Information and Communication Technology in Education
What is tested
How technology is chosen and used to improve learning, plus the policy, equity and safety frame attached to it.
Frameworks
- TPACK: effective teaching needs content, pedagogical and technological knowledge together - the tool serves the objective.
- SAMR: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition; only M and R change the nature of the task.
- Blended and flipped learning: content access at home, active work in class, with offline alternatives where connectivity is weak.
- OER and LMS: openly licensed resources; a learning management system for delivery, quizzes and records.
Nepal context
The ICT in Education Master Plan promotes infrastructure, digital content, teacher professional development and equitable access. Classroom reality includes shared devices, intermittent electricity and low bandwidth, so radio, television and printed packs remain valid delivery channels. Cyber-safety and protection of children's data belong in the school ICT policy.
Worked example
Classify two activities. (a) Students type a handwritten essay in a word processor. (b) Students co-author a report with a school in another district and publish it online for comment. (a) is Substitution - same task, new tool, no functional change. (b) is Redefinition - collaboration and audience were previously inconceivable. Choosing (a) for a typing-speed objective is defensible; choosing it for collaboration is not.
Traps that cost marks
- Calling any computer use integration when it only replaces the blackboard.
- Starting from the tool ('make a PowerPoint') instead of the learning outcome.
- Ignoring accessibility and the digital divide in planning.
- Treating ICT as a separate subject rather than a resource across subjects.