WAN MOHD SYAHIRAN BIN WAN SABARUDIN D20081032317 GROUP B
ICT applications have become an important part of teaching and learning. The Ministry of Education has invested a huge effort in terms of funding and training to equip teachers and students with ICT skills. In your opinion what are the issues and challenges in integrating ICT in teaching and learning in our Malaysian Schools.
Information and Communication in Technology (ICT) applications is very popular among countries all over the world. Malaysia is one of the countries that use ICT applications integrating with its education system in enhancing the quality of education. Malaysia government through the Ministry of Education has put their strength through funding and training to equip teachers and students with ICT skills. However, such efforts can be rationalized after facing challenges that always come up in variety ways. The goals are as to produce an adequate number of highly skilled workers and gave high priority to orienting the education and training system so that by 2020 Malaysia would have workers with the knowledge, skills and expertise necessary to support a knowledge-based economy and society.
In order to become a country based on ICT applications, Malaysia has to export some technology equipments and expertise from other countries such as United State of America and Britain. This is because their development in ICT equipment and expertise is rapid. As for initiative to integrate country with ICT applications, schools were identified as a platform to enrich the people with ICT knowledge to meet the demands of industries. Actually, the cost to export technology equipments and expertise could be done with a high price. So, as an alternative to put this into an end, Malaysia should build its own specialists in ICT especially. Integrating ICT applications into our education system takes several years to build complete software and courseware that can be used easily by students and teachers. 1494 courseware titles had been created at an approximate cost of RM 1 million. Each title required at least nine months to create it. Another issue is some companies contracted with government could not produce quality and content courseware as required. However, the government have to determine responsible companies in producing courseware wisely.
To integrate ICT applications in education system, teachers should be trained first before it is introduced to students. Teachers have to upgrade their own skills regularly. Sometimes, some of teachers do not give cooperation sufficiently in giving training their own skills. This is because they think they are better teaching in traditional method, which is by using chalk and blackboard. Therefore, this issue completely needs to be handled by Ministry of Education (MOE). A talk about integrating ICT applications in Malaysia education system should be held by any agencies that related in implemented ICT applications in the education system. In International Journal of Education and Development using ICT stated that male trainee teachers were more confident than female trainee teachers with the ability to integrate ICT in teaching. Ab. Rahim Bakar and Shamsiah Mohamed from University Putra Malaysia have conducted this research. They chose final year students; those are trainee teachers, which are from University Putra Malaysia too. In other words, teachers are bucked to actively participate in using ICT. In fact, teachers are not teached to prepare ICT applications and materials before teaching process occur. According to Karsenti and Larose (2001), lack of a critical mass of teachers who feel comfortable in using the technology and who can provide support and exemplary instances of good practice to those who are still not well versed with technology.
Other than that, in rural places such as Bario in Sarawak, the place that is isolated in rural place. The internet connection at that place needs more technically to do. This is because the signal reception at that place is low. Therefore, a satellite has been introduced that significantly to the internet connection, which is enabled students and teachers use internet. In other hand, awareness nationwide is necessarily to complete this technology to become a part of Malaysia education system. Students especially should take steps in learning ICT applications but it did occur to the non- rural students because the facilities in urban area are more sophisticated and their awareness is deeper in ICT usage. A study should be held that going through all over area in rural places on how the perception and reception by local people in rural places. This study can detect their awareness the important of ICT applications in education system. If their awareness is in low state, MOE is greatly need to evaluate the situation and always keep trying to come up with new programmes that instantly enhance nationwide awareness commonly. If the students cannot use ICT applications in their daily education, it is a challenge to the teachers obviously.
As a conclusion, ICT applications are well suited to be integrating into education system recently. Certain challenges that greatly become issues should be overcome together wisely and systematically. Pointing only to MOE does not help teachers and students in solving problems anymore but the problems will become worse.
