INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT EDUCATION DURING COVID-19

The purpose of this research is to make a synthesis of the literature specialized in the implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) in the educational environment, taking into account the advantages and disadvantages, benefits and limitations, given the previous attempts of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also the current needs generated by social distancing. We take into account both educational and technical activities, necessary for the generation and support of online communication and evaluation platforms.


Introduction
The personal development and the specific competencies necessary in the professional, educational, but also in the social activities require more and more the use of information and communication technology (ICT). Although the younger generations naturally tend to everything that is new, the mature ones still resist change. But the fact that these information technologies are intuitive and easy to use makes these mature generations not indifferent.
The increasingly important place occupied by new technologies in everyone's lives determines the decision makers to understand how their use would help in the development of the educational system, to the detriment of the classic textbooks, the worksheet, the experiences from the real workshops / laboratories. The European Union has set itself the objective of research in the field of Information and Communication Technologies, in the Seventh Framework Program (FP7), to increase the competitiveness for european TIC industry so that it can model and control its evolution in relation to the requirements of the economy and society.
The appearance of the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide determined the urgency of the process of implementing new technologies in the education of young people carried out by teachers from different institutions.

Media pedagogy. Challenges.
We are now witnessing the formation of a new education, also called media pedagogy. The way of scientific and social knowledge is considerably based on online and the information technologies offered. Both teachers, students, students, managers, artists, athletes and other categories, as well as those responsible for information technology face the biggest challenge of their careers. From the point of view of those responsible for the technology, the problems appear due to the dysfunction at the level of the infrastructure, the "denial of service" type attacks or sites that fall due to the heavy traffic.
The challenges determine three modes of action: 1. ensuring the stability and continuity of educational, economic and social life; 2. institutionalization of new ways of working; 3. prioritizing the technology transformed by the knowledge accumulated during the crisis and obtaining resilience. The current conditions lead us to understand the "new normal". The end of the crisis will not mean a complete return to the usual methods. The current crisis, through its characteristics, demonstrates the essential importance of technology and digital channels for almost any organization, be it educational or otherwise.
The contemporary revolution, amid the technological boom and the Covid-19 pandemic, means not only the integration of new technologies but also the various types of extremely abundant information. The capacity for analysis and synthesis is intensely demanded as well as the critical spirit, essential in sorting information.
Society has become increasingly dependent on information, its processing and transmission. As a result, the concept of information society appeared, bringing multiple positive effects (Brown, T., Wyatt, J., 2015) such as: reducing physical and even intellectual effort by automating activities; reduction of data processing and transmission time; increasing performance due to the quality of information.

Advantages of the New Information Tehchnologies in Education
The advantages offered by the new information technologies to education are indisputable: quick access to the multiple scientific resources existing in the online databases that help in deepening the studied concepts; open, interactive and interdisciplinary way of teacher-student-student interaction; access to various video materials, tutorials that help in knowing the information and developing online communities of enthusiasts for a certain concept / field. More, other advantages are: quick access to the multiple scientific resources existing in the online databases or the virtual libraries that help in deepening the studied concepts; open, interactive and interdisciplinary way of teacher-student-student interaction; access to various video materials, tutorials that help in knowing the information and developing online communities of enthusiasts for a certain concept / field. Nayar and Kumar (2018) argued that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) removes time and space constraints in higher education and allows access anytime and anywhere. We can also add as a benefit, the specialized learning of tasks; social modeling also takes place through interactive communication on forums, virtual networks or specific communities. To these aspects is added as an advantage, graphic programs that aim at developing the specialized skills of young people, avoiding elements related to language or other barriers. Another benefit is the fast and specific evaluation of the A large number of higher education institutions have adopted some form of social media for educational or promotional purposes. In addition to the websites created, educational institutions have also opted for social networks due to their interactive nature and the ease of creating specific groups (Kang & Norton, 2006).

Some limitation and risks about the TIC used in education
There are some voices that fight the use of information technologies for instructional and educational purposes. This is because the educational software is accused of simplifying the information so as to require zero effort on the part of the student. It is also noted that articles or documents without scientific basis, or specialized references, could lead to misinformation of students, or even completely wrong. Other observable risks in the case of using information communication technologies are related to: vulnerability regarding the personal data of students and teachers; they should be protected; the risk of cyberbullying (cyberbullying); lack of infrastructure, computers and Internet, in some geographical areas; teachers do not have the necessary skills for distance learning and for the use of virtual and digital means; the appearance of school dropout.
As a key element in the education of young people, teamwork appeared in which students share their skills and competencies in order to have as many chances as possible in obtaining interesting and useful materials, but also for a special experience. Thus, for the teacher it becomes difficult to coordinate and evaluate the work scenario and the intellectual contribution of each participant ( Other observable risks in the case of using information communication technologies are related to: vulnerability regarding the personal data of pupils, students and teachers; they should be protected; the risk of cyberbullying (cyberbullying); lack of infrastructure, computers and Internet, in some geographical areas; teachers do not have the necessary skills for distance learning and for the use of virtual and digital means; the appearance of school dropout.

Conclusions
However, there are scientific studies (Ashraf M., Hoque R., 2016; Donner J., Toyama K., 2009) that show that the application of information technology in education is one of the main factors in the development of a nation. Information technology is considered important for communication and distance education, but it is intended to be used in the short term, as a temporary solution. It is considered that the direct teacher-student / student interaction in the classroom is essential for school / university life and can be achieved even in those areas without infrastructure.
We conclude that, although there are certain opposable aspects between the two education systems, the traditional one and the one based on digital technology, they can still be completed, when the social distance imposed by the regulations on Covid-19 will disappear. The multiple advantages of the new educational system, based on ICT, are important and deserve to be capitalized, bringing added value to the traditional system based on human interaction, often essential.