VERITAS COLLEGE OF IROSIN TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING

AND LEARNING 1
IROSIN SORSOGON

MODULE NO.2

“ICT POLICIES AND ISSUES: IMPLICATIONS TO TEACHING AND

LEARNING”

Module 2 Lesson 1: Policies and Issues on Internet and Implications to Teaching and Learning

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. Discussed some ICT policies and explained their implications to teaching and learning
2. Explain some issues that relate to ICT policies
3. Identified safety concerns on Internet including digital safety rules

Target Learners: Bachelor of Secondary Education Students

INTRODUCTION
Globalization is a reality and ICT has become a fundamental part of the process. A networked society
is one in which the entire planet is organized around telecommunication networks of computers. The powerful
use of network has broken boundaries, provided opportunities for inclusion and collaboration. However, there
will also be a struggle for those who do not have access or those who are excluded marginalized and
powerless. Thus, a need to establish policies in the use of ICT imperative
As the Department of Information, Communication and Technology (DICT says: "The future has
arrived. Now we have to ensure that we have a place in it."

MODULE 2 LESSON 1: POLICIES AND ISSUES ON INTERNET AND

IMPLICATIONS TO TEACHING AND LEARNING

1. Discussed some ICT policies and explained their implications to teaching and
learning
2. Explain some issues that relate to ICT policies

New technologies have become central to the lives of every individual in this planet. Whether you are
talking on the phone, sending an electronic mail, going to the bank, using the library, watching news on
television, going to the doctor, catching flight, or seeing a movie, you are using ICT. Almost everything that
we do in the modem world is influenced by the new technologies.

Would your life as a teacher be also influenced by the new technologies? Should we leave our lives to
be controlled by technology or should we control the utilization of technology in our lives? How?

One way of enhancing and regulating the use of ICT is to formulate and implement policies to guide
appropriate decisions

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 Definition of ICT Policy

The Oxford English Dictionary has defined "policy" as a course of action, adopted and pursued by a
government, party, ruler, statesman. It is any course of action adopted as expedient or advantageous. Its
operational definition of policy is a plan of action to guide decisions and achieve outcomes.
Thus, ICT Policies are needed to put a roadmap or course of actions to be pursued and adopted by various
governments, organizations, entities involving ICT. These include principles and guidelines in the use of ICT
which cover three main areas: telecommunications (telephone), broadcasting (radio and television) and
Internet

The New ICT Technologies

More recent technological innovations increased the reach and speed of communications which
can be grouped into three categories:

1. Information Technology includes the use of computers, which has become indispensable in
modern societies to process data and save time and effort. What are needed will be computer hardware
and peripherals, software and for the user, computer literacy.

2. Telecommunication technologies - include telephones (with fax) and the broadcasting of radio and
television often through satellites. Telephone system, radio and TV broadcasting are needed in this
category

3. Networking technologies - The best known of networking technologies is Internet, but has extended
to mobile phone technology, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) satellite communications and other
forms of identifying strategic and policy and program recommendations to address

Some Issues on ICT and Internet Policy and Regulations Global Issues

Access and Civil Liberties are two sets of issues in ICT Policy which are crucial to the modern
society. The other concern is civil liberties which refer to human rights and freedom. These include
freedom of expression, the right to privacy, the right to communicate and intellectual property rights.

Access to the Use of Internet and ICT. Access means the possibility for everyone to use the
internet and other media. In richer countries, basic access to internet is almost available to all with
faster broadband connections. There are still countries where internet connection is still in challenge.

Infringement to Civil Liberties or Human Rights. What are specific internet issues on
internet policy that have relationship to civil liberties or human.

Let us study the examples that follow

ISSUE NO. 1: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND CENSORSHIP

Under international human rights conventions, all people are guaranteed the rights for free
expression. However, with the shift from communicating through letter, newspapers and public
meetings to electronic communications and on-line networking, a need to look into how these new
means modifies the understanding of freedom of expression and censorship. The UN Universal
Declaration of Human Rights provides that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion, likewise the right to freedom of opinion and expression. However, there are practices that
violate these provisions in the use of internet. Some examples are the following:

1. Individual rights are given up in order to have access to electronic networks. Microsoft
Network's (MSN's contracts provide protection of individuals like "upload or otherwise make available
files that contain images, photographs or other materials cited by intellectual property laws, including
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but not limiting to copyright or trademark laws, unless you own or control the rights thereto or have
received all necessary consents to do the same." However, Microsoft reserves the rights, in its sole
discretion, to terminate access to any or all MSN sites or services.

2. Censorship restricts the transmission of information by blocking it or filtering the

information. Blocking is preventing access to whole areas of internet based upon the “blacklist" of
certain Internet address, location email addresses while filtering is sifting the packets of data or sms
they move across computer networks and eliminating those consider undesirable materials. The
selection of sites that are blocked or filter has been considered as an issue

Warning!!!!
When you are surfing the web, you may think you are anonymous, but there are various
ways that information about you or your activities can be collected without your consent

3.Defamation actions may be used to silence critics. This action deters the freedom of
expression

ISSUE NO. 2: PRIVACY AND SECURITY

Privacy policies are an issue. Most commercial sites have a privacy policy. When someone
uses a site and clicks "I agree" button, it is as if you have turned over private information to any
authority that may access it.
There are several types of privacy as shown by the following examples

1. For most, privacy means "personal privacy“ the right of individuals not to have their home,
private life or personal life interfered with.

2. Privacy of communication refers to the protection from interference with communication

over the phone or internet. Respect for privacy of communications is an essential prerequisite
for the maintenance of human relationship via technological communications media

3. Information privacy is related to the use of computers and communications system which
are able to hold and process information about large numbers of people at a high speed. It is
important to ensure that information will only be used for purposes for which it was gathered
and will not be disclosed to others without consent of the individuals.

ISSUE NO. 3: SURVEILLANCE AND DATA RETENTION

The use of electronic communications has enhanced the development of indirect surveillance.
In the indirect surveillance, there is no direct contact between the agent and the subject of surveillance
but evidence of activities can be traced. The new and powerful form of indirect surveillance is
dataveillance. Dataveillance is the use of personal information to monitor a person's activities while
data retention is the storage and use of information from communication systems. There is very little
that can be done to prevent surveillance What can be done is to change the methods of working to
make surveillance difficult. This called "counter surveillance" or "information security" if it refers
to computers an electronic communication.
ISSUE NO. 3: E-POLLUTANTS FROM E-WASTE

Large amount of e-waste is generated by ICT These are in particular, terminal

equipment used for computing (PC laptops), broadcasting television and radiosets) telephony (fixed
and mobile phones and peripherals (fax machines, printers and scanners)

The accumulated e-waste is due to rapid turnover of equipment due to rapid improvement of
software. While material waste can be destroyed by crushing, toxic material brought about by the
different equipment requires utmost management. The quantities of e-waste are increasing in both
developed and developing countries. A very dismal state is that there is a significant amount of
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electronic waste that has been shipped from industrial countries to developing countries, using less
environmentally responsible procedure.
Remedies include standardization and regulatory measures to increase the life cycle of
equipment before they become obsolete. Efficient extraction of toxic components and requiring the
recycling by both consumers and equipment vendor are selling must be required.
If not controlled then, e-waste will tremendously affect climate change, damage human lives,
and overload the capacity of the earth in carrying solid waste.

IMPLICATIONS TO TEACHING AND LEARNING

How do the policy guidelines, projects and issues relate to the teaching and learning?
There are great implications of this lesson to both the teachers who are teaching and the learners who
are learning. A few of these are as follows:

FOR THE TEACHERS AND TEACHING

1. Guide the teachers on what they should teach that relate to ICT, and how to teach it Since
ICT development comes so rapid and fast, teachers might be overwhelmed by its rapid speed.
Temperance in its use is a caution that should be looked at.
2. Technology should never replace any human teacher. The tools are support instructional
materials for the teachers which are available for use. The teacher should learn how to appropriately
use them. The human touch of the teacher is still a vital component in teaching Teachers should always
be reminded that there are always limitations in the use of the different gadget and tools
3. There are rules and regulations that govern the use of technology. Caution should be
observed to protect individual privacy. As teachers, you must be aware that the use of technology may
jeopardize your privacy and security.
4. All the issues and many more shall be part of the teaching content as each teacher will be
encouraged to use technology in teaching.

FOR THE LEARNERS AND LEARNING

The lemurs of the 21st Century are even more advanced than some of the teachers. However,
learners still need guidance on how to use, regulate technology use. As there are positive and negative
effects of technology use learners should know the difference. Learners should not only know the
benefit of technology use, but they should also know how they can be protected from the hazards that
technology brings to their lives.

Learners should take advantage of the potential of learning support they can derive such as the
development of higher order thinking skills, the development of learning communities through
collaboration, the enhancement of skills to manage the vast resources as 21" century learners and many
more. Both the teachers and learners should be mindful of the e-waste that are being thrown away to
the land and to the atmosphere. Thus, safety in the use of technology shall be presented in the next
lesson

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