities and Challenges.” Management & Change, Vo13. Retrieved
from (http://www.mimts.org/Management%20&%20Change/9ICT%20in%20Indian%20Universities%20and%20Colleges%20-%20Oppertunites%20and%20Challenges.pdf)
Mondal, Ajit and
Mete, Jayanta.
(2012) “ICT in Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges” Bhatter College Journal of Multidisciplinary
Studies, Vol-II. Retrieved
from (http://bcjms.bhattercollege.ac.in/ict-in-higher-education-opportunities-and-challenges/)
Nitschke, Jan Jacobus. (2005) “The Role of
Information and Communication Technologies in Science Education: the Case of
the Namibian College of Open Learning” Retrieved from (http://pcf4.dec.uwi.edu/viewpaper.php?id=213&print=1)
Hattangdi, Ashish and Ghosh,
Atanu.(2008) “Enhancing the quality and accessibility of higher education
through the use of Information and Communication Technologies.” Reterived from (http://www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/announce/convention/papers/Strategy%20Learning-01-Ashish%20Hattangdi,%20%20Atanu%20Ghosh.pdf)
http://www.col.org/resources/speeches/2009presentation/Pages/2009-07-08.aspx.
Accessed 27 Feb 2015
http://archive.financialexpress.com/news/role-of-ict-in-indian-educational-sector/794286(The
Financial Express, Accessed 27 Feb 2015)
