CHAPTER TWO

THE IMPACT OF USING ICT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES ON

PRE-SCHOOL STUDENTS

2.1 The Definition of ICT

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are referred to as the varied collection
of technological gear and resources which are made use of to communicate. They are also
made use of to generate, distribute, collect and administer information. Information and
communication technology (ICT) is an indispensable part of the contemporary world. In fact,
culture and society have to be adjusted to meet the challenges of the knowledge age. The
pervasiveness of ICT has brought about rapid technological, social, political, and economic
transformation, which has eventuated in a network society organised around ICT (Castells,
1996)

ICT is a force that has changed many aspects of the way we live. Information and
Communication Technologies consist of the hardware, software, networks, and media for
collection, storage, processing, transmission and presentation of information (voice, data,
text, images), as well as related services. ICTs can be divided into two components,
Information and Communication Infrastructure (ICI) which refers to physical
telecommunications systems and networks (cellular, broadcast, cable, satellite, postal) and the
services that utilize those (Internet, voice, mail, radio, and television), and Information

Technology (IT) that refers to the hardware and software of information collection, storage,
processing, and presentation. The concept of a “Digital Divide” has been around almost as
long as ICT has been publicly available. While traditionally it has come to mean a division in
society, based on socioeconomic factors, this does not ‘paint the entire picture’. Introducing
ICT as a tool to support the education sector has initiated substantial discussions since the
late 1990s. A decade ago the emphasis was on Technical and Vocational Education and
Training and training teachers. During the last few years, an increasing number of

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international development agencies have embraced the potential of ICT to support the
education sector. UNESCO has played a major role in spearheading the Education for All
initiative to harness the potential of ICT. The widely subscribed Dakar Framework for Action
recognizes that, ‘these technologies (ICTs) have great potential for knowledge dissemination,
effective learning and the development of more efficient education services’. When looking
at the integration of ICT to support the achievement of educational objectives, it can be found
that after almost a decade of using ICT to stimulate development, it is not yet fully integrated
in development activities and awareness rising is still required.

ICT’s potential benefits in the educational settings are well documented at all educational
levels from preschool to higher education (Pange, 2005; Toki et al., 2009; Schmid, 2009;
Wise et al., 2011; Toki & Pange, 2012). Precisely, ICT use in education can create new
educational environments, provide new teaching methods, change the traditional teacher-
student relationship and finally improve the quality of education. Hence, ICT can be
considered as “potential tools for change and innovation in education” (Tezci, 2009).

Additionally, the use of ICT at school is an effective way to develop individuals who are
proficient in ICT (Tondeur et al., 2007) meeting the demands of modern information society.
Consequently, some studies prophesied that “the importance of educational technology in the
classroom will continue to increase” (Becker & Ravitz, 2001). As technology market is
rapidly developing, particularly the market of serving early childhood education, the
availability and usage of technology for young children is widely spread and comes in to
serve the youngsters much earlier (Siraj-Blatchford & Whitebread, 2003). Young children are
growing up in a new era, in which a broad range of modern technologies are utilized, both at
home and in preschool.

As the researchers stated, “even the youngest children live in a media-saturated world and
magnitude of their technological experiences differs substantially from that of previous
generation” (Wartella, et al., 2005). In this context, there has been considerable international
attention given to the issue of ICT use in preschool education. A series of research topics
have been explored, for instance ‘current landscape of ICT use at home or at preschool’
(Plowman & Stephen, 2005; Plowman et al., 2008; Nikolopoulou et al., 2010; Natsiopoulou

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& Bletsou, 2011), ‘impact of ICT use on preschoolers’ (Pange, 2003; Clarke, 2005; Voogt &
Mckenney, 2008; Toki & Pange, 2010; Panagiotakou & Pange, 2010), ‘preschool teachers’
beliefs and views towards ICT use’ (Angeli, 2004; Pange, et al., 2004; Tsitouridou & Vryzas,
2004; Gialamas & Nikolopoulou, 2010) , ‘preschool teachers’ ICT competence training and
application in the educational setting’ (Pange, et al., 2004; Chen & Chang, 2006; Toki et al.,
2009; Pange, 2011).

2.2 ICT in Early Childhood Education

The use of ICT in early childhood education has been debated among early childhood
educators since the 1980s. In the beginning, some educators (Cuffaro, 1984; Hohmann, 1998;
Healey, 1998; Yelland, 1999; Haugland, 2000) argued that using ICT in early childhood
education was harmful or ineffective. However, when research about ICT integration into
early childhood education and the effects of ICT on child development (Hutinger&Johanson,
2000; Downes, 2002; Clemenets&Sarama, 2003; Lankshear&Knobel, 2003; Plowman &
Stephen, 2005; Buckleitner, 2008; McPake, Plowman & Stephen, 2013) was conducted and
reported, it became clear that ICT is a unique tool to support the development of preschool
children. This can also result from the changes in technology since the 80s to present day

Since the 1980s, ICT has changed the world rapidly. The 21st century has been labeled ―the
digital era‖ and new challenges for contemporary societies have arisen (Li &Ranieri, 2010).
ICT has become a necessary part of our life. While accessing information, making
connections or affecting the environment using electronic or digital tools, we all use ICT
(Siraj-Blatchford &Siraj- Blatchford, 2003). In the context of early childhood education,
Plowman and Stephen (2005) used a broad definition of ICT and included smart toys, remote
control devices, photocopiers, telephones, fax machines, televisions, computers, mobile
phones, laptops, cash registers, microwave ovens and barcode readers. Today, we can add to
the list smartphones, game consoles, tablet pcs, touch screen devices, digital cameras, the
internet, interactive stories, computer games, programmable toys, videoconferencing
technologies, data projectors and electronic whiteboards. Children‘s interaction with ICT has
a long history. Televisions, telephones and toys were popularized in the 19th century. As time
goes on, new forms of ICT have been invented. Hence, another large and diverse range of

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digital technologies like touch screen tablet devices such as iPads and certain smart phones
are now available in homes (McPake, Plowman & Stephen, 2013). Mishra and Joseph (2012)
classify the research about early childhood education and ICT in five categories. First, some
educators have conducted effect research which includes the positive and negative effects of
ICT. They tried to identify the benefits of ICT to children and their education. Second, some
investigations concern children‘s behavior surrounding ICT. These researchers examine,
from a social perspective, children‘s interaction with ICT. Third, some researchers focus on
early childhood teachers and other practitioners. These researchers determine key
characteristics of effective ICT professional development. Fourth, there is research
concerning model use of ICT in early childhood education settings and case studies. The last,
and this research falls in this category, is research related to children‘s interaction with ICT.
These studies identify children‘s access to, and use of, ICT at home or in early childhood
education settings.

Vaala and Hornik (2013) examined the relationship between children's rates of TV/video
viewing and their mothers' structural life circumstances and cognitions. Lepicnic and Samec
(2013) determined that girls access ICT more than boys. Carson and Janssen (2012) identified
several features in home settings that influence children‘s screen time and reported that age,
parent attitude and parents‘ screen time positively affect children‘s screen time. Nikolopoulo,
Gialamas and Batsouta (2010) investigated children‘s access to ICT at home. They stated that
children have access to a wide range of ICT and boys play console games more than girls.

McKenny and Voogt (2010) conducted research about children‘s access to ICT at home and
in other settings. They pointed out that children mostly play games with computers, boys are
more ambitious to use computers than girls, but showed no difference in skills. Zevenbergen
and Logan (2008) surveyed children using computers and reported that 85% of children have
a computer in the home and that boys use the computer more than girls. One of the largest
scale researches about children‘s interaction with ICT was conducted by Marsh et al. (2005)
including 1,852 children, educators and 120 education settings. They touched on many points
about children‘s use of technology and media. They reported that children consistently have
interaction with ICT from birth and use technology balanced with other activities. Christakis,
Ebel, Rivara and Zimmerman (2004) investigated children‘s TV viewing and usage of other

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media. They stated that parents‘ educational level has a negative effect on children‘s TV
viewing duration.

Rideout, Vandewater and Wartella (2003) conducted a large scale survey to determine
children‘s interaction with technology and media. They indicated that children start watching
TV from their early months and watch TV two hours a day. The major studies concerning
children‘s interaction with ICT have been summarized above. They all show important
findings about children‘s access and usage of ICT. As it can be seen, young children have
intense interaction with ICT. This interaction can significantly affect the development of
young children as Bronfenbrenner (1979) emphasizes, stating that development is defined as
the person‘s evolving conception of the ecological environment, and their relation to it, as
well as the person‘s growing capacity to discover, sustain, or alter its properties.‖ In addition
to Bronfenbrenner‘s ecological theory, the dramatic increase in young children‘s use of ICT
leads us to propose the ecological techno-subsystem (Johnson & Puplampu, 2008). Thus, the
understanding and interpretation of findings of research that aims to investigate children‘s
interaction with ICT can provide new insight to best support their development.

2.3 Integration of ICT in Teaching and Learning

The integration of ICT in teaching and learning is not a method; rather it is a medium in
which a variety of methods, approaches and pedagogical philosophies may be implemented.
This statement shows that the effectiveness of ICT depends on how and why it is applied and
integrated. In 1980, Taylor stated that ICT usage is classified to tutor, tool and tutee. Tutorial
programmes lead learners step-by-step through a programme such as drill and practice. Using
technology as a tool can help other types of problems, for example, technology as a tool is
frequently seen in tutorial or explanatory programmes. ICT acts as a tutee where students
programme the computers in order to gain more understanding. A number of different ICT
tools and applications may be integrated in teaching and learning. Some of these tools and
applications may be designed specifically for educational purposes and some others for more
general use. The choices of resources, and the way they are used, can be linked to different
learning theories which may be invoked to explain or predict learning benefits from the use
of ICT.

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Roblyer and Edwards believe that the use of ICT in education has evolved from two main
approaches, namely directed and constructivist instructional methods. The theoretical
foundations of directed instruction are based on behaviorist learning theories and information
processing theory, which is a branch of cognitive psychology. The theoretical foundations of
the constructivist approaches are based on the principles of learning derived from cognitive
learning theory

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