To our knowledge, neither studies nor validated frameworks currently exist to establish an integrative approach to ICT needs assessment. 13 A systematic and inclusive ICT implementation, with the participation of all areas inside an academic institution, is essential to increase the chances of success. 12 Challenges and gaps exist, however, such as uncoordinated planning and implementation, shortages of trained staff to cope with the diversity of responsibilities and tasks, resistance from staff and reluctance to be retrained, the need to recognize and utilize the appropriate technology and tools, and the need to engage staff with proper knowledge and skills, among others. Therefore, higher education institutes worldwide are redesigning their educational systems, teaching methods and learning practices. Without these tools and technologies, individuals and institutions have poorer chances to address 21st-century issues and challenges. 11 Institutions have to integrate the innovative tools made available by ICT to increase access to and improve the quality and competitiveness of higher education programs. In order to develop successful online programs, however, it is necessary to understand what the specific ICT needs of an institution are.Īccording to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), investments in higher education are essential for economic growth, and the global demand for higher education is predicted to increase vastly from less than 100 million students in 2000 to more than 250 million students in 2025. 10 Although face-to-face interaction in a classroom setting seems to be preferred among education professionals, the numbers of online universities and online courses offered by on-campus universities have risen in the past 10 years.
9 Online education is essential for students whose physical presence in class is impeded because of work or family responsibilities, geographical limitations, health issues, or other constraints.
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7 Information management tools are thus necessary for these professionals to navigate through the vast amounts of data and information available.Īccording to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ICT “can contribute to achieving universal education worldwide, through the delivery of education and training of teachers, improved professional skills, better conditions for lifelong learning, and the potential to reach people that are outside the formal education process.” 8 In the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, ICT is highlighted as the means to reach the underserved, to listen and learn from their experience. 6 In 2003, a study reported that 55 new clinical trials were performed per day, 1,260 articles were indexed in MEDLINE per day, and 5,000 papers were published in the health field per day. This includes the ability to use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information and the possession of a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information.” 5 ICT tools are also indispensable to healthcare professionals and researchers because of the current volume and complexity of information available from different sources (peer-reviewed journals, the Internet, mainstream media). 4 The US National Higher Education ICT Initiative (2003) defines ICT knowledge as “the ability to use digital technology, communication tools, and/or networks appropriately to solve information problems in order to function in an information society. In the education and higher learning context, ICT enables healthcare professionals to be updated and trained on knowledge advances wherever are located. ICT can generate important contributions to public health, from education to surveillance. In the context of public health, ICT, if properly designed and implemented, can generate many positive outcomes: improved access for communities in rural or remote areas support of healthcare professionals real-time disease surveillance data sharing and data capture, storage, interpretation, and management. 2 Benefits of ICT can be achieved directly, through improved healthcare provision and disease prevention, or indirectly, through improved social infrastructure, economic growth, or other broader determinants of population health.
1 ICT incorporates electronic technologies and techniques used to manage information and knowledge, including information-handling tools used to produce, store, process, distribute and exchange information. Information and communication technology (ICT) has contributed immensely to social and economic improvements, such as higher employment and productivity, increasing access to a higher quality of life.