ELIMINATING COVID-19 IN NIGERIA BY USING NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
Abstract
This research analyzes how COVID-19 can be mitigated through the usage of innovative educational technology. 200 respondents make up the research sample; 36 are teachers and 83 are students. In order to acquire data from the main source, a structured questionnaire employing a five-point Likert scale was used. Respondents were administered the questionnaire.
The research employed both qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Version 25 of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilized to test the hypotheses via ANOVA, Correlation, and Regression. The Cronbach Alpha test was utilized to determine the reliability coefficient. The data demonstrated that distance learning technologies had a substantial impact on the transmission of COVID-19.
In addition, we discovered that online instruction can facilitate social distance. Social media has a negative link with the community spread of COVID-19, although video conferencing has a good effect on the importation of COVID-19, and Internet usage at Nigerian University could prevent the transmission of coronavirus.
The study recommends that the Nigerian government should use distance learning technology in the educational sector to prevent future sickness outbreaks that would disrupt academic activity. The article suggests that the Nigerian Ministry of Health should require all educational institutions, from primary to tertiary, to be compliant with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in order to make distance learning technologies active and effective.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Background of research
Recent outbreaks of the Coronavirus pandemic have widened worldwide schooling disparities. Despite the fact that the Coronavirus pandemic is novel, it is already having detrimental impacts on civilization. The COVID-19 outbreak has caused educational disruptions and global health concerns that have proven extremely challenging for global health systems to control.
At present, no nation or race in the world is immune to the coronavirus pandemic, and the entire planet appears to be overrun by the rapidity of COVID-19’s spread and its catastrophic effects. The coronavirus pandemic has no bounds, and its impact is both widespread and rapid. Within a few months of the disease’s breakout, billions of people were ordered to “stay home,” “observe self-isolation,” and work and study at home.
It has restricted the ability to migrate, trade, and socialize. Not only has COVID-19 caused complete lockdowns in several countries across the globe, but it has also been responsible for the deaths of thousands of individuals, including women and the elderly. It was alarming to learn that data from several continents, including America, Africa, Asia, and Europe, indicated a daily increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths.
As of April 2020, the global incidence of COVID-19 has topped one million cases, with over 220,000 deaths. In addition to being alarming, the fact that the United States documented more than 2,000 COVID-19 deaths in a single day despite the country’s tremendous commitment to combating the disease was scary. There were no immediate remedies to the rising incidence of Coronavirus-related deaths.
The disease showed no signs of halting its global spread. President Donald Trump invoked the “Defense Production Act” in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The government recently declared a national emergency due to the increasing number of new cases of Coronavirus (Priscillia, 2020).
The U.S. administration also negotiated with the parliament to adopt a stimulus plan worth more than two trillion dollars to combat the Coronavirus pandemic and provide aid to residents and companies affected by the epidemic. Similar measures were also taken in numerous other nations, notably Germany, where 810 billion US dollars were set aside to contain the pandemic’s impacts, despite the rapid global spread of the virus.
Utilizing the internet, email, and telephone, distance learning technology refers to the process of studying at home. These technologies may also be referred to as online learning, and the concept of remote learning is spreading globally. Numerous firms are using it to minimize office congestion and make good use of flex-time.
The term telecommuting refers to working from home and communicating with the office, clients, and others by telephone, email, and the Internet (Hornby et al., 2010). A teleworker could use teleconferencing to hold meetings, i.e.,
a conference or discussion where people from different places can participate using online technologies such as Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp, and other forms of communication, such as video and telephone. Utilizing computers and telecommunications equipment, distance learning technology entails studying from a distance, such as at home or another location (Daft, 2010).
Globally, in both the western and southern hemispheres, the Third Wave’s presence has taken center stage. Electronic learning has exceeded the conventional mode of instruction prevalent in the educational industry prior to the recession. In the 1990s, corporations typically held videoconferences in a room equipped with television cameras, but today, one may participate in a videoconference without leaving the office, thanks to modern computers and telephones with built-in cameras and microphones (Robbins, Timothy and Seema, 2008).
Teleworking is learning from home using a terminal that is linked to the central organization or networked with other learners (Armstrong, 2006).
The concept of learning from home utilizing a computer, telephone, email, and the internet is known as distance learning. Due to the fact that the globe has become a village, globalization has made learning from any location relatively easy. The majority of 1980s and 1990s computers and mobile phones lacked an integrated camera and microphone.
As a result of the improvement, cellphones and computers with built-in cameras and microphones improved the workflow, allowing business to be conducted from home with less stress than in an office setting. Nigeria now has 92,3 million internet users, and this number is projected to reach 187,8 million by 2023. This indicates that internet penetration among the Nigerian population was 47.1% in 2018 and is projected to reach 84.55% by 2023. (Clement, 2019).
In terms of internet freedom, Nigeria was placed 47th in sub-Saharan Africa and 21st out of 65 countries worldwide (Freedom House Index, 2019). Internet usage in Nigeria has a positive impact on learning and teaching via distance learning technologies. Almost 50 million Nigerians use smartphones to access the mobile internet on their phones (clement, 2019).
The use of the internet, cellphones, and other social media, such as zoom, Google class and meet, and WhatsApp, facilitates and reduces the stress of remote activities. By connecting to an electronic link, remote access enables the use of a computer system, telephone, email, etc. from another location (The Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary, 2003). Remote access enables the teacher and students to engage as if they were in a traditional classroom via Videoconferencing, Skype, Google Meet, WhatsApp video, Zoom app, and so on.
1.2 Statement of the issue
In addition to affecting students, instructors, and families, the institution closures have far-reaching economic and societal effects. In reaction to school closures, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) suggested that schools and teachers use open educational applications and platforms and distance learning programs to reach students remotely and minimize disruptions to education.
According to UNESCO monitoring as of July 7, 2020, around 1,067,590,512 students have been impacted by school closures in response to the epidemic; 110 countries have enacted nationwide closures, affecting approximately 61% of the global student population. Several additional nations have imposed localized closures affecting millions of students.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic closure, about eighty-seven lakh pupils from preprimary to tertiary education levels [ISCED levels 0 to 8] are affected in Nepal alone. Although it is difficult to anticipate how the pandemic will progress, there is a possibility that physical distance constraints would be stretched.
According to the United Nations, 166 nations shuttered schools and colleges to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which infected around 1.5 billion children and adolescents, or 87 percent of the enrolled population.
Onyeukwu, Akanegbu, and Igbokwe (2017) have researched the influence of online education on the Nigerian educational sector, as have numerous other scholars. The implementation of distance learning technologies in Nigerian educational institutions has numerous advantages for both students and instructors. When distance learning technologies are applicable in any educational institution, courses are typically not interrupted.
The COVID-19-nicknamed coronavirus first appeared in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and has since caused devastation throughout the world. The virus was brought to Nigeria by an Italian. The economic, social, and educational development of numerous nations has been hampered. Schools were closed due to the ugliness of the COVID-19 outbreak, which caused several lockdowns and disruptions in the activities of many sectors.
It became imperative to implement distance learning technologies in teaching from home to students across the nation. In the Nigerian educational sector, the sole tool that could be used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic is distance learning technology.
However, the concept faces obstacles such as insufficient electric power supply, expensive airtime costs, and inadequate network service from network providers. These issues have impeded the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of remote learning, social distance, and online instruction in education. These obstacles led to the discovery of a suitable solution.
Research Concerns
To what extent do distance learning technologies influence the spread of COVID-19 in teaching and learning?
What effect has online education had on social distance in teaching and learning?
What effect do social media have on the importation of COVID-19 in Nigeria?
How has video conferencing affected the spread of COVID-19 through physical touch in the classroom?
How has the use of the internet affected the community-wide distribution of COVID-19 in education?
1.4 Research Purposes
The primary objective of the project is to investigate the impact of distance learning technologies on the COVID-19 program in teaching and learning. Other objectives were formulated in accordance with research questions and include the following:
to determine how online teaching impacts social distancing in teaching and learning; to highlight the effect of social media on the importation of COVID-19 in teaching and learning; and to investigate the impact of video conferencing on the physical contact spread of COVID-19 in teaching and learning.
To examine the effect of internet usage on the community diffusion of COVID-19 in educational settings.
1.5 Research proposition
The following null hypotheses were developed to lead the investigation in accordance with the research goals and objectives: Online education in Nigeria has no significant association with social distance
Universities. Social Media do not have a strong relationship with the COVID-19 introduction in education. There is no association between the distribution of COVID-19 through video conferencing and physical interaction in the classroom.
Internet use has little effect on the community dissemination of COVID-19 in educational settings. There is no significant correlation between distance learning technologies and the COVID-19 epidemic in education.
1.6 Importance of the research
The COVID-19 virus affects individuals in various ways. The majority of infected individuals with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate symptoms and recover without additional treatment. Those with preexisting medical issues and those over the age of 60 are at a greater risk of developing severe diseases and dying.
The report presents policy formulation recommendations for the Nigerian government about the Nigerian educational sector. This will present university administrators in Nigeria with an option for limiting the adverse consequences of any future disease outbreaks that have the potential to disrupt educational and school activities. This research contributes to the corpus of knowledge and can serve as a resource for other scholars.
1.7 Scope and Limits of the Study
The study focuses on secondary schools in Abuja, however rural towns were chosen at random as study locations. The scope of this study is limited to teachers’ perspectives on pandemics and their effects on students’ academic performance in secondary schools, as well as the environmental health practices of rural residents in the AMAC education zone.
1.8 Structure of the Study
This dissertation contains five chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of the study. In this chapter, the introduction and purpose of the study are also presented. The second chapter (Chapter Two) addresses the literature review and theoretical context of the study, while the third chapter addresses the research methods.
Chapter Four contains the research analysis. The purpose of the analysis was to answer the research questions posed in order to provide United Bank of Africa with a problem definition and solutions. Chapter Five concludes with a summary, a conclusion, and recommendations. In addition, this study article provided a list of references and other materials.
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ELIMINATING COVID-19 IN NIGERIA BY USING NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING