Abstract
Information and Communication Technology has become a vital part in the nontraditional teaching and learning environment in primary education. There is an abundance of research work that describes success stories of the practical application of information technology in primary education. Even though it is easier to motivate these young learners in the developed world to use computers, it is an arduous task in developing countries like Sri Lanka due to reasons such as the applications not in being in the local context which in turn has demotivated learning facilitators to make use of computing aids in teaching programs. This paper highlights some of the issues that the primary students of developing countries are facing, the current educational systems and the role of technology and the game based learning paradigm in primary education. It also discusses the use of computer games in teaching and learning with an analysis of different types of games such as simulations, serious games and edutainment systems. Furthermore the paper discusses the technological aspect of learning and the opportunities that arise with the introduction of tablet computing devices. Finally the paper discusses the possibility of an ICT enabled Learning Environment in primary education which supports a pedagogy focused on tablet based games and managed through a Learning Management System.
Highlights
Traditional LearningIn the tradition leaning environment, most often the teacher is the centre of education
Two of the key aims of primary education in Sri Lankan are to ensure full participation of children between the ages five and ten years in primary education and one hundred percent of these children attaining the Essential Learning Competencies targeted through primary education [1]
This paper focus on how a technologybased environment could be used to support primary education, by examining the problems cause by the lack of qualified teachers and resources
Summary
In the tradition leaning environment, most often the teacher is the centre of education. All power in this environment lies with the teacher and the teacher is the one who makes the decisions. “What to teach?”, “How to teach?”, and “When to teach?” The teacher is seen as the individual with all the knowledge and the learners are at the receiving end of facts, information and skills. Some researchers even argue that, the traditional teachers think of learners as “Knowledge holes” which require filling with information [8]. Primary education needs to be teachercentric environment since those learners need a close supervision. Some researches define teachers as “motivational socializers”[9]
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