ICT in the 21st Century is seen as an essential resource to support learning and teaching, as well as playing an important role in the everyday lives of children, young people and adults. Consequently, schools need to build in the use of these technologies in order to arm our young people with the skills to access life-long learning and employment.
Information and Communications Technology covers a wide range of resources including; web-based and mobile learning. It is also important to recognise the constant and fast paced evolution of ICT within our society as a whole. Currently the internet technologies children and young people are using both inside and outside of the classroom include:
Websites
Apps
E-mail, Instant Messaging and chat rooms
Social Media, including Facebook and Twitter
Mobile/ Smart phones with text, video and/ or web functionality
Other mobile devices including tablets and gaming devices
Online Games
Learning Platforms and Virtual Learning Environments
Blogs and Wikis
Podcasting
Video sharing
Downloading
On demand TV and video, movies and radio / Smart TVs
Whilst exciting and beneficial both in and out of the context of education, much ICT, particularly web-based resources, are not consistently policed. All users need to be aware of the range of risks associated with the use of these Internet technologies and that some have minimum age requirements, usually 13 years.