The document discusses some of the issues and challenges with integrating information and communication technology (ICT) into teaching and learning in Malaysian schools. It notes that while ICT integration can help develop students' innovative and creative skills, many teachers do not utilize ICT facilities in their classrooms. Some reasons cited include lack of basic ICT skills among senior teachers and heavy workloads that leave little time for teachers to learn new technologies. A second issue is unequal access to ICT - facilities are more common in urban versus rural schools. This can disadvantage students and teachers in rural areas. To ensure successful ICT implementation, the educational department needs to address these problems and challenges to improve the system for the future.

1. The issues and challenges in Intergrating ICT in teaching and learning in Malaysia
Schools
Today, our educational system tends to produce fresh graduates with not only an excellent
result, but also with creative and innovative mind, to satisfy the need of the current job
market. Integrating ICT in teaching and learning will help to promote the ICT interest and
knowledge among the students. But, certain issues have been raised since the implementation
of ICT in the educational system.
The first issue I want to point out here is many school teachers do not make use of the ICT
facilities in school during their class lessons. Although using the ICT in teaching and learning
is not something new, there are still many teachers preferring not to use ICT in their teaching.
This usually applies to those senior teachers. The reason they frequently give is that they are
not well prepared with basic ICT skills. Some of them even do not acquire the basic
knowledge of internet access and email. As they do not have the relevant knowledge, it
makes them feel uneasy to conduct their class lessons with the assistance of ICT facilities.
Most of them think that the ICT devices are unnecessary since they are still conducting their
class lessons without any device. Nowadays, many teachers claim that they are always loaded
with lots of paper works, assessment and co-curricular activities. As we know, the majority of
the teachers in Malaysia are females. Apart from working, they have to spend their time on
settling their household chores. So they find it impossible to have extra time to acquire the
latest ICT skills. As a result, they fail to keep themselves up-to-date with this technology.
The second issue is that the ICT application in our education is not an overall plan. The ICT
facilities are more likely available in the schools in urban areas. Schools in rural areas lack of
these facilities and the internet service is most likely inaccessible. The teachers are still using
the traditional teaching methods. As a result, they would rarely have chance to being exposed
to the ICT facilities. Consequently, they would be left behind as they are unable to stay up-to-
date with the latest ICT knowledge. Integrating ICT in teaching and learning is absolutely an
initiative to improve the quality of learning, but it seems to only benefit those in urban areas.
The rural lacks of the opportunity to make use of this technology and this may cause them to
be less competent to those in the urban areas. This would not only affect the students but
those teachers as well. They may have similar problems when they are transferred to schools
in the city. Even though the ICT facilities have been provided, they will try to avoid using
them in their teaching.

2. To ensure the successful implementation of ICT in our educational system, the educational
department should be serious with the issues raised. Appropriate actions should be taken to
overcome these problems and challenges for our better future.

3. UNIVERSITI PENDIDIKAN SULTAN IDRIS
TBC 3013 Information and Communication Technology in
Biology
Forum
Name: Yip Sook Han
Matric Number: D20091034841
Group: A
Date:26 August 2010
Lecturer: Assoc Prof Dr Sopia Md Yassin