MODULES IN TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING 1

MODULE NO. 2
ICT POLICIES AND ISSUES: IMPLICATIONS TO TEACHING AND LEARNING

MODULE OVERVIEW

Globalization is a reality and ICT has become a fundamental part of the process. A networked society
is one in which the entire planet is organized around telecommunicated networks of computers. The powerful
use of network has broken boundaries, provided opportunities for inclusion and collaboration. However, there
will be also a struggle for those who do not have access or those who are excluded, marginalize and
powerless. Thus, a need to establish policies in the use of ICT is imperative.

At the end of the module, you will be able to understand how policies and issues affect the teaching
and learning process. You will gain more knowledge on the e-safety issues that students and teachers must
follow.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Module, you should be able to:

1. Name examples of ICT Policies which are applicable to teaching and learning.
2. Discuss some issues that relate to the ICT Policy; and
3. Identify safety concerns on the internet including digital safety rules.

POLICIES AND ISSUES ON THE INTERNET AND IMPLICATIONS TO TEACHING AND LEARNING

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New technologies have become central to the lives of every individual in this planet. Whether you are
talking on the phone, sending an electronic mail, going to the bank, using the library, watching news on
television, going to the doctor, catching a flight or seeing a movie, you are using ICT. Almost everything that
we do in the modern world is influenced by the new technologies.

Would your life as a teacher be also influenced by the new technologies?

Should we live our lives to be controlled by technology or should we control the utilization of
technology in our lives? How?

One way of enhancing and regulating the use of ICT is to formulate and implement policies to guide
appropriate decisions.

Definition of ICT Policy

The Oxford English Dictionary has defined “policy” as a course of action, adopted and pursued by a
government, party, ruler, and statesman.
Thus, ICT Policies are needed to put a roadmap or course of actions to be pursued and adopted by
various governments, organizations, entities involving ICT. These include principles and guidelines in the use
of ICT which cover three main areas: telecommunications (telephone), broadcasting (radio and television) and
Internet.
ICT “Information and Communication Technologies” refers to the technology that provides access to
the information through telecommunications. It is similar to Information Technology (IT) but focuses primarily
on communication technologies. This includes internet, wireless networks, cellphones, and other
communication mediums.

The New ICT Technologies

More recent technological innovations increased the reach and speed of communications which can be
grouped into three categories:

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1. Information Technology- includes the use of computers, which has become indispensable in modern
societies to process data and save time and effort. What we needed will be computer hardware and
peripherals, software and for the user, computer literacy.
2. Telecommunication technologies- include telephones (with fax) and the broadcasting of radio and
television often through satellites. Telephone system, radio and TV broadcasting are needed in this
category.
3. Networking technologies- The best known of networking technologies is Internet, but has extended to
mobile phone technology, Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) satellite communications and other forms
of communications are still in their infancy. In addition to Internet, this category also includes mobile
telephone, cable, DSL, satellite and other broadband connectivity.

The DICT Roadmap

In our country, the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) has
formulated a roadmap to guide all agencies in the utilization, regulation, and enhancement of ICT. Each
project has corresponding policy statements and guidelines.

Republic Act No.10844, otherwise known as the “Department of Information and Communication
Technology Act of 2015” which was signed into law on 23 May 2016.

In accordance to the law, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)
shall be the primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, and administrative entity of the
Executive Branch of the government that will plan, develop, and promote the national ICT development.

An IT roadmap is a type of technology roadmap that a business uses to develop and share a
strategic level plan for IT initiatives at the organization, such as migrating the company’s data to a new
cloud system or upgrading the organization to a new enterprise software platform.

The ICT for Education (ICT4E) is a program under the DICT that supports all the efforts of the
education sector in incorporating the use of ICT as well as in determining and gaining access to the
infrastructure (hardware, software, telecommunication facilities and others) which are necessary to use
and deploy learning technologies at all levels of education.

Among the policy recommended programs that have applications to education teaching –learning is:
1. ICT in Education Masterplan for all levels, including a National Roadmap for faculty Development in ICT in
Education. A National Framework Plan for ICTs in Basic Education was developed.
2. Content and application development through the Open Content is Education Initiative (OCEI) which
converts DepEd materials into interactive multi-media content, develop application used in schools, and
conduct students and teachers competitions to promote the development of education- related web
content.
3. PheDNET, is a “walled” garden that hosts educational learning and teaching materials and application for
use by Filipino students, their parents, and teachers. All public high schools will be part of this networks
with only DepEd-approved multi-media applications, materials, and mirrored internet sites accessible from
school’s PCs.
4. Established Community eLearning Center called eSkwela for out of school youth (OSY) providing them
with ICT-enhance alternative education opportunities.
5. eQuality program for tertiary education through partnerships with state universities and colleges (SUCs) to
improve quality of IT education and the use of ICT in education in the country, particularly outside of Metro
Manila.
6. Digital Media Arts Programs which builds digital media skills for government using Open Source
technologies. Particular beneficiary agencies include the Philippine Information Agency and the other
government media organizations, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, National Commission for Culture
and Arts and other government art agencies, State Universities and colleges and local government units.
7. ICT skills strategic plan which develops an inter-agency approach to identifying strategic and policy and
program recommendations to address ICT skills demand supply type.

All the seven programs were guided by the roadmap that embeds policy statements that relate to

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education specifically in the enhancement of developments for teaching and learning.

Some Issues on ICT and Internet Policy and Regulations

Global Issues
Access and Civil Liberties are two sets of issues in ICT policy which are crucial to the modern
society. The other concern is civil liberties, which refer to human rights and freedom. This includes
freedom of expression the right to privacy the right to communicate and intellectual property rights.
Access to the use of internet and ICT. Access means the possibility for everyone to use the
internet and other media. In richer countries, basic access to internet is most available to all with faster
broadband connections. There are still countries where access to the internet is still a challenge.
Infringement to civil liberties or human rights. What are specific internet issues on internet policy
that have relationship to civil liberties or human rights? Study the examples that follow:

Issue no. 1: Freedom of Expression and Censorship

Under international human rights conventions, all people are guaranteed the rights for free
expression. However, with the shift from communicating through letter, newspaper and public meetings to
electronic communications and on-line networking, a need to investigate how these new means modifies
the understanding of freedom of expressions and censorship.
Ex: Individual rights are given up having access to electronic networks.
Censorship restricts the transmission of information by blocking it or filtering the information.

Issue no. 2: Privacy and Security

Privacy policies are an issue. Most commercial sites have a privacy. When someone uses a site
clicks “I agree” button, it is as if you have turned over private information to any authority that may access
it.
For most, privacy means “personal privacy” the right of individuals not to have their home, private
life or personal life interfered with.

Issue no. 3: Surveillance and Date Retention

The use of electronic communications has enhanced the development of indirect surveillance.
The new and powerful form of indirect surveillance is dataveillance. Dataveillance is the use of personal
information to monitor a person’s activities while data retention is the storage and use of information from
communication system.

Issue no. 4: E-pollutants from E-waste

Large amount of e-waste in generated by ICT. These are, terminal equipment used for computing
(PC’s, laptop), broadcasting (television and radio sets), telephony (fixed and mobile phones), and
peripherals (fax machines, printers and scanners).
If not controlled then, e-waste will tremendously affect climate change, damage human lives, and
overload the capacity of the earth in carrying solid waste.
Both the teachers and learners should be mindful of the e waste that are being thrown away to the
land and to the atmosphere.

Implications to Teaching and Learning

How do the policy guidelines, projects and issues relate to the teaching and learning?
There are great implications of this lesson to both the teachers who are teaching and the learners
who are learning. A few of these are as follows:

For the Teachers and Teaching

Guide the teachers on what they should teach that relate to ICT, and how to teach it. Since ICT
development comes rapid and fast, teachers might be overwhelmed by its rapid speed. Temperance in its
use is a caution that should be looked at.
Technology should never replace any human teacher. The tools are support instructional
materials for the teachers which are available for use. The teacher should learn how to appropriately use
them.
There are rules and regulations that govern the use of technology. Caution should be observed to
protect individual privacy. As teachers, you must be aware that the use of technology may jeopardize your
privacy and security.
All the issues and many more shall be part of the teaching content as each teacher will be

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encouraged to use technology in teaching.

For the Learners and Learning

The learners of the 21st century is even more advanced than some of the teachers. However,
learners still need guidance on how to use, regulate technology use. As there are positive and negative
effects of technology use, learners should know the difference. Learners should not only know the
benefits of technology use, but they should also know how they can be protected from the hazards that
technology brings to their lives.
Learners should take advantage of the potential of learning support they can derive such as the
development of higher order thinking skills, the development of learning communities through
collaboration, the enhancement of skills to manage the vast resources as 21st century learners and many
more.
Both the teachers and learners should be mindful of the e waste that are being thrown away to the
land and to the atmosphere.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

Assume yourself as an investigator who would like to inform your learners and co-teachers about the current
issues on technology. Search the web and find out articles or cases about

A. Freedom of Expression and Censorship

B. Privacy and Security
C. Surveillance and Data Retention
D. Pollutants from E-Waste

Choose only two articles or cases that you will work on. Prepare a summary of your research.

Article/ Case 1:
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Article/ Case 2:

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SAFETY ISSUES ON THE USE OF ICT INCLUDIG E-SAFETY RULES

It’s probably not immediately obvious to the average child – or many adults for that matter – but
moderate to heavy computer use brings with it a number of areas of risk when it comes to health and safety.
This lesson covers a wide range of aspects of health and safety in the use of ICT – including ergonomic
chairs, the positioning of furniture and computer hardware, cables, use of keyboard and mouse, posture and
the need for breaks, plus includes a range of exercises designed to prevent injury.

Some Risks in the Use of ICT and e-networking

Technology is the phenomenon that seems to be uncontrollable. Despite the so many benefits of
teaching in learning, there are also negative effect or influence on the learners. Hence, as future teachers you
have to be aware of how to safeguard learners in the school communities where they spend most of their
waking hours and also their homes or facilities that provide opportunities to use digital technologies like
Internet Cafes. Safeguard and protection should be the primordial role of parents, teachers, and school. There
are so many risks that we must be aware of in the use of digital technologies. These may include the
following:

1. Exposure to inappropriate content, including online pornography, extremism (exposure to violence

associated
with racist language).

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2. Lifestyle websites including like self-harms and suicide sites and hate sites.
3. Cyberbullying in all forms, receiving sexually explicit images or messages.
4. Privacy issue including disclosure of personal information.
5. Health and well-being (amount of time spent online, internet gaming and many more);
6. Prolonged exposure to online technologies, particularly at an early age.
7. Addiction to gambling and gaming.
8. Theft and fraud from activities such as phishing.
9. Viruses, Trojans and spyware and other malware; and
10. Social pressure to maintain online networks via texting and social networking.

Minor Misuse of ICT

In schools, some minor misuse made by learners include the following:

 Copying information into assignment and failing to acknowledge the source
 Downloading material not relevant to their studies.
 Misconduct associated with subject logins, such as using someone the password.
 Leaving a mobile phone turned on during class period.
 Unauthorized taking of picture or image with mobile phone career still or moving.

E-safety

E-safety takes care not only of internet technologies but also of electronics communication via mobile
phones. Here are some issues of e-safety:
 E-safety helps safeguard children and young people in the digital world.
 E-safety emphasizes learning to understand and new technologies a positive way.
 E-safety educates children about the risk as well as the benefits so we can feel confident online.
 E-safety support young learners and adult to develop safe online behavior, both in or out of school.

Network Management

Network management is defined as the process of managing a network for fault and performance
using various tools and technologies to keep up with the business requirements.

1. Safety in the use of network in schools

1.1. Make clear that no one should log in as another user.
1.2. Require all users to always log off when they have finished working.
1.3. Maintain equipment clean to ensure health and safety.
1.4. Provide students with access to content and resources through guided e-learning.
1.5. Set up a clear disaster recovery system in place for critical data that include secure, remote back up
of critical data.
1.6. Secure wireless network to appropriate standards suitable for educational use.
1.7. Install all computer equipment professionally and meet health and safety standards.
1.8. Review the school ICT system regularly regarding health and safety and security.
2. Password Policy
Only authorized users will have individual passwords. Users are not permitted to disclose their
passwords unless they got permission from the owner or from the management. The equipment that keeps
the personal information shall be locked when unattended to prevent unauthorized access. Computers
should be set to a time out if they become unused for a certain period.

3. Personal mobile phones and mobile devices

All mobile phones shall be kept away in a box away from the children or learners and access is only
allowed at break time or at the end of classes or when needed during the class period.

4. Cameras
4.1. Taking picture only from parents or caregivers and not from any other family member or friend while
the child attend class.
4.2. Any picture taken of children shall be on cameras solely for the purpose.

Setting up an Educational Technology Room

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School that plan to dedicate a room where the students can access technologies for learning should
include the following safety rules.
1. Provide tables, these tables can be tilted and adjustable to the height of the users.
2. Provide anti-glare screen filters.
3. Provide adjustable chairs.
4. Provide foot support.
5. Make sure lighting is suitable.
6. Make sure workstations are spacious.
7. Create a work plan at a computer laboratory to maximize its use.

More specifically, safety rules that can reduce risk of accidents in the working stations should include:
1. No trailing wires across or around the room which people can trip on.
2. Electrical sockets should not be overloaded.
3. Electrical equipment should be safety-tested at least once a year.
4. There should be an adequate space around desk for people to move.
5. Bags and obstacles should be stored out of the way.
6. Food and drinks should not be placed near machines.
7. Heating and ventilation should be suitable for the working environment.
8. Fire extinguishers should be available.
9. Fire exists should be clearly marked and free from clutter.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2

Using Facebook messenger, interview the following persons:

1 ICT manager
1 student
1 teacher

Ask the following questions for each:

1. Do you have an ICT facility in the school?
2. What composes this facility?
3. Who can use the facility?
4. What are policy guidelines and rules in the use of the facility?
5. What are the safety rules that need to be followed by any user?

Record all the information and separate the answers of the interviewees.
What are common in their answers? What are different? (Attach evidences)

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SUMMARY

Here are some pointers to remember:

 ICT Policies are needed to put a roadmap or course of actions to be pursued and adopted by various
governments, organizations, entities involving ICT.
 Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) shall be the primary policy,
planning, coordinating, implementing, and administrative entity of the Executive Branch of the
government that will plan, develop, and promote the national ICT development.
 The ICT for Education (ICT4E) is a program under the DICT that supports all the efforts of the
education sector in incorporating the use of ICT as well as in determining and gaining access to the
infrastructure (hardware, software, telecommunication facilities and others) which are necessary to
use and deploy learning technologies at all levels of education.
 Current issues on technology includes freedom of expression and censorship privacy and security
surveillance and data retention pollutants from e waste.
 The new ICT technologies are grouped into three categories namely information technology,
telecommunication technologies, and networking technologies.
 Technology should never replace any human teacher. Each teacher is encouraged to use technology
in teaching.
 Learners should take advantage of the potential of learning support they can derive from technology.
 When technology is not properly use it will pose danger to the users in school and at home.
 Safety issues are needed to be addressed by safety policy and guidelines.

REFERENCES

Bilbao, et al. (2019). Technology for teaching and learning 1. Quezon City, PH: Lorimar Publishing,
Inc. Pages: 26-41

Anderson, J (2010) ICT Transforming Education A Regional Guide UNESCO, Bangkok Asia and the
Pacific Regional Bureau of Education

Lucido, P. & Corpuz B. (2012) Educational Technology 2, Quezon City, Lorimar Publishing

https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/9789264239555-11 en.pdf?
expires=1594263305&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=F52D93A50B32FC042B333792984E59D1

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/digital/Pages/safety.aspx

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PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 9