Information and communication technology (ICT) can play a bigger role in classrooms far beyond showing PowerPoint and surfing the internet - only if educators know ways to make the best use of the computers and the borderless network.
The government has spent billions of dollars in technological education over the years, but many teachers still mostly use chalk and whiteboards to support their teaching. Bob Fox, associate professor and deputy director of the Centre for Information Technology in Education at the University of Hong Kong, attributed this to principals' and teachers' limited innovation in utilising technology-rich tools.
Dr Fox urged local educators to integrate ICT into teaching and learning by adopting new methods, instead of using ICT to supplement existing pedagogical practices. 'Information and communication technology can act as a powerful lever to affect changes in schools,' he said.
Dr Fox said teachers could explore many possibilities with more advanced technology in the future. For example, they could post materials and student tasks online and make full use of the electronic networking between schools for sharing resources and ideas.
He predicted that the traditional boundaries between subjects would break down, and students would become involved in more group-based project work inside and outside the classroom via the internet. The students' learning would be more connected to the community and society at large and would make use of real data and issues, that ultimately could be more productive to society.