ABSTRACT
It is an undisputable fact that ICT play a very significant role in the development of every nation these days. This is because growth is stimulated by the flow of information and this consciousness has led most learning institutions into knowledge based ones. Hence, leading to easy access, quality teaching and learning, infrastructure provision as well as management efficiency. In spite of these, the potentials of ICT in teaching and learning has not been fully realized by many academic institutions. A Mixed method approach was used to carry out the study. Questionnaire was used to collect data from 570 respondents, comprising 62 Lecturers and 508 Students of UDS and TaTU. Interviews were also conducted for four management and ICT personnel of UDS and TaTU. The findings of the study indicated that ICT have not been widely integrated into the teaching and learning activities in UDS and TaTU. Some challenges identified were frequent Power fluctuation, lack of maintenance, low internet bandwidth, lack of pedagogical models on how to use ICT in teaching and learning and limited ICT skills of lecturers and students to fully integrate ICT. The study recommended that ICT trainings for lecturers and students should go beyond basics to advance and professional levels to aid practical integration of ICT in teaching and learning. ICT infrastructure provision and maintenance, and ICT service delivery should also be given priority in UDS and TaTU. The vigorous implementation and use of ICT facilities and services to its full potential will not only revolutionize teaching and learning in UDS and TaTU, but will also facilitate the development of lecturers and students’ innate scientific inquiry mind and their critical thinking abilities.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
The sudden rise in Information and Communication Technology has introduced a phenomenal change in contemporary society which has affected the demands of present- day civilization. The importance of technology to modern concepts such as e-commerce, teleconferencing, e-governance, and telecommunication have all risen as a result of the application of technology in almost every aspect of human life (Amoaful, 2011).
Turner (2009) defined Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as any device or system that allows the storage, retrieval, manipulation, transmission and receipt of digital information. For example, personal computers, digital television, email, robots.
Information and Communication Technology thus relates to those technologies that are used for accessing, gathering, manipulating and presenting or communicating information. The technologies could include hardware (e.g. computers and other devices), and software applications and connectivity (e.g. access to the Internet, local networking infrastructure, and video conferencing) (Tommey, 2001). The hardware equipment like mobile phones, computers, laptops, television and projectors are mostly used in educational environment to process, send and retrieve information for academic purposes.
Technological advancement has made it possible for most universities worldwide to create and maintain electronic libraries together with electronic teaching models in order to make teaching and learning conceivable. This advancement has made creation, collection, organizing, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information simpler than before.
With Information and Communication Technology being applied to every facet and discipline of human endeavor, its full impacts should be seen in the process of teaching and learning.
In the context of this study, ICT refers to any electronic equipment that can be used to enhanced teaching and learning: systems that enable easy communication between the teacher and the students beyond the physical barrier (either by space, time or both) of the classroom. (Lim and Chai, 2004). According to Kirschner & Selinger (2003), ICT offers the potential to meet the learning needs of individual students; to promote equality of opportunity; to offer high-quality learning materials; and to increase self-efficacy and independence of learning amongst students. To the teacher, ICT is not only an essential tool for teachers in their daily work, but it also offers them opportunities for their own professional development. It can be used to encourage new ways of working as part of professional learning teams and it offers academic institutions the possibility of a faster route to establishing a meaningful role in the wider community, embracing learners of all ages, linking and networking to other educational establishments and bringing professionals together across a range of areas.
It is an undisputable fact that ICT plays a very significant role in the growth of every nation in recent times. This is because growth is stimulated by the flow of information and this consciousness has led many learning institutions into knowledge based ones. Many countries now regard understanding and mastering the basic skills and concepts of ICT as part of the core of education, alongside reading, writing and numeracy. A report by the United Nation, Educational, Science and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO, (2015) stated that “Information and communication technologies (ICTs) must be harnessed to strengthen educational systems, knowledge dissemination, information access, quality and effective learning, and more effective service provision”.
