Why you need ICT skill as a student

ecause of the many benefits of application of ICT technologies in learning process, several governments are fast digitizing learning process. This is seen in the digital policies government is pursuing and implementing in the education sector. Such policies include creation of computer lab in public and private schools,introduction of computer science at all levels of education etc. The introduction of computer science even at primary school level proves that every student needs sufficient ICT skill to survive in the school environment. It is not news that most primary school students use electronic devises and the internet more than their parents.

Hilkemeijer advocates that the advancement of digital technology in the world has made it very necessary for children to be exposed to digital technology at early stage in life. He believes that by the end of primary school education, primary school pupils should be able to handle some computer accessories like mouse. They should have basic computer skill like knowing how to use the keyboard, knowing how to click and double click. They should know how to boot a computer system and perform some basic tasks using information and communication technology. This is believed to provide them with the ability to confidently use and interact with the computer in other to meet up with the demand of modern education system. This is the generation we are in.

Aside this, schools on their own are also transforming the way learning and academic activities are run because application of ICT technologies in education has been seen to promote efficiency and effectiveness in school management. Works that could have taken hours and much money to do can now be done in minutes and with less fund.This is why you as a student cannot do without ICT skill in this computer age.

Most academic activities in high institution is currently done online

through the World Wide Web. These activities include ranges from applying for admission, entry registration, payment of school fees, registration of courses, submission of assignments, communicating with tutors and school authorities, writing and submission of assignments, writing project

It is obvious you need ICT skills like the ability to use Ms Word, Ms excel, Internet browsing, e-library, social media platforms, blogging etc to perform those tasks as a student.

RESEARCH

ICT training equips you with necessary skill to maximize the potentials of academic research. You need ICT training to acquire skills that will enable you use varieties of rich academic resource materials offered by the World Wide Web. ICT skill is needed in writing assignment, writing project and any other form of academic research work. There are a whole lot of online materials available for academic research you could benefit from if you have the requisite skill. These materials include eBooks, open access books, e-journal, e-Libraries etc.                 

To be a functional student, you must learn how to make use of the internet services to source these materials for academic research. Information and communication technology gives you access to some analytic software for research analysis but you can only use it when you have the skill. It saves time and money spent in data generation and analysis.

ACADEMIC PRESENTATION

The use of power point in seminar presentation is another reason you need ICT training. High school research sometimes require you to present your research work with PowerPoint. You could also use PowerPoint to hold seminars on selected or given topics. It means that without ICT skill on the use PowerPoint you will not be able to function in that direction.

E- REGISTRATION and

E-PAYMENT

Before the digitization process; you need to be physically present in school to pay your fees and do your registration. The story is different now with the introduction of e-payment platform. Modern Schools have online platforms for payment of fees by their students. The implication of this is that with good ICT skill you can comfortably pay all your academic fees and register your courses online from the comfort of your home without necessarily traveling down to your school.

This helps you shed of some time consuming school activities before returning to school for a new academic session. When you don't have the necessary ICT skill, you end up spending more money and time to have others do your school registration and payment online for you. Days are gone when you queue at cyber cafes to get the assistance of cyber cafe attendants in running some school activities which you could have done with your smart phone from the comfort of your room. It is better to spend your time and money to acquire ICT skill than spending the money to pay those who have got the skill to help you run your school functions.

COMMUNICATION

You should have good knowledge of effective use of email technology to communicate both your tutors and the school authority. Most often, high school project supervisors chose to communicate their supervisees via email and this requires a good knowledge of how to attach files or compose mails.

This method of communication could fasten your research work and make it a lot easier. It saves you the time wasted at supervisor's office for supervision and correction. You could send your work to your supervisor's email at ease and get back the correction through email. Even

while on break or outside school environment you could still relate with your supervisor as the research goes on.

Also, modern schools always create a platform where students could easily lay their complaint. With relevant ICT skill you could maximize this opportunity to easily resolve issues and solve problems that would have taken you much time resolve manually.

With basic ICT skills some of the problems you encounter in school will just require sending an email to the appropriate authority to resolve them. When you have the skill you can save yourself a lot of stress, time, energy and money it would have cost to solve those problems manually.

Since education has moved pass the analogue stage to digital stage, you must pursue ICT knowledge and skill with serious zest to achieve academic success. If you are a student in this generation, it is difficult to imagine how you will cope with learning without proper knowledge of the functions and the use of digital technology. You must possess enough ICT skill to survive in the current school environment.

You can only acquire this skill by enrolling for ICT training. It is not too late to start now!