Volume 33 Nº 1 - February 1997

Integrating Information Technology into Educational Curriculums

Paula Simeone

In this article the author focuses on major factors influencing the integration of the new information technologies into school curriculums. She considers:

• the concept that social and organisational forces have an enormous influence on the degree to which teaching and learning methodologies change
• how schools need to adapt in order to integrate the technology available to keep abreast of social forces
• community networking and virtual networks, as examples of social developments that have had a strong impact on schooling
• the likelihood that information technology is becoming deeply rooted into the educational practice.

Introduction: Schools in 2010
One of the predictions about education in the future is the move from school buildings to global villages which are, according to Meckenburgen (1994) 'an around-the-clock community of learners not necessarily bound by a place or a building... [but] in far-flung places that the student may reach by way of... electronic connections'.

According to other predictions, the standard by which students will be judged to be well educated will be the extent to which they can effectively use the tools of the information age and access the 'information superhighway'. This vision is driven by political, social and economic forces into the educational context.

Information Technology and Society
Modern societies are relying more on individuals with high-level knowledge at their disposal. This means that in addition to basic cultural techniques such as reading, writing and calculating, schools have to teach other skills such as analysing, abstracting and modelling as well as being able to work in multi-disciplinary teams. Communication and conceptual skills are also required in the fields of production and service (Graf 1995).

Integration in Education
The new technologies and their own concepts are now involved in many disciplines. There are new possibilities for simulation and experimentation that have changed concepts and methods through their integration into the subject. This has enormous implications for education in that currently these tools are used in addition to existing ones. However, with their integration, it is essential that new curriculums be designed that take into consideration the new methodologies and tools. Teachers will be required to have a different set of competencies, and will have to master teaching and learning that relates to the transmission of knowledge and access of information. Teacher training must include knowledge acquisition, and professional and educational competencies (Cornu 1995).

Computer Literacy
During the past ten years there has been social pressure for computer literacy to be introduced into the education system. Extended infrastructures for computer usage have been established in schools. Arguments have been put forward to support the view that 'every child must be computer literate to be employable' or 'schools must make sure that students are computer literate in order for society to maintain economic competitiveness'.

This legacy has remained and extended to flexible learning opportunities, including a high interest in distance education. Institutions with well developed distance education systems are joined by other traditional educational institutions wanting to diversify and broaden their offerings, with the link being the use of communication technologies.

Internet Literacy
The internet, the network of networks sharing common transmission protocols, has been around for thirty years but 'the internet' has only been a household word during the last few years. A sense of new discovery has excited those who travel 'Cyberspace' and the 'Information Superhighway' and not being connected to the internet is seen as a denial of a right. Not knowing how to use the internet will be as grave a deficiency as not knowing how to read. The superhighway impulse is shaping new means of communication and information technologies in educational environments as well as in workplaces.

Effective Integration of Computers
Computer use and appropriate software can provide a context to enhance student understanding and meet existing curriculum goals. Educators can select software which provides situations promoting interactive, co-operative learning and experiences using language for a variety of purposes. Instruction organised to encourage problem solving and critical and creative thinking can use a variety of programs such as adventure games, graphics, simulations and integrated software suites. Teachers can select software as a motivation for students to read for a variety of purposes. Simulations encourage the critical reading of text, the application of higher order thinking skills involved in making decisions, and analysis of outcomes. Adventure games promote co-operative learning and guide reading for specific information. The most effective simulations/adventure games incorporate critical reading, co-operative effort and research beyond the computer screen (Cunningham 1995).

Integrating computer technology in any classroom depends on the organisation and management of the learning environment and the underlying assumptions held by the teacher about the nature of teaching and learning. Constructivist instruction confronts learners with situations that challenge them to ponder, compare, contrast, reflect and construct understanding (Perkins 1991).

Integration of the New Technologies
Only when new technologies are integrated will their use become natural, easy and have a wide effect on teaching and learning (Cornu 1995). Many tools which seem independent are becoming linked. Fields which were originally distinct are now closely overlapping. Information and communication technologies that are now linked and integrated include the computer, fax, telephone and television. Many people now have these tools in their homes. Increasingly these can be connected through a quantity of wires but, in the future all these tools will be connected or integrated into one main system.

Networking
The potential of networking to bring 'virtual communities' into the educational contexts is a major development in education that is already well under way. The engagement of students in distributed communities is repeatedly felt to be an enriching and stimulating learning experience. Ipswich's Global Info-Links is an excellent example of this development. Networking will eventually be integrated into society through educational institutions and workplaces. One important reason is that it provides information, communication and entertainment. This, as well as freedom of expression when people communicate on-line will be a major contribution to its development.

Networking is an application of technology practised in a functional setting. Educators can find new and interesting resources and get new ideas from their contacts with other communities and they can increase the range of whom they can turn to with questions and problems. They can set up the times and frequency of their networking and they can easily leave unproductive groups and try new ones.

Just-in-Time Learning
'Just-in-Time Learning' implies that more and more responsibility comes from the individual in deciding when an episode in learning is necessary and the resources appropriate for it to take place.

The learner, usually at the workplace and even while carrying out the normal duties, has access to learning support when it is perceived to be useful. The responsibility of the trainer and employer will shift to that of provider of a range of learning resources and opportunities. This approach also calls for sophisticated resources and the use of communication technologies. Educators are called upon to prepare students for the future, to help them learn survival skills and, in a self-directed way, to become effective in an electronic workplace (Romiszowski 1990).

Future Directions
Teachers should be deeply involved and appropriately prepared to use and integrate technology within the curriculum. The tools should be used for specific intellectual purposes. Teachers will change from being dispensers of information to moderators, catalysts, organisers and synthesisers. Teachers need to know how to manage, structure and manipulate information sources.

Conclusion
The focus must be on providing the individual with the ability to learn outside the formal education system and to develop appropriate skills with which to actively engage in knowledge construction. There is a need to find out ways to help students to become masters of, not slaves to, this knowledge-based society. The integration of information technology will become a strong trend in education as computers offer more scope for the development of skills and add a new dimension to learning and teaching.

Paula Simeone is the Curriculum Resource Centre Supervisor in the Faculty of Education at the Northern Territory University. A teacher of many years, she is very interested in the integration of technology across curriculum areas to enhance the teaching/learning process.