The role of school libraries in promoting ICT awareness, internet literacy and e-learning in schools: a study in context

of school libraries of Silchar town

Sumita Das Research ScholarDepartment of Library and InformationScienceAssam University, Silchar, Assam

SUSMITA DAS

Department of Library and Information Science

Assam University, Silchar, Assam

Presented by

&

International conferenceOn

What’s Next in LibrariesTrends, space and partnerships

January21-23,2015

Presentation OnTopic

Introduction

ICT is about far more than legal necessities. It is how

people can make their services and workplaces accessible

to others.

ICT is a way of considering best practice for a wide range

of users of computers, websites and associated

technology. ICT can be made to work in ways that

improve the quality of organization’s work and extend

what it can achieve.

Background of the Study

Barak Valley is a very remote area although it is well

connected by air; rail and road but surface communication

takes lot of time, which results in low socio-economic

development of the region.

Access to information is viewed as a major for a well

developed society and as well as for child’s growth.

So with this focus in mind the present discussion

focuses on schools all around infrastructure as a small

information centre for building a more information aware

society.

Statement of the Problem

“The role of school libraries in promoting ICT awareness,

internet literacy and e-learning in schools: a study in

context of school libraries of Silchar”

- This study provides an overview of the use of ICT ,

internet and e-learning of this particular region .

The study will have a major influence on how learners

approach computer learning and use, Curricula and

teaching method are expected to change accordingly in

order to meet the needs of the new and progressively

more ICT competent generation.

Objectives of the Study

Following are the objectives of the study-

To study the different aspects of Information and

Communication Technology and internet literacy

used in schools.

To know the different methods of e-learning can

be used in schools.

Scope of the Study

The study has been limited to the use of ICT and internet

literacy and different e-learning methods applied in

schools and the role of school libraries in this context.

As a research subject, schools where selected both from

CBSC and SSC curriculum.

The study does not cover just the student’s knowledge

about computers, how they use internet, etc but also their

views over smart learning that is e- learning.

The scope of the study area is limited to the schools

of Silchar town only.

E-Learning Though School Library

Children's can learn in many different ways and atdifferent times and to support them we need differente-learning delivery methods.

Additionally, we need to develop a way and managee-learning for schools which may include:

E-mail;

Instant messaging;

Chat or conferencing;

Internet telephony;

Video conferencing;

Blogs;

E-Learning Tools in Information Seeking Behavior

Instant Messaging can be used to communicate with students

as well as with parents enabling more students to participate in

collaborative learning.

Likewise school librarian can create discussion groups as

Online Groups Online discussion forums where requesting

students to comment on a question posted by school librarian

can encourage community participation Collaborative

learning.

For live lecture Communication with students Video

Conferencing can be done with students Support by audio,

chat and whiteboard can be recorded and later be used for on

demand lectures Demo.

Data Analysis and InterpretationThe study is covering student’s knowledge about

computers, how they use internet etc.

Only 5 schools have been taken into consideration for the

purpose of the present study because of the simple reason

that this region has very few schools covering all the

facets of researcher’s topic.

The data collected by the above mentioned methods were

analyzed and inferences were made based on standard

statistical techniques.

Percentage of Respondents

71.43

28.57

Received

Not Received

Usage of Smart Class Room

70

30

Percentage of Respondents (%)

Yes

No

Usage of Instant Messaging

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Yes No

60

40

Percentage of the Respondents (%)

Percentage (%)

Awareness on Different ICT components

05

101520253035404550

Internet Computergames

Socialnetworkin

g sites

Wikipaedias

Otheronline

databases

Percentage (%) 30 10 8 50 2

30

10

8

50

2

Percentage of the Respondents (%)

Literacy About Internet

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Email ID account Literacy onOnline

databases

Literacy oninternet

searching skills

70

0

30

Percentage of the Respondents (%)

Percentage (%)

Usage of Library Material for School Projects

60%

40%

Percentage of the Respondents (%)

Yes

No

Usage of Taking Help from Librarian for Borrowing Books

20%

80%

Percentage of the Respondents (%)

Yes

No

Usage of Taking Help From Librarian To Search The Internet

40

60

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Yes No

Percentage of the Respondents (%)

Percentage (%)

FindingsIt has been found that all the students know how to search the

internet but only few students use library computer to access social

networking sites.

Although the surveyed students preferred using digital information

sources, the low use of online databases is a matter of concern. It

also appeared that the students had limited knowledge of a wide array

of functions provided by smart classroom technology but a ray of

hope can be instant messaging in this area.

There is a need for school libraries to strengthen their promotion

and user-education programmes to create more awareness about

information resources available to students and instructors. It was

also noted that the students were frequently using web search engines

and wiki websites for getting study-related information.

Future Research DirectionsSynchronous communication tool as online communication

can be used to communicate with students as well as with

parents and its effect and affect can be a interesting area for

further research like GoPost that allows visitors to view

conversations without logging in.

For live lecture Communication with students Video

Conferencing can be done. Like for example Google

HangOuts. When creating a meeting in google calendar you

can automatically add a hangout. So when your meeting rolls

around it takes just one click to join. With custom control from

admin side.

There are school librarians who are taking initiative in

this respect and necessary research should be done before

implementing such things.

ConclusionSchool libraries not usually spend a significant amount of theirbudgets each year for acquiring a variety of informationsources, it will be a smart move if they use internet resourceswhich are available freely over web.

Emergence of new information formats and delivery channelsprogress of information communication technology andinternet are resulting in a rapid transformation in theinformation landscape; like Online discussion forums can beformed where requesting students to comment on a questionposted by school librarian and apparently it can be used ascurrent awareness service.

By joining hands school libraries and blended learning methodthough e- learning can collaborate to develop basicinformation literacy skills among their students which will beuseful in the proper identification, selection, acquisition,evaluation and use of high quality information.

Thank You