ABSTRACT
The study was designed to determine the extent of ICT facilities utilization by lecturers and enhancement of effective teaching in Colleges of Education in Cross River State. Specifically, the study was designed to determine the extent of ICT facilities availability, accessibility, requisite skills of lecturers, how often lecturers utilize ICT facilities and how they on the utilization of these facilities in enhancing effective teaching. The study was guided by 5 research questions and 5 null hypotheses. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study and because of the size the entire population was studied. Utilization of ICT Facilities for Effective Teaching Questionnaire (UICTFETQ) was the instrument used for data collection. The instrument was validated by four experts and the overall reliability coefficient of 0.771 was obtained. The data collected from the five research questions of the study were analyzed using the mean and standard deviation. A one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses 1-4. The independent t-test was used to test hypothesis 5. The data analysis revealed that, the availability and accessibility of ICT facilities in enhancing effective teaching is to a very low extent, the extent to which lecturers possess the requisite skills of ICT facilities utilization is to a low extent. That lecturers in the Colleges very seldom utilize ICT facilities and that the extent to which lecturers in public and private colleges differ on the utilization of ICT facilities in enhancing effective teaching is to a low extent. It was recommended that, Government and other agencies should ensure the supply of ICT facilities and lecturers be allowed access to the available ICT facilities. Training programmes on ICT utilization should be organized for lecturers regularly.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Information and communication technology (ICT) is already vital tool in the successful development of education. Therefore, teaching and learning in the emerging societies require effective utilization of ICT to facilitate instructional delivery. Information and Communication Technology has therefore become a critical tool for professional training of teachers. It facilitates teacher training for an improved educational system. Consequently, the sooner teachers and students alike understand how to use ICT facilities, the earlier they would appreciate its importance in realizing their teaching and learning objectives. Recently, the Federal Government contended that computer knowledge would be a requirement for teacher employment, interviews and in some cases promotions. (Ikenga, Akiti and Onyemah, 2009).
The utilization of ICT facilities in teaching and learning will immensely enhance the quality of instruction in Colleges of Education. However, availability, accessibility and requisite skills of lecturers in ICT facilities may affect utilization. This may account for why lecturers in Colleges of Education still employ only the traditional classroom method of teaching, which has not meaningfully contributed in reviving the downward trend in the educational system.
ICT refers to the automated and computerized form of collecting, typing, copying, processing, analyzing, managing, storing, retrieving and using information for problem-solving and decision making in every aspect of human endeavour. It is daily giving rise to new concepts, new ideas and creating impact in the education sector on a daily basis, such that the teaching and learning process has been enhanced through it (Ajayi, Ekundayo & Haastrup 2009). The emergence and use of ICT has simplified teaching and learning through the application of electronic media, Internet, computers, e- presence video-conferencing and power point. This is confirmed by Ndukwe (2006), who observed that the production and introduction of calculators and computers in the education system has helped in simplifying teaching and learning in schools thereby promoting and ensuring teaching effectiveness.
This has facilitated the paradigm shift from the traditional instructional material or traditional pedagogical methods to a more modern and innovative technologically based teaching and learning methods. Thus the emergence of ICT has completely overhauled ways in which information is accessed, processed, retrieved and disseminated within organizations or across the globe and has positively affected the process of teaching. (Anaekwe, 2003). Therefore, the application of ICT to the core business of teaching and learning provides flexibility to meet the varied learning needs and abilities of learners. Akpan, (2008) asserted that, ICT utilization in teaching is capable of yielding numerous results which include: providing
learners with immediate access to richer source of materials and providing information in new and relevant ways, which help learners to understand, assimilate and use it more readily. It motivates and stimulates teaching and learning, and as well enhances learning for learners with special needs. It also motivates learners to try out new ideas and take risk, encourages analytical and divergent thinking. It encourages teachers to take fresh look at how they teach and ways in which students learn. It sharpens learners’ attention and also offers potentials for effective group and individual work (Ugwoke,
2011).
ICT facilities on their own do not enhance or stimulate the teaching
/learning process. They need to be manipulated. This has to do with the lecturers’ ability to utilize the available and accessible ICT facilities. Pacey (1999) stated that awareness towards the use of ICT in teaching and learning is increasing in the classroom in the developing world such that, mere verbalization of words alone in the classroom to communicate ideas, skills and attitude to educate learners is futile.
Despite the enormous usefulness of ICT utilization in the teaching/ learning process, it may be obvious that most lecturers in Colleges of Education do not use them because they lack the requisite skills on the use of the facilities or that the facilities are not available or accessible. This may have greatly affected their use in enhancing teaching effectiveness. According to Yusuf (2005), the effectiveness of instructional delivery
depends on the lecturer’s ability to effectively use ICT facilities to enhance his teaching. Considering the poor quality of the output in the Colleges of Education today, it is only the appropriate and adequate utilization of ICT facilities by lecturers for effective teaching and learning that can quickly arrest the rapid decline in the educational standard. This perhaps, made Laporan (2002) to make a case for exploring the significant use, availability, accessibility and the level of ICT skills possessed by lecturers in enhancing effective teaching and learning.
Asogwa (2007), also stated that, ICTs have encouraged new researches and developments in teaching and learning techniques which teacher training institutions should adopt to keep pace with ICT driven society. Stevens (2001) listed the following as some of the ICTs for teaching and learning. They include: audio-cassette tapes, radio, video-tapes, CD- ROM, DVD, Internet, Web-Based Training (WBT) programmes, public address system, audio-conferencing, interactive television, e-learning, video- conferencing, computers and power point.
In the service of education, some of the ICT facilities have been configured to specific systems, such as, Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI), Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL), Computer-Based Training (CBT), Computer-Based Learning (CBL), Internet Based Learning (IBL) and Electronic Learning (e-learning) (Ugwoke, 2011). Compared to the
traditional lecture method of teaching, the configuration of these facilities have greatly enhanced teaching with better results.
Teaching and learning in this computerized and digital age have gone beyond the didactic teacher standing in front of a group of students and disseminating information to them effectively, without the adequate use of ICT facilities. (Ajayi, 2008).
Babajide and Bolaji (2003) are of the view that, the various ICT facilities used in the teaching and learning process in tertiary institutions in Nigeria appear not sufficiently provided and thus might account for why teachers do not use them in their teaching. In furtherance to this assertion
,Ajayi (2008) stated that, it must however be stressed that the effective use of the various ICT facilities in teaching and learning depends on availability and accessibility of the facilities and teachers competence in using them. According to him, this might hinder the teachers exposure’ to the use of ICT in teaching.
Lecturers in Colleges of Education in Cross River State may still be relying on the traditional “chalk and talk” lecture method of teaching rather than embracing the use of ICT to enhance instructional delivery. It is in this vein that Okebukola (1997), posited that, computer is not part of classroom technology in over 90% of tertiary institutions in Nigeria, thus the chalkboard and textbooks continue to dominate classroom activities.
This presupposes that, there is a tendency that lecturers in Colleges of
Education do not avail themselves of the opportunities which ICT offers in the teaching-learning activities. There is need to replace the traditional pedagogical practices in Colleges of Education that emphasize didactic approaches where the teacher is seen as the only source of knowledge rather than participatory and discovery approaches that allow for multi-media applications which enrich and enliven teaching, stimulate the learners, help in retentions, illuminate and clarify non-verbal images, symbols and qualitative relationship, thereby making learning available to wider audience and free the teacher from repetitive tasks. It therefore becomes necessary to replace the didactic methods of teaching with more innovative methods that emphasize the use of a variety of ICT facilities .
Other areas of ICT utilization to enhance effective teaching in the Colleges of Education that may have suffered neglect include admission of students (through on-line registration and placement of students), registration of students (through the provision of facilities for on-line registration), students orientation (on-line information on course requirements, course outline, procedure for adding and dropping courses, grading criteria etc), instructional delivery (inadequate utilization of e-learning facilities to aid students in their independent studies, which is very necessary for this category of learners who are predominantly adults learners) and assessment of students performance to ensure prompt release of results. (Akpan, 2008).
It may also be obvious that in the Colleges of Education in Cross River State ICT facilities are either not available, accessible or that lecturers lack the requisite skills to effectively use the facilities. Hence they do not use ICT facilities to enhance effective teaching in such areas as practical lessons, experiments, teaching large classes, teaching new concepts or methods (which is of immense benefit to the students in their independent studies as adult learners), conducting and grading of assessment tests .This may be responsible for why lecturers in Colleges of Education still use the traditional lecture methods of teaching for instructional delivery instead of employing more modern ICT facilities to enhance teaching effectiveness. It is therefore against this background that this study seeks to determine the utilization of ICT for effective teaching in Colleges of Education in Cross River State. Statement of the Problem
Education in the new emerging societies requires ICT facilities application to facilitate more meaningful teaching and learning. The utilization of ICT facilities in lectures , laboratories and other ways of instructions could easily enhance the teaching /learning process. But the effective utilization of ICT facilities to enhance effective teaching is largely dependent on the availability, accessibility and the requisite skills of lecturers on the ICT facilities utilization. One of the major challenges confronting instructional delivery in Colleges of Education in Cross River State is the
issue of adjusting from the traditional lecture method to a more ICT
integrated teaching methods.
In view of the above, it might be that ICT facilities may not have been provided in the Colleges of Education in Cross River State or that the facilities are not accessible to lecturers for utilization or that the lecturers lack the requisite skills to use the facilities which may be responsible for why they do not use them.
The above reasons could adversely hinder the utilization of ICT facilities for effective teaching in the colleges, which may also be responsible for the poor quality of NCE (Nigeria Certificate in Education) graduates from Colleges of Education in Cross River State. The problem of this study is to determine the extent to which ICT facilities are available for lecturers’ use, the extent to which the facilities are accessible to lecturers, the extent to which lecturers possess the requisite skills to use the facilities and how often they utilize them to enhance effective teaching in Colleges of Education in Cross River State. Consequently this study sort to determine the extent of ICT facilities utilization by lecturers in enhancing effective teaching in Colleges of Education in Cross River State.
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study was to determine the extent of ICT facilities utilization in enhancing effective teaching in Colleges of Education in Cross River State.
Specifically, the study sort to:
1. Determine the extent of ICT facilities availability in Colleges of Education in Cross River State for lecturers’ utilization in enhancing effective teaching.
2. Determine the extent of ICT facilities accessibility for lecturers’ utilization in enhancing effective teaching in Colleges of Education in Cross River State.
3. Ascertain the requisite skills of lecturers on ICT facilities utilization in enhancing effective teaching in Colleges of Education in Cross River State.
4. Investigate how often lecturers utilize ICT facilities in enhancing effective teaching in Colleges of Education in Cross River State.
5. Ascertain the extent to which lecturers in public and private Colleges of Education in Cross River State differ in the utilization of ICT facilities in enhancing effective teaching.
Significance of the Study
The outcome of this research work will be highly beneficial to educational administrators at the level of Federal and State Ministries of Education (involved in formal adult education programmes), the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE-the supervisory agency for all Colleges of Education) Management Committees in the various Colleges of Education, Lecturers and students in the Colleges of Education .
Educational Administrators (involved in formal adult education programmes) at the various levels will benefit immensely from the findings of this research work because it will fashion their administrative approaches in terms of training and retraining of staff along the lines of ICT competence, the type of facilities or equipment to acquire (in terms of quantity and quality) staff recruitment, provision of infrastructure e.g. classroom or lecture theatre. The NCE curriculum / minimum standard will also be fashioned in an integrative form, so that ICTs will be an integral part of the prevailing curriculum. Methods of instructional delivery will also be designed to accommodate the utilization of ICT facilities. Educational administrators will greatly benefit from the findings of this study as it relates to organizational approaches to more flexible teaching/learning, research oriented education and flexible attitude to time and space.
The various Management Committees in the colleges of Education will find the findings of this study quite rewarding because it will provide
them adequate information on the adequacy of the available ICT facilities, whether lecturers in their colleges use the available ICT facilities for teaching, the extent to which lecturers in their colleges have acquired the basic ICT skills to enable them use the available facilities and the type or common ICT facilities that are required for effective teaching. This information will in a nutshell assist college managements to address the ICT needs in their colleges.
Lecturers will find the findings of this research study quite beneficial, as they will be exposed to the need to regularly use ICT facilities to enhance their teaching. The findings will also serve as a parameter for self-evaluation for the lecturers who will also see the need to develop ICT competences or requisite skills and how to use ICT facilities to access resource materials for effective teaching. They will also be encouraged to effectively use ICT facilities to improve the quality of their presentations in class, select the appropriate facility for particular lessons, motivate students to achieve positive attitudes to learning and identify aspects of the coursework where students’ individual needs can be met more effectively through the appropriate use of ICT.
Students will equally benefit from the outcome of this research work because they will be exposed to the numerous benefits of ICT utilization in the teaching/learning process, which could also be useful in their independent studies (as adult learners). These benefits include, arousing their curiosity,
engagement in meaningful and relevant learning (through access to resource materials), exposure to construction of knowledge, reduce the risk of failure. They will also be exposed to numerous ways of improving their creativity, which can also serve as useful aids to problem solving and the use of ICT facilities for research.
The outcome of this research study will generally contribute to improving the teaching-learning process through the utilization of relevant ICT facilities and also bring out the benefits of ICT in enhancing effective teaching.
Research Questions
The study was guided by the following research questions
1. To what extent were the ICT facilities available in Colleges of Education in Cross River State for lecturers’ utilization enhanced their effective teaching?
2. To what extent were the ICT facilities accessible in Colleges of Education in Cross River State for lecturers utilization enhanced their effective teaching?
3. To what extent did lecturers in Colleges of Education in Cross River State possessed requisite skills on ICT facilities utilization for enhancement of their effective teaching?
4. How often did lecturers in Colleges of Education in Cross River State utilized ICT facilities in enhancing effective teaching?
5. To what extent did lecturers in public and private Colleges of Education in Cross River State differ in the utilization of ICT facilities in the enhancement of effective teaching?
Hypotheses
This study was guided by the following hypotheses, all of which will be tested at .05 level of significance.
1. There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of lecturers in Colleges of Education in Cross River State on the availability of ICT facilities for effective teaching.
2. There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of lecturers in Colleges of Education in Cross River State on accessibility to ICT facilities for effective teaching.
3. There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of lecturers in Colleges of Education in Cross River State on requisite skills of lecturers on ICT facilities utilization for effective teaching.
4. There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of lecturers in Colleges of Education in Cross River State on how often they utilized ICT facilities for effective teaching.
5. There is no significant difference in the mean rating of lecturers in public and private Colleges of Education in Cross River State on the utilization of ICT facilities in enhancing effective teaching.
Scope of the Study
This research work studied the utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) in enhancing effective teaching in Colleges of Education in Cross River State. The study will involve only lecturers in the four colleges of education in Cross River State. The colleges are: – Federal College of Education, Obudu, Cross River State College of Education, Akamkpa, Elder Oyama Memorial College of Education, Obubra (Private), Steady-Flow College of Education, Akparabong – Ikom (Private).The study will specifically be directed at determining which of the ICT facilities are available in the colleges, the requisite skills of lecturers on ICT utilization, extent to which lecturers use ICT facilities for their teaching and which of the ICT facilities are commonly used.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
UTILIZATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN CROSS RIVER STATE>
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