TE year2sourcebook/year2 unit2 Topics of Study in the Unit

Integrating digital tools into transaction of Mathematics, Science, Social science and Language subjects

inclusive classrooms

ICTs for creating and using assessment information - conducting formative assessments.

moving away from focusing only on text / writing as a method of expression to allow expression in image, audio and video formats. Assessments must evolve to allow teachers to confirm conceptual understanding of students, by allowing such multiple modes of expression

Socio-cultural, political and economic implications of ICT on society.

ICTs are having far reaching socio-cultural, political and economic implications, both positive and negative on our society

Political

Political processes in many countries have been impacted by ICT. Political leaders now participate on virtual platforms that allow them to communicate with people directly. For e.g. Twitter which is a 'micro blogging' platform, is used by many political leaders, as well as government departments to briefly communicate their work and information.

Mass movements have also used digital networking tools to collaborate and support action. It is believed that during the Egyptian struggle for democracy, protests were coordinated using social networking platforms/tools, which made them more effective. The counting of votes has now become a fraction of time, used earlier, through 'electronic voting machines' and in a large country like India with a large voter base, counting for an entire constituency can be completed in a matter of hours.

Think and talk it over The use of Internet by people mobilising in Egypt during the 'arab spring' is discussed in detail in 'Internet Activism and the Egyptian uprisings : transforming on-line activism into the off-line world' by Tim Eaton (source* - https://www.westminster.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/220675/WPCC-vol9-issue2.pdf). Read this article and discuss the concept of 'mediated mobilisation'. Can a variation of such a strategy be used for instance by women, to protest against liquor shops in villages? Can you create a group of your classmates, using a tool like 'Whatsapp' to discuss ways/methods of raising awareness against alcoholism or domestic violence? You may have used Whatsapp earlier as a general purpose communication tool, here you should use the group only for serious discussions on the issue and to plan an event in your institution, or in your community, to bring together people to advocate against alcoholism / domestic violence) (*The listed article was sourced using 'Google Scholar' a search engine that provides links to scholarly / academic articles. Can you search Google Scholar for articles of interest to you).

Digital technologies also allow unauthorised access (even spying). Emails and documents can be 'hacked' and accessed. A large part of our ICT infrastructure is privately owned, and the companies which often provide it 'free' (of cost) to users, may be using the information users feed, to monetise the same as well as share it with others. The sharing of such information both authorised by us (when we agree to the 'terms of use' of the software/tool), as well unauthorised, can be for the commercial gains of the company (they can sell or hire this information to advertisers for example), or for political purposes (to enable governments or other agencies to spy on us). ICT make tapping much simpler and easier, since the data passing over the global networks can be easily 'hacked' and a copy of the information shared with the people conducting such espionage.

Thus the digital nature of ICTs can be both greatly beneficial as well as greatly harmful for furthering human rights and development. Hence a critical perspective is essential, and as a teacher we need to be cautious against the hype that surrounds ICTs, as a panacea for all problems. In this unit, we will discuss the challenges and problems posed by ICTs, in every discussion on their benefits also, to enable you to keep a balanced and critical perspective.