ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Value in Korean Education: Technology and Pedagogy

Chun Seyeoung, Kye Bokyung
2014 Journal of Psychology Research  
This study aimed to look back upon the two decades of ICT (information and communications technology) in education and to examine its merits and demerits, and thereby evaluating the value of ICT in educational development from the viewpoints of Korea and the world and finding lessons to take a leap toward further advancement. To this end, we researchers examined the process of ICT in education, from making policies based on Korea's socio-cultural contexts to implementing the policies at school
more » ... evels. Through descriptive study, we also identified best practices and success factors for ICT integration and discussed their implications. The study revealed four lessons for policy leadership as a success factor, school ecology as a complex factor, the gap between technological and social development as a crisis factor, and the task of pedagogy as a fundamental assignment. The implications of the study give insight into realizing a long-cherished wish for the education for all. The task of traditional pedagogy is passed over to the task of a new one which Korean experience of ICT education proposes. According to the 2009 PISA assessment scores, South Korea ranked at the top of the digital reading assessments among the 19 participating OECD countries. First introduced in 2009, the digital reading assessment has been used to measure reading ability within a digital media environment, an essential skill required in the 21st century. This evaluation aims to measure thinking ability, creativity when collecting information through hyperlinks, and ability to apply and comprehend various types of information that exist in various forms on the Internet. These skills are difficult to measure through print media. In this assessment, Korea recorded an unrivaled achievement with 69 points higher than the average OECD score and 31 points higher than New Zealand, the second highest ranked country. Korea also displayed the smallest difference in scores between the highest and lowest scores in digital education assessments (Song, Rim, Choi, Park, & Son, 2013) . This implies that Korean children are prepared to live in the digital era and that ICT in education for Korea has not worked to worsen the digital divide but to resolve the divide. Similar to the education problems that countries around the world have encountered, Korea has also faced limitations in promoting skills needed in the 21st century for learners with traditional forms of classroom and textbook-delivered knowledge. Furthermore, an education system centered on academic assessments and test performance has hindered the social and technological changes in learning. As a result, we have failed to provide satisfactory education for students performing above and below average. Due to these complicated factors, there is a growing demand for change in our education system. Consequently, educating the new generation has become an urgent issue for the nation in order to keep up with the knowledge revolution that is rapidly changing in the 21st century. It is no exaggeration that a nation's destiny depends on the potential of its young generation and that this change is crucial in the 21st century when an educated imagination makes up a creative nation. In this respect, this study aimed to look back upon two decades of ICT in education and to examine its merits and demerits, thereby evaluating the value of ICT in educational development from the viewpoints of Korea and the world as well and finding lessons to take a leap towards further advancement. To this end, the study looked into the process of ICT in education from making policies based on Korea's socio-cultural contexts to implementing these strategies at school levels. Through in-depth studies, it also identified best practices and success factors for ICT integration and discussed its implications.
doi:10.17265/2159-5542/2014.07.003 fatcat:auis4lrpxnhxjdnec6tz3uilqe