CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is a technology trend that has brought the world into a global village. It is a buzzword in media and telecommunications which has revolutionalised the economy, business, industry, politics and education. The ICT uses various information superhighways namely: the internet, intranet and extranet to function. The ICT is a science of information which uses the computer and multi-electronic resources to collect, process, store, retrieve and transmit or disseminate information to any part of the world. ICT has permeated virtually all aspects of human endeavour. It has creeped into the educational system and has had obvious impact in the curriculum.
ICT has been considered a priority in global education and Nigeria is not left out. The Federal Government of Nigeria in the National Policy on Education (FRN, Revised 2014) recognizes ICT as a product of technological change and as an innovation in education. It is in this view that Computer Education was introduced as an integral part of ICT in the Nigerian educational system. The main purpose was for acquisition of computer literacy and computer skills that are needed in all facets of human life in the 21st century. For instance, the media houses viz: radio, television and newspapers are connected to the internet for reading the news online.
AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION ON TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS AMONG OF COMPUTER STUDIES TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
In the same way it was viewed that the curriculum contents should be read online. This led to curriculum innovations which saw to the gradual changing from the old 6-3-3-4 to the new system which has the child’s first 9 years in school as developed by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC). The curriculum as developed by NERDC includes the introduction of basic technology, ICT, computer education and emphasis on creative thinking among others. Obioma (2007) aptly pointed out that, the new curriculum is ICT driven with emphasis on practical, concrete and hands-on experiences. Also Ololube (2006) and Nwana (2009) remarked that both the teachers and the students should achieve better curriculum outcomes with the use of ICT resources.
As earlier pointed out, the main purpose of computer education was for computer literacy and skills needed in the 21st century classrooms and outside the classroom. It goes beyond reading computer books and pamphlets. It really requires skills, abilities and competencies in the use of computer. For instance it requires digital literacy and skills, hardware literacy and skills, software literary and skills; and computer packages integration and usage skills. Others are networking skills and multimedia systems literacy and skills. For instance the use of multimedia projector (mm projector) requires good computer literacy and skills. This is because it accepts many electronic devices such as the computer, digital television, radio, radio-cassette, magnetic sound recorder and electronic board technology among others. Nwana (20018) pointed out that the mm projector uses multimedia planning sheet which requires computer literacy for production and use.
The need for availability and utilization of ICT resources in teaching-learning situations is on the increase. The government has made effort towards the building of ICT facilities and procurement of ICT resources for various schools and colleges. For instance, during Governor Godswill Akpabio’s administration, computer and its accessories were procured in large quantities and presented to schools. Also, teachers were sent on short-term computer courses. Still, they are being challenged in the use of computer in teaching computer education as a subject of study.
Science teaching and learning has gone through series of innovations which includes the application of Information and Communication Technologies(ICTs) in the teaching and learning process. This has impacted on the quality and quantity of teaching and learning through its dynamic, interactive and engaging content, and it can provide real opportunities for individualized instruction (Egomo, Enyi & Tah 2012). In this period of wild explosion of knowledge the application of ICTs becomes pertinent in the education of the surging populace in the academic sector. The era of traditional “chalk and talk” approach of teaching is gradually giving way to the student-centered approaches such as the use of ICTs which are result oriented. It is against this background that the study sought to find out the range of ICT resources available and utilization and teaching effectiveness among of computer studies teachers in secondary schools in Ikono Local Government Area.
AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION ON TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS AMONG OF COMPUTER STUDIES TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The benefits derivable from the application of ICTs in education are enough reasons to implement it in secondary schools. The effective utilization of ICT in teaching and learning depends on the availability of these facilities and teachers competence in using them. Therefore, the study was carried out to investigate the extent of availability and utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) facilities in teaching and learning of science in secondary schools.
This to an extent has hampered teaching and learning process in secondary schools. Observation from the researcher’s perspectives shows that teachers can make use of information and communication technology facilities in teaching in schools if available but due to lack of information and communication technology resources; its utilization is being confronted with so much challenges. Secondary school curriculum have not fully embraced the use of information and communication technology resources in teaching and learning; this is as a result of the prevailing challenges like non-availability of information and communication technology resources and if available non utilization of it.
However, it is quite uncertain whether secondary schools in Ikono Local Government Area are have the ICT resources and also utilizing the available information and communication technologies effectively to enhance the capacity of students through teaching and learning. These observations made by the researcher gave rise to the study on availability and utilization on teaching effectiveness among of computer studies teachers in secondary schools in Ikono Local Government Area and to proffer solution to it.
