ICT systems are increasingly being used in educational institutions to help students, especially those with disabilities, learn at their own pace. Computers can be programmed to vary difficulty and allow students to repeat material, benefiting those who progress slower. ICT also allows teachers to monitor student progress, record data, and provide feedback more easily. However, there are risks of antisocial hacking that schools and examination boards work to prevent.

1. THE USE OF ICT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
Nadia W
Schools, Universities and Colleges
ICT systems are being used more and more in educational institutions. ICT systems are
especially helpful in the learning of the disabled. Students with disabilities tend to
progress at a slower pace than their more able counterparts.
One of the benefits of using computers in teaching and learning the disabled is that
computers don’t criticize the students, being very patient regardless of the speed of
learning the student demonstrates. Computers can be programmed to vary the speed at
which students go through materials and also alter the level of difficulty based on
previous responses. Students can repeat sections over and over again which would not
be otherwise possible except with the most patient of teachers.
Computer-aided assessment and Record Keeping
Teachers are able to monitor the progress of each students using computer-aided
assessment as well as providing students with feedback. Progress can also be recorded
for teachers to examine them whenever they way. This impacts society because data can
be transferred from school to different schools.
Antisocial use of ICT
There is a risk of students hacking into systems and amending results or question
papers, so precautions are essential.
Examination Boards
Examination boards now use online marking systems to mark examination papers. The
papers are scanned by workers at the examination board and then put onto a server –
this is accessed by the examiner using special marking software. The computer adds the
marks together to arrive at the total.
Antisocial use of ICT
Hackers could get into the system and access student records. However, since all marks
are encrypted and the systems are equipped with firewall, it should be impossible to
gain access to the marks in anything other than an unintelligible form.