New technologies are penetrating education. But new technologies are usually simply added to other topics in schools, not really integrated. New technologies are not widely used in schools as one would have expected some years ago; the generalization of new technologies has become one of the main problems, and integration is now a necessary step. Integration can be defined as "combining parts in a whole". In this paper, I examine the question of integration in several aspects: hardware and software integration, integration into disciplines, integration in teaching and learning. In particular, I discuss the evolution of the profession of a teacher towards an "integrated" profession, that is with many different competencies which are not only juxtaposed, but which are interact, and I draw some conclusions for teacher education. Education now needs to design integrated environments; this is a huge task for educators. This paper poses a number of questions about integrating new technologies into education, in order to evolve from juxtaposition to integration. Only when new technologies are integrated, will their use become natural, easy, and will they have a wide effect on teaching and on learning.
It is a generally accepted truth that without a proper educational system no country will prosper, nor will its inhabitants. With the arrival of the post-industrial society, in Europe and elsewhere, it has become increasingly clear that people should continue learning over their entire lifespans lest they or their society suffer the dire consequences. But what does this future lifelong learning society exactly look like? And how then should education prepare for it? What should people learn and how should they do so? How can we afford to pay for all this, what are the socio-economic constraints of the move towards a lifelong-learning society? And, of course, what role can and should the educational establishment of schools and universities play? This are questions that demand serious research efforts, which is what this paper argues for.
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