"Those Who Can, Teach" - The Pivotal Role of the Teacher in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Learning Environment

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education is often perceived to be the critical element in the drive towards a knowledge-based society. It is believed that ICT helps students confront their own preconceptions in a critical way and become thinkers with emerging theories about the world, and hence, develop a culture of thinking among them. As ICT empowers students, it cannot be assumed that the teacher's role is superfluous and no external agency is required to facilitate the use of ICT. Although the teacher no longer monopolizes activities as the transmitter of the subject matter, he/she takes on a broadened role of mediating the learning of individual students. Based on a case study of the use of WinEcon in an A-level Economics course in England, this paper provides a descriptive and interpretive account of the pivotal role of the teacher in the course. Relieved of the necessity of being the exclusive source of expertise and authority, the teacher in such an environment plays a broadened role in designing, organising and re-adapting activities to help students apprehend the structure of the discourse, integrating parts, acting on the world and descriptions of the world, using feedback, and reflecting on their learning experiences.