Information and Communication Technologies have recently gained groundswell of interest. It is a significant research area for many scholars around the globe. Their nature has highly changed the face of education over the last few decades.
For most European countries, the use of ICT in education and training has become a priority during the last decade. However, very few have achieved progress. Indeed, a small percentage of schools in some countries achieved high levels of effective use of ICT to support and change the teaching and learning process in many subject areas. Others are still in the early phase of Information and Communication Technologies adoption.
Blanskat, Blamire, kefala (2006) conducted a study carried out in national, international, and European schools. With the aim to draw evidences regarding the advantages and benefits of ICT in schools achievements. It seeks to measure the impact of ICT on students’ outcomes. The study also tried to establish a link between the use of ICT and students’ results in exams. The findings are interesting: ICT has positive impact on students’ performances in primary schools particularly in English language and less in science. Schools with higher level of e-maturity show a rapid increase in performances in scores compared to those with lower level.
In addition, schools with sufficient ICT resources achieved better results than those that are not well-equipped. There is a significant improvement on learners’ performances. Finally, teachers become more convinced that educational achievements of pupils are due to good ICT use. In fact, high percentage of teachers in Europe (86%) states that pupils are more motivated when computers and Internet are being used in class.
Many pupils consider ICT tools very helpful in that it helps them to do assignments teachers see that ICT enables students with special needs or difficulties. It also helps to reduce the social disparities between pupils, since they work in teams in order to achieve a given task. Students also assume responsibilities when they use ICT to organize their work through digital portfolios or projects. In addition, the study showed that ICT has significant impact on teachers and teaching processes.
By virtue of government Interventions and training seminars organized in this regard, ICT tools stimulate teachers. Indeed, an absolute majority of teachers in Europe (90 %) claim to use ICT to do tasks, such as preparing lessons, sequencing classroom activities, etc. Therefore, teachers plan their lessons more efficiently. ICT also help teachers to work in teams and share ideas related to schools curriculum. There is also evidence that broadband and interactive whiteboards play a central role in fostering teachers’ communication and increasing collaboration between educators.
