The Importance of Introducing a Course on Information and Communication Technologies for Development into the Information Technology Curriculum

This paper, originally published in the International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2010, Vol. 6, Issue 1, studies the role and the importance of information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) education in information technology (IT) programmes. The aim of this study was to assess the role and importance of ICT4D in IT education and practice in an advanced undergraduate course at the New York Institute of Technology, at the Amman Campus, Jordan, between 2006 and 2009.

The objectives of the ICT4D course are stated as follows:

• To provide students with an understanding of the main issues associated with ICT4D.
  
• To give students the opportunity to gain some of the technical skills of relevance to the implementation of ICT4D programmes (e.g. website development, group work, distance-based learning, methods, mobile communications, etc.)
  
• To introduce them to practical aspects of the delivery of ICT4D programmes through the use of external practitioner seminars and workshops.
  
• To encourage them to think critically about the link between technology and development.
  
• To provide them with skills and understanding relevant to future careers in the field of ICT4D, both though research and in practice.

The research gathered data from students who attended the course. "Data were collected through two questionnaires developed by the researcher responsible for teaching the course. The first questionnaire was administered in the first lecture of the academic semester, and the second questionnaire was administered in the last lecture."

Student opinion on the role of ICT4D in IT practices included the following positive response rates in the final questionnaire data:

• Helps in bridging the digital divide and in addressing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): 70.5%
  
• Improves success rates of ICT4D: 64.7%
  
• Helps in designing applications for socio-economic development in own country: 85.9%
  
• Makes IT professionals play new roles: 72.6%

The study concludes: "... students consider an ICT4D course an important ingredient in the IT curriculum. Of the students, 98.8% expressed that ICT4D had an important role in IT practices and education, 97.1% stated that they were satisfied with the course, 96.7% expressed that the course met the objectives. The results of this study lead to a call for ICT4D courses to be included in Bachelor of Information Technology curriculum at the Amman Campus."