INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN GEOGRAPHICAL EDUCATION - A NEW CHALLENGE IN CONNECTION WITH THE EDUCATION REFORM IN POLAND

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are needed at all stages of education. This statement at the beginning of the 21st century is no longer debatable. There is general agreement that access to computers and software will help to increase the preparation of students for life in the information society. In Poland, the progress in this area is dynamic, so we can observe the development of skills enabling the use of mobile devices: a new generation of tablets, smartphones, multibooks, miniprojectors and the latest software. Empirical research confirms the constantly growing importance of ICT in educational practice. A computer, a smartphone or the Internet are important elements of the work of many Polish teachers and students. Thanks to them there is not only easier access to information, but also an increasing hope for more substantive interest in them among teachers and consequently also students. The activities of Polish teachers in the area of more widespread use of ICT are enforced first of all by the provisions of the core curriculum - the ministerial document, which serves as a guideline for the work of teachers in schools. The aim of the article is to discuss various aspects of the presence of ICT, in particular geoinformation technology and GIS (Geographic Information Systems), in geography education in the context of current challenges related to the educational reform in Poland and the adoption of a new core curriculum in geography for primary and secondary schools.