Relevance of Information and Communication Technology in Higher Education for National Development in the 21st Century

In recent years, there has been a groundswell of interest on how computers and the internet can best be harnessed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of education and training in both formal and informal settings. For effective and modern information services, the use of information and communication technology is indispensable. Not only does ICT introduce new ways of information handling in universities, it also brings about change in the very structure of information and its communication concepts like universal bibliography, accessibility to and availability of documents irrespective of location, highly personalized services, matching users needs interests with document databases, full text searches, storage and retrieval with speed and accuracy etc. As such students will be able to benefit maximally when the electronic services are in order and the lecturers attend to them appropriately. Unfortunately what we observe in our tertiary institutions as regards to ICT instructional mode is unpleasant. The main methods of teaching up till now remain the marker and talk in spite of curricular changes, scientific and technological inventions including ICT has not taken effect. The situation is almost the same in universities and the colleges of education, instruction is mainly through dictation of notes and giving out handouts a situation whereby many students copy lots of notes from their lecturers both in their teaching subjects, general studies as well as education. This tends to make our tertiary institutions to operate at a lower technological level than the societies in the western world. There is therefore the need for the lecturers and the students to key into the new pedagogical approach of using ICT to facilitate the instructional activities in the classroom setting

Information and Communication Technology in Higher Education of Uganda and Education Implications: A Case of Kyambogo University

The emergence of knowledge society globally today has created new challenges for Higher Education (HE) particularly with the development of Information Communication Technology (ICT) at a speed that has no match in history yet HE in Uganda is still lagging behind. The paper aims at unraveling the role and challenges of using ICT in HE of Uganda and education implications in order to provide the way forward with Kyambogo University as a case. This paper used a mixed methods approach that combined desk review and interviews. The paper reveals the role of ICT in HE as central in the teaching-learning process, on the learner and learning and on the academic staff and teaching while the challenges as; learners, economy, equipment and academic staff which poses as a drawback in the teaching –learning process. The paper concludes that ICT is central in the teaching-learning process as well as in the management of HE institutions. The way forward rests majorly in the newly created ICT Ministry with effective implementation of ICT Policy 2014 to improve the livelihoods of Ugandans by ensuring the availability of accessible, efficient, reliable and affordable ICT services in which HE will benefit automatically hence its effective application and use in the teaching-learning process

Acceptance and use of information and communication technology in higher education institutes of Kuwait: a proposed framework

Information Technology has been effective in every field around the world, and ICT acceptance in any field has produced new developments which has significantly contributed in that particular context. Driven by this impulse the Higher Education Institutes (HEI) around the world are incorporating ICT apparatuses and using the most recent advances to give world class education to inhabitants. In such manner Ministry of Education (MOE) Kuwait has propelled numerous plans and put some considerable measures in the execution of innovation in HEIs. HEIs for the most part comprises of Universities. While there is no comprehensive study conducted in measuring the success and obstacles in the State of Kuwait, therefore, this paper focuses to measure and identify the success factors in acceptance of HEIs in the State of Kuwait. In the interim keeping in mind the end goal to evaluate the adoption and use of ICT by students and academicians in their day by day work, the UTAUT will be used as baseline theory to measure the ICT acceptance by students and academicians. This investigation likewise intends to discover the variables and issues keeping in mind the end goal to make a model for better usage of ICT by in HEIs. The effect of this investigation will be on HEI (s) to enhance the policy of learning methods through successful use of ICT and enhance the ability of students and academicians to be more viable and quality-situated people

The Methods of Writing Center\u27s Support Utilizing Information and Communication Technology in Higher Education

本研究ではICTを活用したライティング支援の現状とその動向を取り上げる。具体的には、テレビ会議システムやメールを用いたオンラインチュータリング、ライティングに関するeラーニング教材、ライティングに関する相談履歴を蓄積でき、ライティング支援を評価するシステム、テレプレゼンスロボットを活用したチュータリング支援を取り上げる。これらのICTを活用したライティングに関する事例について分析考察を加え、それぞれの特徴と効果、課題を示す。本研究は、文部科学省科学研究補助金・基盤研究(C)（研究課題番号16K01143）、平成28年度関西大学教育研究高度化促進費「アカデミック・ライティング力を育むための教育システム開発とデザイン原則の導出」の一部である

Rubric for Assessing ICT Vision, Plan, Policies and Standards in Malaysian Higher Education

The paper proposes a rubric for assessing the ICT vision, plan, policies and standards in Malaysian higher education institutions. Based on a selection of twelve survey questionnaires and rubrics that are used to assess ICT implementation, the paper identifies sixteen performance indicators. ICT vision is assessed based on who drives the vision, its focus and the level of awareness and understanding by the campus community. The indicators for ICT plan include the scope of plan, participation in plan development, level of detail, funding for plan and multi-year planning. ICT policies and standards cover the scope, characteristic, participation in the development, level of development and implementation, awareness and understanding by the campus community and how they are reviewed. The paper then uses these indicators to describe the characteristics of three case higher education institutions representing low, moderate and high level of ICT implementation

ENTORNOS VIRTUALES DE ENSEÑANZA-APRENDIZAJE PARA LA DOCENCIA EN LA UNIVERSIDAD DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA

 Esta contribución ofrece una visión de los modelos de integración de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación en la educación superior desde el análisis de las razones y condiciones para su aplicación y desarrollo en el contexto universitario. Se presentan las tecnologías de la información y comunicación como un desafío al sistema universitario español y se plantean metodologías de enseñanza-aprendizaje a través de los nuevos entornos virtuales, de un modo especial, con aquellos con los que cuenta la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha para apoyar la docencia. This contribution provides an overview of the models of integration of information and communication technology in higher education from the analysis of the reasons and conditions for its application and development in the university context. Technologies of information and communication are presented as a challenge to Spanish university system and teaching-learning methodologies are raised through the new virtual environments, in a special way with those the University of Castilla-La Mancha has to support teaching

FOCUS on technology‐supported learning in further education

This paper introduces FOCUS, a ‘one‐stop shop’ for technology‐supported learning resources designed and developed by a consortium of higher and further education partners. It reports on an investigation of the issues surrounding the adaptation of this HE‐orientated resource to an FE context. This involved piloting FOCUS with FE staff to assess its suitability. The issues raised by this process are discussed and general implications for the adaptation of generic HE resources to the FE sector are identified

Using Shared Workspaces in Higher Education

We evaluate the use of BSCW shared workspaces in higher education by means of a comparison of seven courses in which this environment was used. We identify a number of different functions for which the BSCW environment has been used and discuss the relative success of these functions across the cases. In addition, we evaluate the cases with the 4E model of Collis et al. (2000) which predicts the chances of acceptance of ICT in an educational setting. Effectiveness for the given task appears to be a prime success factor for using ICT. But an effective tool may fail due to other factors like ease of use and organisational, socialcultural or technological obstacles. The particular strength of a shared workspace, for which BSCW is most effective and efficient, is providing a repository for objects of collaborative work. Other types of usage showed mixed results. In the future we expect that learning takes place in an integrated, open ICT environment in which different kinds of tools are available for different purposes and users can switch between tools as appropriate. We could observe this in several of the case studies, where non-use of BSCW did not mean that a particular task was not performed, but, on the contrary, a more efficient solution for the same function was available. Shared workspaces have proven to be highly useful, but it seems advisable that their purpose be limited to what they were originally designed for

The Role of US Higher Education in the Global E-Learning Market

This paper analyzes system and institutional level responses to the growing demand for e-learning in the US in comparison with a number of other countries\ud and regions. It reviews the external forces and factors that are driving institutions to introduce and use ICT in this area and investigates in particular the role of globalisation and increasing competition. The responses of institutions to the changing (global) environment are discussed with respect to e-learning models and international strategies. Finally, a number of future scenarios are presented as well as an outline for research on the strategic pathways institutions may choose in planning for the future