OPTIMISATION OF ICT FOR EDUCATION IN REMOTE AREA

Novia Anggraeni

UKM LEPPIM UPI

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the method in delivering remote education by involving ICT’s touch. The main idea of this paper is focused on remote learning for children from remote area. ICT for education in remote area aims to distribute and deliver the education to every child who lived far from the formal school. By using ICT, children who lived in remote area do not have to attend the formal classical class. Interface between teacher and pupils can be substituted by using web camera that is connected to the class directly and so did with submitting exercises or homework. All of class activity is supported by technology usage. Children who cannot attend the class can visit the small building that provided by the government which equipped by ICT peripheral to facilitate in their learning activity.  This method may ease the government to execute the Constitution of Republic of Indonesia Chapter XIII, Article 31, verse 1 – 5 (1945), which explain about national education and UNESCO’s mission about education for all (1994). It is government’s responsibility to give the equal opportunity to every child to access the education. The expected result from this method is children from remote area can get their right to experience education from formal school without leaving their place and implement their new knowledge to their life. Therefore, implementation of ICT for education in remote area is necessary to build a better nation through education.

Key words: remote area education

INTRODUCTION

The ICT development in distance education world had begun since early 90’s. Learning method that using ICT day by day grow exponentially. It provided an opportunity to all children to obtain the education services. Children who lived in remote area and got many obstacles to go to the formal school may get so many advantages in learning activity by using ICT in the learning process.

So, what kind of technology which could provide this education services? How to implement it in the remote area? What kind media than could bridge learning activity from the teacher to the children who lived in remote are who could not attend the formal classes?

The writer tried to deliver the purposes of this paper in this chapter. This chapter also emphasized the learning method by using ICT as its optimisation.

DISTANCE EDUCATION AND ICT DEVELOPMENT

Education is a process of receiving or giving systematic instruction (Oxford Dictionary). In the process of receiving or giving the knowledge absolutely involved many aspects on it. One of them was ICT usage to help the education execution. ICT or Information and Computing Technology (Concise Oxford English Dictionary) allowed the learning matter to be more exciting and interesting. Generally ICT usage for education was only used by school which located in town. Along with the global development, ICT were needed by almost every human in every country, as well as education. To bring education to all over the world with no excuse, even for the people who lived in the jungle of Amazon, ICT were required.

In order to comprehend the function of ICT in education, it could be perceived by the main general function of ICT which are presenting information, quick and automatic completion of routine tasks, and assessing and handling information (Isjoni, et.al, 2008:13-14). Those functions were capable to be implemented and fitted to the education system.

The more sophisticated ICT expansion, the more ICT should be able to facilitate the education through learning methods.  To make children in remote area could experience a good quality of education without leave their place, the suitable method to make it realised was a virtual class. Virtual class allowed the learning activity between teacher and telestudents at the same time even though they were in very different places. This technology called ‘Virtual Reality’ or VR (John Tiffin, et.al, 1995:6-7). So it was not impossible for teacher to give the learning matters to Dayak children who lived in the hinterland of Kalimantan’s Jungles without leaving the classroom and other children who were studying in the same room as the teacher.

To execute tele-learning through ICT, there were some aspects to be concerned such as learning activity, teaching process, conveying the knowledge, and problems.

Experiencing the distance education in remote area made the telestudents perceived the educational and managerial benefits, cost savings and productivity gains as outweighing any inherent limitations in the technology.

DESIGNING THE DISTANCE EDUCATIONAL MODEL

Government as institution which was responsible for education of children in remote area should build the telecommunication infrastructure in remote area and provide ICT peripherals in every education institution whether it was a primary school, secondary school, or even higher education institution. This project may start from the public school. The most important thing was that those ICT peripheral such as desktop PC or even public portable computer (laptop) must connected to the high speed internet connection. So, government were prosecuted to construct broadband network to enhance the speed of internet access.

Figure 1. Model of Telecommunication Network System for Remote Area Education

Beside of making telecommunication infrastructure, the telecommunication infrastructure might be a bridge to execute the learning activity, government also had to build a small building to put the ICT peripherals. This building called ‘House of Learning’ or HL. HL must completed by a tutor who able to help the telestudents to access the education through the computer. Beside of helping telestudents to access the education through the computer, the tutor will also introduce this technology for the traditional community. It was interesting to see how readily the traditional community in using ICT. It was important to cooperate with them. The traditional community that had been given the understanding about ICT usage to educate their children would not be still in state of “close-minded”. They would be opened to the new technology and would not against it if it was beneficial to their life. The benefit that they might get was the education for their children and also the technology that might ease them to get the update information.

Figure 2. Feedback learning system by using telecommunication radio network

Interface between teacher and telestudents could be occurred by video streaming technology. Video streaming also allowed telestudents to be able to follow learning activity during the class. Therefore, every classical must be equipped by at least one personal computer which was connected to the internet. So, this kind of technology made the interaction between teacher and telestudents possible.

Conveying the subject matter fully handled and assisted by school’s official website. Firstly designing the websites that accessible to the telestudents was substantial. School’s website was not only as a centre of school information (school profile, board direction, school extracurricular, etcetera), but also school’s website were obligated to provide every student’s learning needs.  The website must contain: direct access to the class, learning module centre (the modules must be downloadable), direct access to teacher web page for submitting routine tasks or homework. The design of website itself might not be so decorative but the major instructional purposes (foster attention, increase retention, enhance understanding, create context) (Duschatel, 1978 on Cunningham, et.al, 2009:165) were compulsory to be included. Cited from Cunningham (2009), the website must contain these following components:

1)      Curriculum plan

2)      Home page

3)      Student activity pages

4)      A teaching guide

5)      Online rubrics and self-assessments

6)      Feedback mechanisms

7)      Selected links

After designing the website, school must be able to make the school’s website. As the explanation in previous paragraph, school must be able to provide telestudents educational needs throughout the website. In making website many people should be involved.

1)      ICT expert or web designer who competent in making and managing interactive education website.

2)      Curriculum maker who capable to organise what kind of subject matter that proper to the telestudents.

3)      Subject teacher to determine which matter are suitable for the children.

Publishing the website after it has been made and arranged was the most essential thing. The published website should be designed to support a sustained process of teaching and learning (Cunningham, et.al, 2009:1).

IMPLICATION OF TELESTUDENTS’ EDUCATION

            The execution of telestudents’ learning activity would not be so different from the student whose study in the formal school in urban area. The intervention of ICT in their education will mean so much. They will also get the same quality of education. The author believed that someday by using ICT in education no one will left behind, because every children able to access the same education information as their equality education right.

            The telestudents from remote area are also will have competition capability which they can use to contribute for the nations’ sake. They will have a good self-esteem with no being underestimated or psychological bullied by other students.

CONCLUSION

ICT in education were necessary to be implemented. In order to distribute education and learning process in remote area, the future ICT could help the government to give the equal right of education to all children in Indonesia with no excuse. In constructing ICT infrastructure the government needs the contributions from all related field, such as ICT expert, telecommunication service provider, education practitioner, etcetera.

Traditional community role in cooperating with the government would ease the government to implement this method. Children from remote might be easier to access the formal education without leaving their place. By using this technology, the optimisation of ICT for education in remote area would be on its optimum point.

REFERENCES

Cunningham, C.A. and Billingsley, M. 2009. Curriculum Webs: Weaving the Web into Teaching and Learning (Second Edition). United States of America: Pearson Education, Inc

Isjoni and Ismail, M.A.H (Ed.). 2008. Pembelajaran Virtual Perpaduan Indonesia-Malaysia. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar

Lockwood, F (Ed.). 1995. Open and Distance Learning Today. London: Routledge

Tiffin, J. and Rajasingham, L. 1995. In Search of The Virtual Class. London: Routledge