ICT is increasingly used in education and in the business
and leisure industries. This means children have access to ICT in many different
aspects of their lives. It is essential, therefore, that we give them a wide
variety of opportunities to explore how the technology can support them in their
learning. For example, while pupils are using a desk top publishing package to
create a school newspaper they are also developing their ability to communicate
more effectively. This provides both a context and a meaning for the ICT
activity. Taking the IT out of context and teaching IT skills separately, not
only decontextualises ICT but also places additional burdens on curriculum time.
The use of ICT therefore should be a meaningful part of an activity where it is
used to consolidate or extend pupils' learning.
Some examples of how ICT can be used to support pupils
learning are:
word processors to write up and present their work;
using a spreadsheet to enter their data collected as part
of an investigation, creating charts, and interpreting the results);
using a database to enter data collected as part of an
investigation, interrogating the database by searching and sorting, in order to
answer questions to help solve problems which form part of the
investigation;
using hypermedia to write up, lay out and present their
work for publication on the Internet;
using the Internet and CD-ROMs to help with research during
an investigation.
