Tradition or transformation? An evaluation of ICTs in Metro Manila schools

• Main Author: Rodrigo, Ma. Mercedes T
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2003
• Subjects: international education; information and communication technologies; developing countries; Philippines; primary school; secondary school; Computer Sciences
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/discs-faculty-pubs/101; https://content.iospress.com/articles/information-technology-for-development/itd00085
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) usage in education falls into three board categories: ICTs as objects under study, ICTs as support tools, and ICTs as catalysts for transformation. The researcher's goal was to determine and evaluate the status of ICT resources in Metro Manila schools. Specifically, the researcher wanted to determine the goals that educators had for using ICTs, whether schools had the necessary ICT facilities to reach these goals, whether actual usage was consistent with these goals, and whether there were differences between public and private schools' responses. Using a mail-in questionnaire and follow-up interviews, the researcher determined that schools, a few primary schools and many secondary schools said they espoused emerging or transformative uses of ICTs. However, Metro Manila students' access to computers, peripherals, and the Internet was poor. Software selections were also generally limited to productivity tools. As such, ICTs were actually primarily used to teach computer literacy and programming. Private schools were better equipped than public schools, but ICT usage was similarly limited.