Information and Communication Technology

As the name implies, ICT is three-in-one word that has the gateway to the modern information skills. Looking at the name ICT differently:

Information: According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, it is said to be news or knowledge given. Technically, information means data or facts that have been processed into a meaningful and useful form to the recipient. It constitutes real facts which can help individual or organization in making better, assertive and successful decision.

Communication: This is the source and way of expressing thoughts and imaginations in such a way that could be learned and understood by the learner. Communication is seen by Njoku (2006), referring to Ijefkins and Ugboaja (1986) as the process of sending and receiving information.

Technology: According to the National Policy for information technology (2001, P. IV) is computer, ancillary equipment, software and firmware (hardware) and smaller procedure services (including support services) and related resource of any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, that is used in the automatic acquisition, storage manipulation, management, movement, transmission or reception of data or information.

In the context of education, ICT could be said to be technologies for collecting, storing, processing, communicating and delivering information. Mbakwem (2006), sees ICT as a process of creation, processing, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information and data using computer and telecommunication.

Importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to the Teacher.

Teacher and Information cannot be separated from one another. Hence, one can rightly say that the duty of a teacher is information tasking. Ukaeje (2008) notes that, “Education unlocks the door of modernization, but it is the teacher who holds the key to the door”. In the same vein, if we say the child is the center of the educational system, the teacher is the pivot of the education process. In the context of ICT, the teacher needs to be able to transform the classrooms from places of a static one-way flow of information from teacher to the student into a dynamic student - centered learning environment in which learners interact with peers in teaching, both in their own classroom as well as others through the internet and other ICTs.

ICT can be used for direct teaching. This happens by the use of computer in teaching by the teacher with the use of a computer programme called Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) and Computer Aided Learning (CAL). These are modern methods of using computer as mediating factor in educational process and they are used synonymously. It is a direct two-way communication between the learner and the programmed instructional material stored in the computer. Here, the computer becomes a medium of instruction (Olusanya, 2003). CAL also is the use of computer to mediate in the flow of information in learning process. Recent trends have brought about new packages of CAI which has been designed to feature along with Classroom studies, Lectures, Tutorials, Library and Laboratory work as module of individualized curriculum. Internet connectivity is another aspect of ICT which the teacher can also use in carrying out his work. The World Wide Web that consist of large number of networked computers (called host) which serves as the server (a programme which distributes document) or a client (a programme retrieves documents and facilitates their reading) can also be used by the teacher as a source of information (Anaehobi, 2007). The teacher can also send instruction to the student via Electronic mail (E-mail) and they can also answer and send back to the teacher.

It should therefore, be noted that the importance of ICT cannot be ignored in the sense that it does not only influence what the teacher teaches, but it gives a great deal as to how the teacher teaches. The introduction of the personal computers and laptops as essential tools for the work place in the art of teaching and other administrative and research works done by the teacher offers the teacher a wide range of approaches and strategies to be applied in the course of teaching. It also offers a good aid in the development of application to enhancing curriculum. The teacher with the use of ICT, explores the use of new working tools, also has access to teaching and learning resources through the internet and Local Area Network (LAN).

The Present Status of ICT in Nigeria Education

In the present day society, computer is no longer a specialized tool used only by scientists but an instrument now been extended to education, commerce, banking, industry, administration, governance, health sector to mention a few. Seweje (2006) notes that Nigeria as a developing nation is getting stronger by the day but one important index of strength is the quality of education provided her citizenry. Today, in most developed countries, nearly every aspect of human life including education is ICT driven. The education sector in Nigeria still lags behind in this aspect of technology. However, concerted efforts are being channeled towards this direction by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and the National Universities Commission (NUC) (Aturamu, 2006). In Nigeria, it is pertinent to say that computer studies have been introduced into the school curriculum especially at the tertiary level but it is yet to be matched with required practical exposure to the utilization of these new skills for optimal productivity. The teachers teaching these students and pupils are not skilled in computer education and application. This calls for the urgent need to address the present situation as teachers constitute a major influence on the use of ICT in the teaching and learning process.

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