Public policy and ICTs in education

Abstract

The following article details the current state of public policies for the social acceptance of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in educational communities located in Medellín, Colombia, and the impact that these policies have had. The tools used to measure the impact of these policies have been based on how these technologies are applied and used, together with how well students and teachers that are a part of state schools with student populations that come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have accepted these technologies. The implementation of these policies has transformed both teaching and learning processes in educational settings, where ICTs have been included into the curriculum. There has also been a significant impact on the societies that surround these schools as they use ICTs in extra curricular activities such as “open classroom” days. The roles that teachers and students take in these new learning and teaching environments have also evolved in such a way that there is more access to information and knowledge can be more readily attainable.