ICT as a catalyst for teaching-learning process: A meta-analysis study

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become an important aspects of our daily life. In the past few decades the use of ICT has fundamentally changed the practices and procedures of nearly all forms of endeavor including the education sector. The advent of the internet has pressured new productivity and service demands as well as expectations in the field of education. The world is moving rapidly into digital media and information sector, the role of ICT in Education is becoming more and more important and this importance will continue to grow and develop in the 21st century. In this paper, a detailed literature has been reviewed regarding the proper use of ICTs in the field of education highlighting the effective use of ICT in the teaching and learning process. Introduction In the past few years higher education institutions have enormously invested their time and money in information and communication technologies. ICT has a major impact in higher education, both at the teaching as well as learning process. According to UNESCO (2002) information and communication technology (ICT) is regarded as the combination of 'Informatics technology' with other related technology, specifically communication technology. The dynamic nature of ICT, emphasis the core educational purposes is inclusive in design and focuses on a broad exposure to technologies together aiming at enhancing creativity and imagination of learner. ICT as an institution helps teachers into exploring educational possibilities of technology, learning to make right choices of hardware-software interaction and growing to become a critical users of ICT. For student ICT in education sector is an initiation into creativity and problem solving, an opportunity to share carrier pursuits. The potential of each technology varies according to its use by the population. ICT in education is a medium that uses information and communication technology to support enhance and optimize the knowledge. Researches all over the world has shown that ICT can improve students learning behavior and can enhance teaching skills. National Institute of Multimedia Education in Japan reported that an increase in the use of ICT in education integrated technology to curriculum has a significant and positive impact on students' achievements. The study showed that students who are continuously being exposed to technology through education has better knowledge, presentation skills, innovative capabilities and are ready to take more effort in learning as compared to others. The effective usage of these technology on students' academic performance is one of the debating question. ICTs have good potential to motivate, enrich, accelerate and engage students in helping them to relate school experience with work practices as well as strengthening teaching learning process. In this changing

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International Journal of Advanced Education and Research
61
International Journal of Advanced Education and Research
ISSN: 2455-5746
Impact Factor: RJIF 5.34
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Volume 3; Issue 2; March 2018; Page No. 61-64
ICT as a catalyst for teaching-learning process: A meta-analysis study
Zainab Musheer
Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Abstract
Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become an important aspects of our daily life. In the past few decades the
use of ICT has fundamentally changed the practices and procedures of nearly all forms of endeavor including the education sector.
The advent of the internet has pressured new productivity and service demands as well as expectations in the field of education.
The world is moving rapidly into digital media and information sector, the role of ICT in Education is becoming more and more
important and this importance will continue to grow and develop in the 21st century. In this paper, a detailed literature has been
reviewed regarding the proper use of ICTs in the field of education highlighting the effective use of ICT in the teaching and
learning process.
Keywords: catalyst, information and communication technology, teaching and learning
Introduction
In the past few years higher education institutions have
enormously invested their time and money in information and
communication technologies. ICT has a major impact in
higher education, both at the teaching as well as learning
process. According to UNESCO (2002) information and
communication technology (ICT) is regarded as the
combination of ‘Informatics technology’ with other related
technology, specifically communication technology.
The dynamic nature of ICT, emphasis the core educational
purposes is inclusive in design and focuses on a broad
exposure to technologies together aiming at enhancing
creativity and imagination of learner. ICT as an institution
helps teachers into exploring educational possibilities of
technology, learning to make right choices of hardware-
software interaction and growing to become a critical users of
ICT. For student ICT in education sector is an initiation into
creativity and problem solving, an opportunity to share carrier
pursuits. The potential of each technology varies according to
its use by the population. ICT in education is a medium that
uses information and communication technology to support
enhance and optimize the knowledge. Researches all over the
world has shown that ICT can improve students learning
behavior and can enhance teaching skills. National Institute of
Multimedia Education in Japan reported that an increase in the
use of ICT in education integrated technology to curriculum
has a significant and positive impact on students’
achievements. The study showed that students who are
continuously being exposed to technology through education
has better knowledge, presentation skills, innovative
capabilities and are ready to take more effort in learning as
compared to others. The effective usage of these technology
on students’ academic performance is one of the debating
question. ICTs have good potential to motivate, enrich,
accelerate and engage students in helping them to relate
school experience with work practices as well as
strengthening teaching learning process. In this changing
scenario, basic education is essential for an individual be able
to access and apply knowledge. Easy Access of course
material through remote devices, Online academic
management systems, Flipped classroom, digital repositories
for lecture course materials, library, computers, projector,
audio players are the technology that education sector uses in
making teaching learning process more interesting. The rising
number of Massive Open Online Courses MOOCs are in huge
demands for learning facilities beyond classroom. Such help
by the ICTs has helped in making world a global village.
Yousuf 2005 states that the field of education has been
affected by ICTs, which have undoubtedly affected teaching,
learning, and research. According to Daniels (2002) [8] ICTs
have become within a very short time, one of the basic
building blocks of modern society. A great deal of research
have proven the benefit of the ICT in making quality
education. Although the relation between the use of ICT and
students’ academic performance is not very much clear, many
researchers have shown contradictory results.
Effect of ICT on students’ academic performance
Kulik’s (1994) in his study showed that on an average
students who used ICT-based instruction, learn more and
score better. ICT based instruction makes the classroom
interesting and attractive to the students. Attwell and Battle
(1999) [2] examined the relationship between having a
computer at home and school performance. The study was
conducted on a sample of approximately 64,300 students in
the United States. The findings revealed that students who
have access to computer at home for educational purposes,
have improved scores in reading and mathematics. Cabero
(2001) reported "the flexibilization time-space accounted for
by the integration of ICT into teaching and learning processes
contributes to increase the interaction and reception of
information. Such possibilities suggest changes in the
communication models and the teaching and learning methods
used by teachers, giving way to new scenarios which favor

International Journal of Advanced Education and Research
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both individual and collaborative learning”. The use of ICT in
the educational environment, acts as a catalyst for change in
the teaching learning process. ICTs work as a tool to
encourage and support independent learning among both
students and teachers. The use of ICT for learning purpose is
being increased day by day. ICT in education act as a catalyst
for the change in teaching learning process. Terry, Lewer and
Macy (2003) surveyed on 240 students in a programme
offering courses in the three formats of online, on-campus,
and hybrid. The final scores of the students is the dependent
variable and student characteristics are the independent
variable, a standard regression model was used and the study
reported that the predicted exam scores for students in the
online courses were significantly less than those of students in
the on-campus and in the hybrid formats. However, with the
comparison of exam scores between students in the hybrid and
students in the on-campus classes there was no significant
difference. Leuven et al. (2004) declared that there is no
evidence for a relationship between increased educational use
of ICT and students’ academic performance. In fact, the study
found a consistently negative relationship between ICT use
and students’ academic performance. Sosin et al. (2004) found
significant, but low, positive impact on student performance
due to ICT use. They also showed that some ICT have proven
to be positively correlated to the academic performance of the
students while others are not.
ICT enhancing the quality of education
ICT has undoubtfully increased the amount of flexibility in the
delivery of education so that learners can access anything,
anytime and from anywhere. It has also influenced the way
students are being taught in the classroom and how their
method of learning. As now the process of learning are mostly
student centric and not teacher centric. This would help in
preparing the student for lifelong learning as well as for
improving the quality of education. One of the major
contribution of ICT in the field of education is Easy Access to
Learning. Learner are appreciaticating the capability to access
educational material anywhere, anytime and anyplace.
With the help of ICT, students can now feed through e-books,
sample papers, previous year papers etc. and can also have an
easy access to resource persons, experts, guides, researchers
from all over the world. This flexibility in learning has
increased the availability of live time learning and has also
provided opportunities for many more learners who previously
were constrained by learning due to other commitments
(Young, 2002) [27].
Through ICT sharing and availability of best course material
in education became an easy task and may help in improving
teaching. ICT also allows the learning institutions to reach the
disadvantaged groups of the society. Seamless communication
technologies support wide accessibility of teaching and
learning process. Innovative use of SNS have potentially solve
the problems like lack of learning materials, teachers etc.
Thus, ICT empower education which ultimately lead to the
democratization of education.
ICT enhancing the Academic performance
The extensive usage of ICTs in education has increased the
need to unravel the impact it has on students’ academic
performance. ICTs has helped in expanding the access to
education, strengthen the importance of education to the
increasingly digital work environment, and has helped in
raising the quality of education.
The direct connection between ICT use and students’
academic performance has been the focus of extensive
literature. Valasidou and Bousiou, (2005) [26] in their study
stated that ICT helps students to their learning by improving
the communication between them and the instructors.
Researches have shown that the appropriate use of ICTs can
propel the essential and habitual shift in both content and
instruction that is the soul of education reform in the 21st
century.
Kulik’s (1994) meta-analysis study revealed that, on an
average, students who used computer based instruction scored
higher than students without computers. The students also
learned more in less time and liked their classes more when
ICT-based instruction was included.
Fuchs and Woessman (2004) [11] used international data from
the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA),
and showed that while the bivariate correlation between the
availability of ICT and students’ performance is strongly and
significantly positive, the correlation becomes small and
insignificant when other student environment characteristics
are taken into consideration.
Attwell and Battle (1999) [2] examined the relationship
between having a home computer and school performance,
their findings suggest that students who have access to a
computer at home for educational purposes, have improved
scores in reading and math.
Becker (2000) [4] found that ICT increases student
engagement, which leads to an increased amount of time
students spend working outside class.
Coates et al. (2004) showed that students in on-campus
courses usually score better than their online counterparts, but
this difference is not significant here. ICTs especially
computers and Internet technologies enable new ways of
teaching and learning rather than simply allow teachers and
students to do what they have done before in a better way.
Fister et al (2008) [9] also showed the power of tablet PCs to
improve mathematics instruction.
ICTs have the potential for expanding the access and
improving the applicability and quality of education. The use
of ICT in educational settings, acts as a catalyst for change in
this territory. Students using ICTs for learning purposes been
absorbed in the process of learning and as more and more
students use computers as information sources and cognitive
tools (Reeves and Jonassen, 1996) [12], the influence of the
technology in aiding students how to learn will continue to
increase.
ICT enhancing learning motivation
ICTs can improve the quality of education in number of ways,
by increasing students’ motivation to perform and by
providing the acquisition of basic skills and techniques. ICTs
work as a great transformational tools which, when used
efficiently, can promote the shift to student centered
environment. ICTs has enable new techniques of teaching and
learning, breaking the old system by permitting teachers and
students to do what they have done before in a better way. ICT
has a major role not only on what learner should learn, but
also on how the learner should learn. Along with this change

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of domain from “content-centered” to “competence-based”,
the medium of information delivery has also now been shifted
from “teacher centered” to “student-centered” method of
delivery. ICT enhances motivation to learn among students.
Videos, television and multimedia software have improved the
text, sound, and animated images and helped in engaging the
student in the interesting learning process.
ICT have changed the characteristics feature of the problems
and learning tasks, and hence play a vital role as a mediator of
intellectual and cognitive development, enhancing the
acquisition of competencies as an important tool for life in our
information based society. Students using technology for
learning purposes become engaged in the process of learning
and as more and more students use computers as information
sources and cognitive tools (Reeves and Jonassen, 1996) [12],
the roe of the technology on supporting how students learn
will keep on increasing. Learning approaches using
contemporary technology provides number of opportunities
for constructivist learning through the provision and support
for resource-based, student centered settings and by enabling
learning to be related to context and to practice (Berge, 1998;
Barron, 1998) [5, 3]. The instructor could make their lecture
more interesting and lively by using multi-media technologies
and the learners are able to capture the lessons taught to them
easily. As they found the class very attractive and interesting,
the concepts are also retained in their mind for a longer span
of time which supported them during the time of examination.
Computers with Internet connection can increase learner
motivation as it combines the media richness and interactivity
of other ICTs with the opportunity to connect with people.
ICT-enhanced learning as more student-directed, diagnostic
and remedial. Unlike boring static, text or print-based
learning. ICT has improved learning skills by recognizing
number of different learning pathways and many different
sources of knowledge. ICTs helps students to explore and
discover rather than just listening and rote memorizing. The
World Wide Web (WWW) also provides a virtual
international gallery for students’ work (Loveless, 2003) [19].
ICT can engage and inspire students, and this has been cited
as a factor influencing ready adaptors of ICT (Long, 2001) [18].
Conclusion
ICT seems to have a huge impact on the process of learning in
higher education by offering new and interesting opportunity
for both the teachers and the learners. These possibilities
seems to have an impact on student academic performance.
There are number of contradictory results in the empirical
literature in this field. Higher education institutions have
invested heavily in technological equipment, and at the same
time learner and instructor are using these technologies more
and more often, there has been a very little change in the
organizational sector. Education sector using ICT are
changing. Students are promoting new skills and new chances
– more collaboration, team building, project management -
closer to the needs in the job market and perhaps less
performance on curricula. Observing the academic
performance of learners needs to deal more with these topics
and less with knowledge of specific topic and curricula.
The role of each technology varies according to its use by the
students and teachers. ICT in education is a medium that uses
information and communication technology to enhance and
optimize the knowledge and skills. Researches all over the
globe have proved that ICT can improve student learning and
better teaching method. Accessing of course material through
remote devices, Online academic management systems,
Flipped classroom, digital repositories for lecture course
materials, library, computers, projector, audio players are the
technology that education sector uses. The rising number of
Massive Open Online Courses MOOCs are in huge demands
for learning facilities beyond classroom. Thus making a huge
impact of ICT usage on students’ performance in higher
education.
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