Hilkemeijer advocates thatthe advancement of digital technology in the world has made it very necessaryfor children to be exposed to digital technology at early stage in life. Hebelieves that by the end of primary school education, primary school pupilsshould be able to handle some computer accessories like mouse. They should havebasic computer skill like knowing how to use the keyboard, knowing how to clickand double click. They should know how to boot a computer system and performsome basic tasks using information and communication technology. This is believedto provide them with the ability to confidently use and interact with thecomputer in other to meet up with the demand of modern education system. Thisis the generation we are in.
Aside this, schools on their own arealso transforming the way learning and academic activities are run becauseapplication of ICT technologies in education has been seen to promoteefficiency and effectiveness in school management. Works that could have takenhours 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 inhigh institution is currently done online through the World Wide Web. These activities include rangesfrom applying for admission, entry registration, payment of school fees,registration of courses, submission of assignments, communicating with tutorsand school authorities, writing and submission ofassignments, writing project
It is obvious you need ICT skills like theability to use Ms Word, Ms excel, Internet browsing, e-library, social mediaplatforms, blogging etc to perform those tasks as a student.
RESEARCH
ICT training equips you with necessary skill to maximize thepotentials of academic research. You need ICT training to acquire skills thatwill enable you use varieties of rich academic resource materials offered bythe World Wide Web. ICT skill is needed in writing assignment, writing projectand any other form of academic research work. There are a whole lot of onlinematerials available for academic research you could benefit from if you have therequisite skill. These materials include eBooks, open access books,e-journal, e-Libraries etc.
To be a functional student, you must learn how to make useof the internet services to source these materials for academic research. Informationand communication technology gives you access to some analytic software forresearch analysis but you can only use it when you have the skill. It savestime and money spent in data generation and analysis.
ACADEMICPRESENTATION
The use of power point in seminar presentation is anotherreason you need ICT training. High school research sometimes require you topresent your research work with PowerPoint. You could also use PowerPoint tohold seminars on selected or given topics. It means that without ICT skill onthe use PowerPoint you will not be able to function in that direction.
E- REGISTRATION and E-PAYMENT
Before the digitizationprocess; you need to be physically present in school to pay your fees and do yourregistration. The story is different now with the introduction of e-paymentplatform. Modern Schools have online platforms for payment of fees by theirstudents. The implication of this is that with good ICT skill you can comfortablypay all your academic fees and register your courses online from the comfort ofyour home without necessarily traveling down to your school.
This helps you shed of some time consuming school activitiesbefore returning to school for a new academic session. When you don't have thenecessary ICT skill, you end up spending more money and time to have others do yourschool registration and payment online for you. Days are gone when you queue at cyber cafes toget the assistance of cyber cafe attendants in running some school activitieswhich you could have done with your smart phone from the comfort of your room. Itis better to spend your time and money to acquire ICT skill than spending themoney to pay those who have got the skill to help you run your schoolfunctions.
COMMUNICATION
You should have good knowledge of effective use of emailtechnology to communicate both your tutors and the school authority. Mostoften, high school project supervisors chose to communicate their superviseesvia email and this requires a good knowledge of how to attach files or compose mails.
This method of communication could fasten your research workand make it a lot easier. It saves you the time wasted at supervisor's officefor 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 oroutside school environment you could still relate with your supervisor as theresearch goes on.
Also, modern schools always create a platform where students couldeasily lay their complaint. With relevant ICT skill you could maximize thisopportunity to easily resolve issues and solve problems that would have takenyou much time resolve manually.
With basic ICT skills some of theproblems you encounter in school will just require sending an email to theappropriate authority to resolve them. When you have the skill you can saveyourself a lot of stress, time, energy and money it would have cost to solvethose problems manually.
Since education has movedpass the analogue stage to digital stage, you must pursue ICT knowledge andskill with serious zest to achieve academic success. If you are astudent in this generation, it is difficult to imagine how you will cope withlearning without proper knowledge of the functions and the use of digitaltechnology. You must possessenough ICT skill to survive in the current school environment.
You can only acquire this skill by enrolling for ICT training. Itis not too late to start now!