ICT: Definition, Types and its role in developing 21st Century Skills

     Reflect on your daily routines. Can you live in a day without using your mobile phones? Can your day be completed without visiting your social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and etc.)? If not, then, that's a clear evidence of how ICT has influenced you of which, a day without it is incomplete. ICT is indeed always with us. But how do we define ICT?

  ICT stands for "Information and Communications Technology". It is a huge umbrella term and has absolutely become one of the fundamental building blocks of our modern society. ICT refers to all the devices, applications, systems and networking components that facilitate interaction with the digital world. It is also generally viewed as a collection of technological tools and instructional resources that are used to communicate, develop, design, disseminate as well as manage information, to include computers, internet, radio, television, mobile phones and software.

     ICT and its continuing development has truly influenced the way we live, work and think. It plays a crucial role in different fields such as  in the work place, entertainment, business and most importantly in education of which its influences are strongly felt. According to UNESCO, when teachers are digitally literate and understand how to incorporate ICT into the curriculum, it can have a positive impact on student learning. That is why, ICT integration in classroom instruction has been put part of the curriculum as it helps accelerating and enhancing the teaching and learning process. ICT integration in education refers to the incorporation of computer-based communication into the daily classroom educational process (Ghavifekr & Rosdy, 2015). Integrating ICT also shifts the traditional teacher-centered teaching to learner-centered wherein the teacher's role is a facilitator of students' learning.

     There are a lot of ICT tools that can be used in the classroom to support the learning and development of both literacy and language of children. As claimed by Luo and Lei (2012), the types of ICT tools are as follows:

Type of ICT tools	Definition	Examples
Educational Networking	Online learning platforms that connect learners using social networking technologies, exhibiting similar functions to sites like Facebook or MySpace.	Ning, Classroom 2.0, Elgg
Web-Based Learning	A set of online applications or services that expand learners’ abilities to interact and collaborate with each other in the process of searching, receiving, organizing, and generating educational content	Wiki, blog, podcasting, social bookmarking, virtual worlds
Mobile Learning	Mobile devices or technologies used for educational purposes that support different aspects of instruction or make new educational activities available.	Smartphone, PDA, GPS (for augmented reality games), interactive response pads
Classroom Equipment	Stand-alone devices that are used in traditional classrooms to facilitate the interaction between teachers and students in different class activities.	Interactive whiteboard, touchscreen computer, Kiosk

    Using ICT in the teaching and learning process is significant for providing students opportunities to learn and apply the required 21st century skills - personal and social responsibility, critical thinking, digital competence as well as collaboration and communication abilities. Aside from the fact that ICT enhances the teaching and learning, it is also critical for teachers to fulfill their role as pedagogical environment creators. It enables a teacher to present his or her teaching in an appealing and easy-to-understand manner for students at all levels of education.