THE
IMPACTS OF I.C.T ON THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF HEALTH EDUCATION IN COLLEGE OF
EDUCATION, IKERE-EKITI.
ABSTRACT
The
use of the Internet and the web as well as the emerging of different
communication channels have brought the world closer and contributed to the
concepts of globalization and the extended enterprise also, the information
society demands a workforce that can use technology as a tool to increase
productivity and creativity. The educational sector at large has been one of
the beneficiaries of the use of different information and communication
technology tools and techniques. Information is a key resource for student
teaching, learning, research, and publishing. This research work examines the
impact or effect of emerging information and communication technology tools in
teaching and learning of Health Education, identifying the reliable sources of
information, effectively accessing these sources of information, synthesizing
and communicating that information to colleagues and beneficiaries and the need
for effective methods of information processing and effectiveness of using
unconventional technologies in delivering Health Education knowledge in
Nigeria.
CHAPTER
ONE
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Introduction
To
meet the demands and expectations of increasing global competition,
contemporary Health Educators require a range of generic skills such as
analytical and problem-solving skills, personal and interpersonal communication
skills, management, negotiation and organizational skills, together with the
ability to apply these skills in a range of unique situations. Teaching and
learning strategies should move away from procedural tasks and memorizing
professional standards towards more conceptual and analytical teaching and
learning. One of the most important questions that currently face research in
Health education is what causes an individual to adopt new information
technologies? Are they factors that relate to his/her inherent personality and
background or is the acceptance of information technology driven by other
external factors that can be influenced by educators and managers. This concern
is a direct result of the technological advancements occurring all over the
world. Over the past decades, technological developments and innovations have
been progressing at an exponential rate. The impact such technological advances
can be felt at the individual, organizational and societal levels through the
use of personal computers, the Internet, the world wide web, cell phones, and
digital cameras in different daily activities.
Moreover,
on the professional level, the diffusion of computers and the use of the
Internet and different software applications have facilitated researches and
academic excellence ensuring quality, speed and accuracy. On the knowledge
diffusion level, the learning process has also been dramatically affected by
those technological advances with multi-implications on information
dissemination and knowledge acquisition.
The
use of information technology in classrooms allows schools to expand their
markets, respond to the business and environmental requirements, support cross
cultural and cross functional teams of students to engage and work together and
allows faster and more practical cooperation between lecturers from various
nations while maintaining the targeted level of quality delivery of knowledge
in education.
The
use of information technology in the classroom can allow more time and space
flexibility for lecturers and students to use the educational materials. It can
also allow for continuous testing of students of the contents of such
materials, and allow the students more freedom in taking initiatives, learn on
their own, be more creative, and individually study at their own pace.
As
Nigeria is striving hard to play a leadership role in Africa, particularly in
the period of pragmatic and competitive science and technology, there is an
urgent need to pay more prominent attention to the improvement of teaching and
learning particularly in Nigerian tertiary institutions. This entails the
adoption of information, communication technology (ICT) in the institution. The
ICT is an invaluable intervention of this modern time. Its inherent attributes
such as accuracy, high speed performance, reliability and capability to store
very large amount of data have made it possible for its applicability to all
human endeavours including teaching, learning and research in educational
institutions. This study is specifically set out to critically appraise the role
of information, communication technology as a change agent for higher education
in Nigeria. It also examines the implication and challenges of ICT on the
development of higher education in Nigeria.
Education
is one of the most important needs for the wellbeing of individual and that of
the society. Thus, education is a powerful instrument of social, political, and
economic progress, without which neither an individual nor a society can attain
professional growth.
Information
and communication technology (ICT) is an indispensable part of the contemporary
world. In fact, culture and society have to be adjusted to meet the challenges
of the information age. Information and communication technology (ICT) is a
force that has changed many aspects of people’s ways of life. Considering such
fields as medicine, tourism, travel, business, law, banking, engineering and
architecture, the impact of ICT in the past two or three decades has been
enormous.
ICT encompasses a range of applications,
communications and technologies which aid information retrieval and research
communication and administration. These include: Internet access, electronic
mail, CD-ROMS, telephone, on line databases, library services and fax machines.
It has become a global phenomenon of great importance and concern in all
aspects of human endeavour, spanning across education, governance, business,
labour, market, shares, productivity, trade, agriculture, commerce and others.
Haddad and Draxier (2002) indicated that ICT contributed to effective learning
through expanding access, promoting efficiency, improving the quality of
learning and improving management systems. According to Obeng (2004), ICT is
now regarded as a utility such as water and electricity and hence has become a
major role in education, learning and research in general, agriculture, health,
commerce and even in poverty alleviation by generating or creating new jobs and
investment opportunities. ICT is an indispensable part of the contemporary
world. The field of education has certainly been affected by the penetrating
influence of ICT worldwide and in particular developed countries. ICT has made
an impact on the quality and quantity of teaching, learning and research in the
tradition and/or distance education institutions using it (Kwacha, 2007).
According to Ololube, Ubogu and Ossai (2007), the introduction of ICT usage,
integration and diffusion has initiated a new age in educational methodologies,
thus it has radically changed traditional method of information delivery and usage
patterns in the domain as well as offering contemporary learning experience for
both lecturers and students.
As a tool for addressing challenges in
teaching and learning, technology has the capabilities for delivery, management
and support of effective teaching and learning. As a change agent, it is
capable of changing the content, methods and overall quality and quantity of
teaching and learning, thereby reducing teachers’ or lecturers’ workload and
ensuring constructivist inquiry-oriented classroom. Moreover, ICT a central
force in economic and social shifts that has technology skill critical to
future employment of today’s students. Thierer (2000) pointed out that the role
of technology in teaching and learning is rapidly becoming one of the most important
and widely discussed issues in contemporary education policy. Experts in the
fields of education have agreed that, if ICT is properly used, it holds great
promise to improve teaching and learning in addition to shaping work-force
opportunities. Thus, this study set out to critically appraise the role of
information communication technology as a change agent for higher education in
Nigeria.
Information
Communication Technology has tremendously be a source of blessing to mankind.
Various industries and fields of professions has felt the impact of
technological innovations through the use of ICT In bringing the fastest and
accurate outputs and ease the ways of resolving problems.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Information
Communication Technology (ICT) relevance and
positive effects as instructional resource for the teaching and learning
of Health Education in Colleges of Education, Ikere-Ekiti is a noticeable
improvement among the institutions and academic output. It is noted that uses
of ICT equipment in teaching and learning of Health Education in Colleges of
Education does not only assist the Lecturers in carrying out their job
effectively but also render qualitative service output to the entire academic
community of the Nation.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
In
spite the introduction of modern ICT equipment, this research work will look
deeply in the impacts of ICT on the teaching and learning of Health Education in
Colleges of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State in Nigeria. Finally, it is the
objectives of this research work to fish both the relevance and problems of ICT
in the teaching and learning of Health Education in Colleges of Education in
Nigeria in the Era of modern Information communication Technology.
SIGNIFICANT
OF THE STUDY
The
introduction of ICT into Nigerian tertiary education clearly changes the way
education is conducted.
Not
only is it possible to work with distance learning and achieve a chosen
collaboration between colleges and universities, ICT is also paving the way for
a new pedagogical approach where students are expected to play more active role
than before. Using information and communication technology (ICT) as a tool in
education, students should be able to communicate, create preservatives in
power point, and interact with colleagues and teachers using technology and so
on. For countries to benefit from technological development a cadre of
professional has to be educated with sound ICT backgrounds with various
computer platforms and software environment. Darkwa and Anao (2004) highlighted
the impact of ICT on tertiary institution are as follows:
-
It enhances both academic and business research by tertiary education lecturers
and students with the advent of internet, researchers and students will have
the opportunity to access a lot of information for various assignments in a
more innovative way. Researchers can have full access to various kinds of
information and even known relevant areas of critical concern and interest. It
also offers them to know the demand of industry and conduct research to meet
industry’s expectations. In no doubt, ICT has provided full access to students
on all kinds of information for their studies and writing of dissertations and
thesis.
-
ICT solves the problem of lack of tertiary education lecturers. With the
current state of acute shortage of academic facility and staff facing by our
tertiary institutions, we could leverage ICT through video conferences so that
students on various campuses pursuing the same or similar programme/course
could be linked to benefit from a lesson, which they lack lecturers
simultaneously.
-
ICT reduces pressure on tertiary education admission process. In our tertiary
education today, the pressure on academic admissions processes have been
reduced, it has made it easy for money to be accessed easily. With the growing
number of computer literacy in our society, more ICT centers could be
established in selected areas. The universities and polytechnics could then be
linked to these centers.
-
ICT helps students in sharing of ideas. With the use of ICT, ideas can be
shared online, as students and lecturers can enhance their skill remarkably
through the creation of online communication. This will allow and provide
opportunity for researcher and lecturers to have information and ideas. Also,
the teaching methods have been improved whereby students no longer write notes
during lectures when teaching in class, because the lecturer teaching has
compiled almost everything from the Internet.
-
Registration of course and details of examination and other services are being
offered online, thereby reducing pressure during course registration. With the
use of ICT, students pay their school fees online and check their results after
every examination, able to provide strong support for all these requirements
and examples of the world-class settings for competency and performance based
curricula that make sound of the affordance of these technologies.
However,
these advantages are hindered by the presence of several challenges that arise
from the use of various information and communication technologies, including
the need for expensive infrastructure and large startup costs, finding
qualified instructors, and the lack of face to face instruction, which may
diminish the students interpersonal, social, and communication skills. These
issues are further intensified in developing countries due to the lack of a
complete infrastructure including the main building blocks such as financial
resources, human resources, information recourses and technological resources.
The level of Health Education in developing countries is rather low and Nigeria
is not an exception.
Therefore,
it is crucial to find ways to speed up the educational process of its citizens
and one of the venues could be distance learning and computer based
technologies, which could lead to a cheaper process and yet as effective and as
efficient. However, to date most of the implementations took place in developed
nations and there is an urgency to test the environment in a developing setting
(Rose and Straub, 1998, Dahawy et al, 2002).
Furthermore,
information now plays a vital part in the lives of individuals, organizations
and institutions and information literacy is the key to the optimum use of
information. The state of education and skills emphasized the importance of ICT
and information literacy as vital components in the development of life skills,
workplace skills and citizenship.
This
research work will help the Governments, Ministry of Education in Nigeria,
Students and readers to understand those benefits that Information
Communication Technology embodies which we have neglected with in the past. In
understanding this on the side of the government, it will allow them to rethink
and work towards real implementation of it thereby creating a room for the
rapid growth and development of the education sector of this country. At the
other hand, it will go a long way to create an avenue for more academic
research.
Haven
known this, it is worthy to conclude that the main beneficiaries of this study lies
on the government and other readers respectively.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In
view of this study, the following research questions have been formulated to
ascertain how
ICT
could have be a catalyst to effective use of information by students.
1.
What types of ICTs are available to Health
Education Students for use?
2.
To what extent do Health Education
students make use of ICT?
3.
What are the reasons for Health
Education Students use of ICT in education?
4.
What are the problems Health Education Students
face with the use of ICT?
5.
What are the solutions preferred to the
problems face with the use of ICT by Health Education Students?
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
Ho1:
Modern ICT facilities are not adequately available in Nigeria Colleges of
Education.
Ho2: Lecturers in Colleges of Education in Nigeria
do use ICT facilities in teaching and learning of Health Education.
Ho3:
There is a great significant relationship between usage of Modern ICT
facilities and Lecturers’ productivity as reflected in students’ academic
results
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The
scope of this research work focused strictly on the effects of information
communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning of Health Education in
Nigeria. This work will lead us to the evolution of ICT in Nigeria and also
examine how the academic field (teaching and learning) is fairing in this Era
of Information Communication Technology.
1.8
LIMITATION TO THE STUDY
On
the course of this research, the following problems were encountered, like
short time frame. Financing problem, scarcity of information or data, etc. this
is due to mainly, the wide scope of this study which emphasizes on a complexity
of numbers of colleges of education in Nigeria. Now, the implication is that
the short time frame mapped out for this research work posed a problem of
assessing these programs as whole, but that doesn’t threat the authentication
and quality of this work.
Again,
enough financing of the accomplishment of this work became a problem in the
sense that gathering information was costly, the researcher needed enough money
to gather them.
1.9
DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. Information
Communication Technology (ICT): is
generally refers to ‘computers and computing related activities’. Computers and
their application play a significant role in modern information management,
other technologies and/or systems also comprise of the phenomenon that is
commonly regarded as ICTs. According to UNESCO (2002) information and
communication technology (ICT) may be regarded as the combination of
‘Informatics technology’ with other related technology, specifically
communication technology. Informatics refers to the science dealing with the
design, realization, evaluation, use and maintenance of information processing
systems, including hardware, software, organizational and human aspects, and
the industrial, commercial, governmental and political implications of these.
2. INFORMATION:
facts or details that tell you something about situation person events.
3. COMMUNICATION:
It is the transmission of information or idea. From it means the use of
mechanical arts and applied science e.g. Engineering.
4. EDUCATION:
Is what prepares an individual to accommodate and to contribute positively to
the development of his/her society.
5. COMPUTER:
It is an electronic device that accepts data as to give information as an
output.
6. NEPAD:
New Partnership for Africa Development.
7. I.C.T:
Information Communication Technology.
