Information and communication technologies in schools: a ...

already doing?” By their very nature, ICT call for innovation. It is about exploiting
the full capabilities of technology to open new perspectives for both teachers
and students.
At the same time, it is unwise to ignore traditional styles and models of
learning as well as ideas from the past that were not implemented in the mass
school but were precious exceptions.
Therefore, we need to start with things that we are already doing, but consider
them anew.
Schools of tomorrow seen through schools of today
One way to introduce ICT into school education is to observe schools without
computers and see what opportunities arise to facilitate various educational
activities by using ICT. Starting from that point, we can recognize that schools
without computers are different, and that different applications of ICT are possible.
We discover that some teaching and learning activities can be advanced
much more than others. Then we can reconsider how desirable different activities
are from the point of view of educational goals for individuals and society.
Eventually, we can discover, or imagine, certain new forms of learning beyond
the reality, experience, and vision of past centuries.
Of course, it is an absolute requirement to begin in small steps experimentally
and to have a program tested by broad practice before recommending
it for others. Nor is it necessary for a school to have acquired all high-end
ICT in order to feel the benefits and impact of ICT on practice. Every
improvement in technology almost immediately finds its application in the
practical work of some teachers in schools and broadens educational horizons
(as we emphasize, not in just a technological sense, but in the sense of enrichment
of human activities).
ATOMS OF LEARNING
In this section, we overview the simplest elements of learning and teaching
and describe how the ICT, detailed in Chapter 2, can contribute, and why this
contribution can make teaching and learning more effective. We analyze wellknown
situations and indicate all sorts of changes made possible by ICT.
ICT in Learning and Teaching
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