Impact of ICT in Learning

Introduction.

Recent advances in technology have had a lot of impacts on the lives of many people. Today,

most people in Universities and colleges around the world are able to study and do research due

to the ease and improved access to information thanks to the advances in Information and

Communication Technology (ICT). These improvements have brought a lot of significant

changes to most higher learning institutions, enabling them to enhance student performance

while on the other hand, also contributing to the decline of academic performance of students as

well. This essay presents some of the impacts of ICT on student performance, including the

benefits and challenges faced in using these technologies on student's life.

To begin, ICT has made the learning a much easier experience for most students in higher

learning institutions, particularly in regards to communication between students, their peers, and

instructors. It has been noted that ICT enhances the ability of students to develop their

knowledge, creativity, research skills, communication skills and critical thinking abilities, while

also promoting communication and collaboration learning environment (Livingstone, 2012).

Besides, the widespread adoption of the internet today makes it much easier and convenient for

students to access information and other online resources that boost their learning and knowledge

development and progress.

However, despite all the benefits, some scholars and researchers have noted that the use of ICT

could have a negative impact on the academic performance as well (Kirkup and Kirkwood,

2005). One of the major issues in this argument is the problem of internet addiction, which could

lead to some students failing to control how they use the internet, and might eventually develop
psychological, social, school and work difficulties (Stavropoulos, 2013). Besides, University

students are more vulnerable to this issue due to the high speed and free internet provided by

such institutions and the free hours during the day. Some researchers have also shown that

students who have such issues are likely to have lower performance compared to the others.

Kirschner and Karpinski (2010) in their study found that Facebook users not only had a much

lower performance that non-users, but also showed higher rates of procrastinations. Besides,

such students tend to spend less time on their studies but spend more time on internet leisure

activities and recreational purposes which eventually leads to lower performance.

Moreover, ICT also tends to make students lazy according to a study by (Comas-Forgas and

Sureda-Negre, 2010). The researchers found that University students who have access to ICT

resources usually tend to copy and paste from internet sources or electronic documents without

properly citing or referencing their works. These kinds practices have raised many concerns

regarding the academic qualifications of such students and only leaves one wondering whether

such students acquire all the necessary qualifications of their course to achieve the credentials.

Conclusion.

In general, Information Communication Technology plays a significant role towards enhancing

the academic standards of higher learning institutions, and also allows students to meet the

growing needs of the job market in the new technologically advanced society. As such, the

higher learning institutions should put more focus on improving ICT facilities so that students

become more aware of these technologies and how to use them as they prepare to join the job

market. However, this should be combined with improved cyber counseling during and after

student intake, in order to build a good foundation that will help in avoiding internet addiction

and inappropriate use of such resources that are not in line with academic requirements. Students
should also be counseled on how to use their time well in order to avoid abusive usage of ICT

privileges provided in school.

References.
Livingstone, S. (2012). Critical reflections on the benefits of ICT in education. Oxford review of
education, 38(1), 9-24.
Kirkup, G., & Kirkwood, A. (2005). Information and communications technologies (ICT) in
higher education teachinga tale of gradualism rather than revolution. Learning, Media and
Technology, 30(2), 185-199.
Stavropoulos, V., Alexandraki, K., & Motti-Stefanidi, F. (2013). Recognizing internet addiction:
Prevalence and relationship to academic achievement in adolescents enrolled in urban and rural
Greek high schools. Journal of adolescence, 36(3), 565-576.
Kirschner, P. A., & Karpinski, A. C. (2010). Facebook and academic performance. Computers
in human behavior, 26(6), 1237-1245.
Comas-Forgas, R., & Sureda-Negre, J. (2010). Academic plagiarism: Explanatory factors from
students perspective. Journal of Academic Ethics, 8(3), 217-232.