An ICT age and the teacher

"Around an inner circle of specialists, Malta needs to become a true information society. This is an ambition that we see materialise gradually but rapidly even as we speak". (.mt- National ICT Strategy 2004-2006 by the Ministry of Investment, Industry and IT). This is very true and we must be aware of the rapid changes that are taking place, which could create a gap through the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology).

The National ICT Strategy goes on to talk about increasing the ability of ICT teachers at all levels. I believe we must increase the ability of all teachers, not just ICT teachers. We utilise ICT not in specific subjects but across a broad range of subjects.

Therefore the mainstream teacher should be able to use ICT as a tool just like the whiteboard in a classroom. One very interesting aspect of ICT is the huge variation in knowledge, expertise and experience it generates across society as a whole, including groups,like teachers, trainee teachers and pupils.

This diversity in people's response to ICT takes several forms. Some people are fully immersed, some are partly immersed in a limited aspect of ICT, some are on the brink, while a very small minority are bone dry. Is it an accessibility issue?

Some of those who have written about this phenomenon see it as part of a broader picture of society concerning inclusion and exclusion. Some people/groups/nations possess key knowledge, expertise and wealth and are using these assets to take them further down their chosen roads which may lead, for example, to increased power, wealth or knowledge.

Education by nature makes sure that these inequities are minimised by ensuring that all teachers at the point of qualification have a basic threshold level of ICT skills and that schooling encompasses important principles of entitlement, whereby all children are provided with opportunities to engage with ICT.

Clearly, this bridges the gap between the have and have-nots in ICT. By increasing the chances children have to engage with ICT, it allows them to develop their own ICT skills to some threshold level, to be further enhanced through their own particular lifelong learning experiences.

It is very easy to knock someone's confidence in the area of ICT. This state of affairs has arisen for various subtle reasons which will not be explored.

However, you do need to be aware of the risk; it concerns ICT more than most areas of our professional lives. It is loosely concerned with the gap mentioned earlier.

People handle their lack of ICT knowledge and competence in very different ways. Some are proud of it and are happy to broadcast their ignorance; sometimes this is a defence mechanism, of course. Others prefer to keep quiet about it. Others again approach it in a more measured way, seeking to enhance their competence as and when necessary.

In most cases one's confidence is very easily bruised. If it is your own confidence that is at risk, then take deliberate steps to boost it, perhaps by working with someone you appreciate, avoiding anyone who tends to make things worse and, of course, by going through any teaching materials that may be available.

An ICT and education conference was recently organised in Malta. For details of the presentations given, visit www.studentlearningcentre.org

As teachers, parents and citzens we need to ask what sort of society we are creating. We must have the insight, energy and enterprise to move together with our children towards a genuinely networked society.

Michelle Caruana-Dingli, Adv. Dip. Sp. Needs, RSA Dip TEFL, Dip. Management, MA (Educ), is an assistant lecturer and researcher in aspects of teacher training. She has recently led a Minerva project focusing on ICT and teacher training entitled SAIL. Her interests are aspects of ICT, creativity in teaching, collaboration and language learning.