Information and Communication Technologies in Education

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays an increasingly important role in our lives, including in communication and learning. In this regard, we need to be able to use these technologies effectively for the benefit of students and the learning community as a whole.

UNESCO believes that ICTs can help to ensure access and equity in education, enhance the quality of learning and teaching, and contribute to the professional development of teachers. In addition, with appropriate policies, technology and capacity, ICTs can improve the management, governance and administration of education.

UNESCO takes a comprehensive approach to the use of ICTs in education. Through an intersectoral platform, the Organization focuses on the joint work of the Communication and Information, Education and Science Sectors addressing issues of access, inclusion, equity and quality in education.

UNESCO, including its regional and field offices and institutes, works with its partners on tools that can assist countries in developing policies, strategies and actions for the effective use of ICTs in education. The organization also ensures that these strategies address the digital divide and the most disadvantaged populations.

UNESCO's programs include

  • Capacity building and policy advice to use technology in education, particularly in emerging areas such as mobile learning;
  • equipping teachers with the skills needed to use ICTs in all aspects of their professional lives, through tools such as the ICT Competency Framework for Teachers;
  • Encouraging the creation and use of multilingual educational resources and software that are reusable through open licenses (Open Educational Resources - OER;
  • Free and Open Source Software (FOSS);
  • Using ICTs for inclusive education and gender equality, and for people with disabilities;
  • collection of statistics and development of indicators on ICT use in education;
  • Policy support to ensure effective harnessing of the potential of ICTs across the education system.

To leverage the potential of ICTs and achieve excellence in teaching and learning, UNESCO works with the education community around the world - ministries of education, specialized institutions, teachers and, of course, students.

The role of information technology in enhancing the quality of vocational education

An important feature of modern education system is the existence of an innovative strategy for the organization of education, which determines the quality of education and the image of any educational institution. The quality of education is understood as the ability of an educational product or service to meet the requirements of state standards and social order.

Today, information technology is becoming one of the main priorities in planning the development of education. An integral and important part of these technologies is the computerization of the educational process. This process is accompanied by significant changes in the pedagogical theory and practice of the educational process, associated with the introduction of adjustments in the content of learning technologies, which should be adequate to modern technological capabilities, and contribute to the harmonious entry of the child into the information society. Computer technologies are intended to become not an additional "add-on" in education, but an integral part of the integral educational process, significantly increasing its efficiency.

The use of modern information and communication technologies in education opens up exceptional prospects both in terms of improving the quality of learning and in terms of expanding the educational institutions themselves.