Information Communication Technologies are causing rapid social transformation. They have an impact on every element of life. Schools are starting to see the effects more and more. Schools are being forced to adapt to this technological advancement as a result of ICTs’ increased ability to tailor learning and instruction to individual requirements for both students and instructors.
At this time, information and communication technology (ICT) have an impact on every element of human existence. In the workplace, in business, in education, and in entertainment, they are playing important roles. In addition, a lot of individuals acknowledge that ICTs are change agents that affect everything from working circumstances to how information is handled and exchanged to how it is taught and learned to how it is accessed for scientific study. ICT use in the classroom is crucial in the current digital world for offering students the chance to acquire and apply the necessary 21st century skills. Information Communication Technology enhances learning and teaching, and it is crucial for instructors to do their part as pedagogical environment designers. ICT enables teachers to make their lessons engaging and understandable for students at all levels of educational programs (Ratheeswari, 2018).
In recent years, schools have had access to the Internet and e-mail, providing opportunities for setting up new sorts of learning procedures. Recently, compelling arguments have been made in favor of introducing cutting-edge ICT applications as a way to build an effective learning environment. This entails new forms of instruction (transformation) that encourage students to engage with knowledge in an active, self-directed, and productive manner, producing learning outcomes that are more applicable to contexts outside of the classroom than those produced by conventional teaching techniques (Volman & Van Eck, 2001). The use of information technology, however, is one strategy that schools may employ to stand out from the competition or, more crucially, to act as a catalyst for changing the way that education is delivered. IT is hailed as an effective tool for enabling deliberate changes in teaching and learning processes rather than as a miraculous but unexpected method of reducing educational attrition (Leidner & Jarvenpaa, 1995).
From early school (grade 1) through adult education, all education in Sri Lanka is free (tertiary). An extremely high literacy rate of 90.8% in 2009, which is among the highest in Asia, was maintained in Sri Lanka thanks to the country’s allocation of 2.1% of GDP to education. However, Sri Lanka lags far behind other countries in terms of ICT literacy, and significant efforts are made to catch up. Sri Lanka’s goal is to raise this number to 60% during the next two to three years from the total ICT literacy rate of 20.3% in 2009. International criteria must be met for ICT competency. A number of factors contribute to the low ICT literacy rate, and among them are the difficulty in studying ICT-related material in one’s home tongue and the need for infrastructure development in all schools island-wide to keep up with the rate of ICT evolution (Kaleelur Rahuman et al., 2011).
Educators and several policy officials throughout the world have been concerned with producing people that are technologically and scientifically literate for more than three decades. According to UNESCO (1994), in order to meet the demands of modern living, one must be literate in both science and technology. As a result, several curricula throughout the world clearly place a focus on expanding e-learning. Digital media have improved studying and teaching over the last few years, and both university students and lecturers are accustomed to using them. The use of digital media for teaching and learning, or e-learning, has been attempted by universities in Sri Lanka in recent years. Universities have been urged to create e-learning initiatives with financial assistance from the government. In addition to being a huge source of knowledge, the internet and cloud computing also provide a number of web-based tools designed specifically for educational purposes.
These programs, often known as e-learning platforms, enable instructors to connect with students in real-time while also delivering a variety of course materials. They also enable teachers to monitor the development of the learning process and to be aware of each student’s performance on certain assignments. E-learning platforms commonly referred to as virtual learning environments (VLE), are particularly helpful for instructing anything at all. They enable the usage of a variety of things, including movies, mp3s, written documents, scanned photographs, connections to other websites, and animations, which may be used to demonstrate a variety of physical circumstances and ideas that are frequently challenging for pupils to comprehend ( et al., 2016).
The modes of educational practice have undergone a significant transformation as a result of globalization and technological growth in the modern world. In addition to transcending the limitations of time and place, these developments have improved a wide range of chances for simple accessibility and interpersonal connection. ICT resources are a powerful factor behind many of the changes being made in the educational landscape. Because of the use of information and communication technology in the field of education as an interpretation of its results,
• Support for formal education
• Brings innovation and creativity to the fore
• Curiosity and enjoyment of learning
• Learner-centered independent learning
• Seeking knowledge
• Knowledge sharing and collaboration
It has been possible to create opportunities to engage in high-quality educational activities using new strategies. Additionally, it develops learner-centered autonomous learning strategies at the kid level, such as information searching, sharing, and collaborating for knowledge, as well as the originality and creativity of the children. A tool for supporting formal education based on the curriculum and soft skills like voice recording, singing, and video recording. Established a setting in which family members might learn these abilities. Because of these factors, it is feasible to eliminate the negative perceptions of children’s resistance to and disinterest in school and to pique their interest (Kaleelur Rahuman et al., 2011).
Reference
Kaleelur Rahuman, M. A., Wikramanayake, G. N., & Hewagamage, K. P. (2011). Case study on adaptability to ICT enabled childhood education in Sri Lanka. Proceedings of International Conference on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions, ICTer 2011, 112–116. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICTer.2011.6075034
Leidner, D. E., & Jarvenpaa, S. L. (1995). The use of information technology to enhance management school education: A theoretical view. MIS Quarterly: Management Information Systems, 19(3), 265–291. https://doi.org/10.2307/249596
MMT Marikar, F., & Jayarathne, N. (2016). Effectiveness of MOODLE in Education System in Sri Lankan University. International Journal of Modern Education and Computer Science, 8(2), 54–58. https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2016.02.07
Ratheeswari, K. (2018). Information Communication Technology in Education. Journal of Applied and Advanced Research, 3, S45–S47. https://doi.org/10.21839/jaar.2018.v3is1.169
Volman, M., & Van Eck, E. (2001). Gender equity and information technology in education: The second decade. Review of Educational Research, 71(4), 613–634. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543071004613
