What are ICTs

What are ICTs and what types of ICTs are commonly used in education?

ICTs stand for information and communication technologies and are defined, for the purposes of this primer, as a “diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, and to create, dis- seminate, store, and manage information.”4 These technologies include computers, the Internet, broad- casting technologies (radio and television), and telephony.

In recent years there has been a groundswell of interest in how computers and the Internet can best be harnessed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of education at all levels and in both formal and non-formal settings. But ICTs are more than just these technologies; older technologies such as the telephone, radio and television, although now given less attention, have a longer and richer history as instructional tools.5 For instance, radio and television have for over forty years been used for open and distance learning, although print remains the cheapest, most accessible and therefore most dominant delivery mechanism in both developed and developing countries.6 The use of computers and the Internet is still in its infancy in developing countries, if these are used at all, due to limited infrastruc- ture and the attendant high costs of access.

Moreover, different technologies are typically used in combination rather than as the sole delivery mechanism. For instance, the Kothmale Community Radio Internet uses both radio broadcasts and computer and Internet technologies to facilitate the sharing of information and provide educational opportunities in a rural community in Sri Lanka.7 The Open University of the United Kingdom (UKOU), established in 1969 as the first educational institution in the world wholly dedicated to open and dis- tance learning, still relies heavily on print-based materials supplemented by radio, television and, in recent years, online programming.8 Similarly, the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India com- bines the use of print, recorded audio and video, broadcast radio and television, and audioconferenc- ing technologies.9

Information and communication technologies (ICTs)—which include radio and television, as well as newer digital technologies such as computers and the Internet—have been touted as potentially pow- erful enabling tools for educational change and reform. When used appropriately, different ICTs are said to help expand access to education, strengthen the relevance of education to the increasingly dig- ital workplace, and raise educational quality by, among others, helping make teaching and learning into an engaging, active process connected to real life.