Technological Infrastructure and Use of ICT in Education in ... - ADEA

Technological Infrastructure and Use of ICT in Education in Africa: an overview
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technologies to support education need to understand the nature of the
communication between educators and learners in order to seek ways
to support and enhance these processes. Any teaching and learning
process consists of combinations of different modes of communication,
which in turn support the teaching and learning strategies and activities
of a particular course. This communication can either be one-way or
two-way, depending on need. Communication can take place in various
ways:
• Face-to-face, for example, in classes, tutorials, or practical sessions;
• Via correspondence, whether it involves post, courier, fax, or electronic
mail;
• Using printed media of various kinds, which can be distributed either
via correspondence or in face-to-face sessions;
• Using audio such as radio, audio cassettes, telephone calls, or audio
conferencing;
• Using video, for example, one-way broadcasting, video, or videoconferencing;
• Using computers and computer-based multimedia, whether they be
stand-alone or part of a network.
Making decisions about technologies always requires a clear understanding
of the varied teaching and learning environments that one
aims to support, as well as their potential functions. There are three
broad applications for technologies:
3.1.1. Technologies to Support the Educational Provider
Technologies have a crucial role to play in supporting the educational
provider itself, particularly in its day-to-day management and administration.
Regretfully, however, this important use is often neglected, both
in policy statements and in the deliberations of people planning the use
of technologies to support education and training.
While some technologies, such as telephones and filing cabinets, have
long been used for these purposes, there is a growing understanding
that the rapid development of information and communication technologies
provide significant opportunities for generating savings in this
area of education and training and also for leading to more effective
management and administration systems. For example, the growing use
3. Understanding Media and Technologies