THE EFFECTS OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) ON SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS PERSPECTIVES/USAGE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM
Africa have witness the development of ICTs in various sectors over the last decade including education. The change from teacher-centered education system to learner centred education the world over in the past view years contributes to the use of ICTs in education. Borrowing from the word “Knowledge Driven world” as conceived by (Hawkins, 2004; Inwent, 2004), it means that education reform practices should focus on equal access and quality of education which should highlight the importance of change in the education sector through use of ICTs and equipping new generations with enhanced skills to operate in the 21st century.
The use of ICTs in Nigeria and African countries generally is increasing and dramatically growing. However, while there is a great deal of knowledge about how ICTs are being used in developed countries, there is not much information on how ICTs are being introduced into schools in developing countries (Beukes-Amiss and Chiware, 2006). Looking at the developing countries according to these authors, there is generally limited access time per month using ICTs by both the teachers and students, and even less time spent with reliable Internet access. It should be noted that availability of ICTs vis-à-vis access in term of ratio of teachers and students differs significantly. Despite this, the new and emerging technologies challenges the traditional process of teaching and learning, and the way education is managed. While information communication technology is an important area of study in its own right, it is having a major impact across all curriculum areas. Easy worldwide communication provides instant access to vast array of data, challenging assimilation and assessment skills (Fowowe, 2006). Rapid communication plus increased access to ICTs in the home, at work, and in educational establishment, could mean that learning becomes a truly lifelong activity- an activity in which the pace of technological change forces constant evaluation of teaching process itself.
Formerly, the term IT was used to mean ICT, the term which was synonymous with computer but as the passage of time, it covered other equipment created to enhance acquisition, storage and dissemination of information materials. Most of these equipment’s were initially confine to the vicinity of offices. Libraries in the course of time embraced the use of these equipment’s to carry out their day-to-day activities as usage was adapted to carry out some routine activities. It functions does not end there. The current issue is the use of ICTs in the classroom by the teachers. This includes specifically the use of computers, Internet, telephone, digital camera, data projector, etc. As the world continues to revolve around technology, teachers need to continue incorporating these new technologies into their teaching.
Meanwhile, it is observed that some studies have been conducted on uses of ICTs by teachers particularly on the issue of their professional development. Most of these studies were carried out in developed countries where the use of ICTs has come of age, and where there are resources and material to maintain them. However, the use of ICTs by teachers in Nigeria is just beginning to gain popularity and researches in the area have just started emerging. Emphatically, the use of ICTs by teachers to teach the students is highly advantageous. This is because its enable them to demonstrate understanding of the opportunities and implications of the uses for learning and teaching in the curriculum context; plan, implement, and manage learning and teaching in open and flexible learning environment (UNESCO, 2004). In the light of these therefore, more research is needed to showcase further development of ICTs use by secondary school teachers and students in Nigeria.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In the beginning of the implementation of ICT there were optimistic beliefs about profound changes in teaching and learning practices, among both educational researchers and policy-makers. Although there have been several development projects, experiments and pilot studies on using ICT in school, the studies about long term and deep-going effects of ICT are still few (Kozma, 2003a; Venetzky & Davies, 2001). Altogether 15–20 years’ experience in classroom and school practices, as well as research evidence show that something changes in education when information and communication technology (ICT) is used (e.g. Bayraktar, 2000–2001; Korte & Hüsing, 2007; Kozma, 2003a) but the content, the direction and the depth of the change are still under discussion and remain issues for investigation.
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