The offering of this new stream, in an M.Ed aimed at educators who want to better their academic prospects and hone their pedagogical skills, raises a few questions. For instance, have regional educational markets reached a point where instruction in ICT-mediated content delivery becomes necessary? Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that the educational environment that has tended to vary vicariously between the two extremes of traditionalism on the one hand and an almost total reliance on information communication technology (ICT) induced distance learning on the other.

But Dr. Awan Naz, a lecturer in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Education, disagrees with that viewpoint. She leads the ICT in Education stream of the BUiD Masters programme, and has special interests in the use of educational technology in teaching and learning environments, knowledge representation and educational assessment methods.

According to her, traditional methods of learning delivery are not at odds with ICT-enabled pedagogical practices. While she is passionate about the potential of information communication technology to extend the delivery and absorption of new knowledge, she observes that ICT is just another tool in an educator's portfolio.

“Information communication technology is not restricted to laptops, wireless networks and Virtual Learning Environments [VLEs]. The history of technology as a teaching tool predates such developments. Educators as far back as the 70s were televisions and VCR recordings in the classroom to increase interest and immersion from their learners. For instance, the educational programme Sesame Street was a staple teaching aid for young learners.

“These tools increased student engagement and stimulated interest. Even in the face of opportunities afforded by new ICT, the basic challenge of education at all levels remains what it always has - actually getting your learners to meaningfully interact with information,” said Dr. Naz.

While the history of ICT in the classroom may be long and varied, it was the widespread proliferation of Internet based technology that cemented ICT's role in learning delivery. background. The Internet has facilitated greater access, an increased diversity of resources, and the ability to bring together different media in new ways, while supplanting older mediums. Where a high school history teacher may have shown a period drama on television to highlight the context of a political event, she would now turn to the Internet for online resources.

“The power of ICT and online connectivity lies in the vast resources of information it enables access to. ICT can help present information in different ways to help learners assimilate better because not everyone learns the same way. Websites such as Youtube offer a lot of free tutorial content on just about any subject. For instance, there is even a dedicated section for electric guitar playing tutorials that contain commentary along with grip illustration. The tutorials are supported by forums where learners can talk to other guitar players about techniques, practice sessions and area clubs,” she explained.

Yet the empowering flexibility and diversity of ICT and online resources also poses a host of challenges on how to establish best practices. Educators have to ensure that there are no negative by-products from the use of such technology, and that the technology is applied in carefully structured ways.

“No teacher will present their students with a text book and ask then to read through it end to end without guidance. Why then have a raft of ICT tools without proper guidance? Information may be freely available from web-based tools, but it is the job of the educator to give learners the conceptual framework to interrogate, critique and research that information,” said Dr. Naz.

It is in this context that the M.Ed with a pedagogical ICT stream becomes relevant. Dr. Naz notes that the BUiD Masters' new stream was introduced specifically to catalyse pedagogically sound use of information communication technology, with appropriate checks and balances. She is quick to reiterate that educational technology is not just Internet based, but encompasses a large spectrum of aids such as multimedia CDs and interactive presentations. The emphasis is not on the type of technology, but how to successfully deploy it in a structured classroom environment.

The new stream follows a curriculum reflecting core practitioner concerns,with modules exploring how ICT may be accountably harnessed in support of learning, how elearning can be combined with to face-to-face lectures to offer blended learning, and how the implementation of educational ICT may be managed from a coordinator viewpoint.

A critical component activity in learning with technology mediation is assessment and concept checking. “Learning has moved on to constructed, socially meaningful learning. Learners need to be able to combine different ideas to discern meaning from content. Educators can only tabulate results from such approaches when concept checking becomes an integral part of pedagogical technology,” Dr. Naz commented.

In a recent research, Dr. Naz examined the need for concept checking in learning within a multimedia environment. According to her research results, realism in animation convinced more learners that they had come to grips with the subject under study, but actual test scores did not reflect their increased confidence. The research pointed to the need for strategies built into tutorials to time-prompt and concept-check learners.

While ICT enables learners research the Internet, conduct interviews, learn software, and present reports in specific formats and show intellectual creativity, it presents instructors with the dilemma of successfully assessing the learning accomplished through such channels.

In response, the BUiD Masters in Education emphasises assessment and accountability. The programme examines how ICT may be used to improve literacy, facilitate science education and benefit language learning.

The synthesis of traditional and ICT mediated forms of education is a key tenet of the BUiD M.Ed programme. Dr. Naz believes that blended learning, where e-learning supplements traditional face to face sessions, is the way forward for curriculum delivery.

“In the 80's and early 90's, experts and practitioners thought that the use of ICT would replace face to face teaching. But that isn't in the mandate of ICT introduction.At the BUiD, we treat ICT as a powerful tool, but nothing more than that. It is meant to substitute not for human interaction, but for older devices like televisions and VCRs. Admittedly, you can have courses delivered solely online, but that isn't the only way courses are managed in tertiary education,” she notes.

An essential element in blended learning is how well instructors themselves use the tools at their disposal to improve their skills. For instance, in the UK, most higher education institutions actively encourage their teachers to upload their courses onto WEBCT or Blackboard, Moodle and other Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). By taking recourse to such environments, educators can present learners with rich content above and beyond lecture notes. The practice is also gathering momentum in the Middle East, as was evident at the recent Blackboard Summit held at the Dubai Men's College in early September.

Yet, uptake of new ICT tools has been a contentious process for the educator fraternity. Even at present, tertiary education can still be quite traditional, with teachers wary of technological mediation. On the other hand, most young learners are comfortable with interacting with the world through technological means - both socially and for business. In fact, young learners are using technology more frequently and for more diverse purposes than their instructors.

When queried on why academics were lagging behind students in using ICT tools, Dr. Naz unequivocally leapt to the defence of academics the world over.“When ICT was first introduced in the distance learning forum in America, there seemed to be a failure for academics to uptake the new technology.

“Studies conducted showed that academics faced time crunches when confronted with the additional burden of adapting coursework for the ICT milieu.When not teaching, academics are usually conducting research that plays an instrumental role in furthering their careers. Hectic schedules leave little time or motivation for academics to develop rich material that fulfils the potential that ICT affords.

“The issue could partly be addressed by allowing academics sabbaticals to develop their courses to take advantage of the added functionality afforded by new ways of presentation and communication.”

But how necessary is a Masters in Education with a focus on synthesising ICT with pedagogy? Dr. Naz believes the answer to be obvious. For starters, the Middle East region is striding towards accepting, and actively supporting ICT-rich business and learning environments. There has been a significant increase in investment on e-learning tools, which has been bolstered by significant interest form universities across the spectrum - for instance, many Middle Eastern countries have signed up for the Partners in Learning* programme, and the region is showing signs of a rapid transition to a knowledge-based economy.

“Most people that work in any type of environment are working with technology, and the education sector is no different.We saw that there was genuine market demand for the BUiD M.Ed stream from educators looking to effectively manipulate ICT tools to improve learning delivery,” said Dr. Naz.

So where does the Middle East region go from here in terms of educational information communication technology? Dr. Naz thinks there are three key trends clearly emerging in the region.

First, the Middle East has to date been following a pattern dictated by Europe and the USA,where technology is first introduced in tertiary education and then percolates downwards. But the region is now looking at the advantages of the UK model that introduces ICT to younger learners who are more digitally proficient and literate because they already use technology to interact socially.

Further, the Middle East is seeing a gradual rise in the basic level of ICT literacy and use.

Dr. Naz notes that the United Arab Emirates has realised that the maintenance of a high quality workforce necessitates a general level of ICT education. Apart from general literacy, phalanxes of specialised ICT professionals are undergoing training and entering the market. So while there is greater awareness of general ICT education, such as that provided by ICDL**, there is also a higher degree of specialisation with professionals recognising the need to keep abreast with practices in their field.

Lastly, as new paradigms of ICT become available, and find favour with users and learners, the possibilities of didactical uses becomes stronger. At the moment, mobile learning (or m-learning) is generating interest simply because of mobile phones' ubiquity and their central role in social and business settings.

“Learners are using technology in innovative ways. As educators, our challenge is to understand how the technology is being used, and see if the same technology can be harnessed to deliver learning. Educators will need to be brave enough to equip themselves with the skills needed to use new technology in pedagogically sound ways,” Dr. Naz noted.

M-learning is already being trialled across the globe; for instance at the 'learndirect' programme in Scotland for hard to reach professionals, at the 'Maths4life' programme in Europe, and the 'UNITE' programme for schools in Greece. Dr. Naz holds that the increasing ubiquity of technological mediation in education and work leads to a redefinition of the concept of literacy.

“Any type of society with a deluge of information will face challenges on how literacy is defined. The definition of literacy needs to move beyond reading, writing and arithmetic. Information communication technology- such as the Internet - offers powerful tools for the absorption and dissemination of information. It is becoming well understood that use ICT in education can complement and strengthen the learning environment,” she said.

The BUiD M.Ed's new stream, focussing on pedagogical uses of ICT, is part of a region-wide trend of using the potential of technology to learn, educate and communicate. As didactical dynamics shift with increasing fluidity, the onus of adapting to new possibilities is on practitioners, buyers, educators and suppliers alike.

*A Microsoft led programme that develops technology, tools, programs, and solutions to help address education challenges in cooperation with education communities.
**ICDL is a vendor-neutral digital literacy program that is acknowledged through official testing and proves that the certificate holder has fundamental skills in using Information Technology for tasks such as word rrocessing, spreadsheets, browsing, communication, and e-mailing.