PREVENTION OF E-CLASSROOM AND COVID-19 IN NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS
Abstract
The research investigates the role of E-classroom and Covid 19 prevention in the prevention of Covid 19 spread at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze. The study’s sample size is 200 lecturers. A systematic questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale was utilized to obtain data from the primary source. Respondents were given the questionnaire.
The qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods were used in the study. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 was used to evaluate the hypotheses using ANOVA, Correlation, and Regression analyses. The Cronbach Alpha test was used to get the reliability coefficient. The findings demonstrated that lecturers fully supported the E-learning process because it has a significant impact on the propagation of COVID-19. Furthermore, we discovered that online education could aid in social separation.
Social media shows a negative link with COVID-19 community expansion, however video conferencing has a favorable impact on COVID-19 importation, and Internet usage may help to reduce the transmission of coronavirus in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions.
The study suggests that E-classroom is an effective technique that the Nigerian government should implement in the educational sector to avoid future disease outbreaks that disrupt academic activity. The report advises that the Ministry of Health require all institutions of learning in Nigeria, from primary to tertiary, to be ICT compliant in order for E-classrooms to be active and efficient.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
The study’s context
The latest breakout of the Coronavirus pandemic widened the global education gap. Although the Coronavirus pandemic is new, it is already having a negative impact on humanity. The COVID-19 outbreak has caused educational disruptions and global health problems that have proven challenging for global health systems to control. As of now, no nation or race is immune to the coronavirus pandemic, and the entire world appears to be overrun by the rapid spread and terrible impacts of COVID-19.
The coronavirus pandemic has no bounds, and its impact is widespread and rapid. Within a few months of the disease’s emergence, it had significantly altered the world’s habits, forcing billions of people to’stay at home,’ ‘observe self-isolations,’ and work and learn from home. It has restricted people’s freedom to migrate, trade, or interact. COVID-19 not only forced absolute lockdown in several countries around the world, but it also killed thousands of people, especially women and the elderly.
Worryingly, reports from several continents, including America, Africa, Asia, and Europe, revealed a daily increase in the number of new cases and deaths caused by COVID-19. As of April 2020, the global COVID-19 case count had topped one million, with over 220,000 deaths. It was especially concerning that the United States recorded almost 2000 COVID-19 deaths in a single day, despite the country’s tremendous commitment to fighting the virus. The number of Coronavirus deaths was on the rise, and there were no obvious answers in sight. The epidemic showed no signs of abating over the world.
The COVID-19 outbreak prompted President Trump of the United States to activate the “Defense Production Act.” As a result of the increasing number of new Coronavirus cases in the country, the government declared a national emergency (Priscillia, 2020).
The US administration also negotiated with the parliament to adopt a stimulus package worth more than $2 trillion USD to combat the Coronavirus pandemic and to provide some assistance to residents and companies affected by the outbreak. Similar efforts were taken in several other nations, notably Germany, where 810 billion US dollars were set aside to combat the pandemic’s impacts, despite the fact that the virus quickly spread to many regions of the world.
The presence of the Third-wave has taken center stage globally, both in the western world and in the global south. Before the crisis, the conventional method of learning used in the educational sector had exceeded electronic learning. In the 1990s, enterprises normally used a specific room for videoconferences, equipped with television cameras, but today, thanks to contemporary computers and smartphones with integrated camera and microphones, one may participate in videoconference without leaving the office (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).
E-learning is the concept of learning from home using a computer, phone, email, and the internet. Because the globe is like a village, globalization has made learning from any location relatively simple. Unlike today, most computers and phones throughout the 1980s and 1990s lacked built-in cameras and microphones.
As a result of the improvement, telephones and laptops with built-in cameras and microphones eased workflow, allowing business to be conducted from home in the same way that it would be in an office setting, but with less stress.
Nigeria now has 92.3 million internet users, with that figure predicted to rise to 187.8 million by 2023. According to this data, internet penetration in Nigeria was 47.1 percent in 2018 and is anticipated to rise to 83.5 percent by 2023. (Clement, 2019). Nigeria rated 47th in Saharan Africa and 21st out of 65 countries in terms of internet freedom (Freedom House Index, 2019).
Internet use in Nigeria is extremely beneficial to E-classroom learning and teaching. Mobile phone internet is popular among Nigerians, with about 50 million people using smartphones to access the internet (clement, 2019). The usage of the internet, cellphones, and other social media platforms like as Zoom, Google class and meet, WhatsApp, and others make remote activities easier and less stressful.
Remote access is the use of a computer system, telephone, email, or other device from another location via an electronic link (The Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary, 2003). Remote access makes lecturing from home simple and pleasurable, allowing the lecturer and students to communicate as if they were in a traditional classroom setting using videoconferencing, Skype, Google Meet, WhatsApp video, Zoom app, and other means.
1.2 Problem statement
Institution closures have far-reaching economic and societal implications, affecting not only students, instructors, and families. In reaction to school closures, UNESCO advocated for the adoption of distance learning programs as well as open educational tools and platforms that schools and lecturers can utilize to reach out to students remotely and minimize disruption to education.
According to UNESCO monitoring as of July 7, 2020, around 1,067,590,512 students have been affected by school closures in response to the epidemic, with 110 countries implementing national closures, affecting approximately 61 percent of the world’s student population.
Several other countries have imposed localized closures, affecting millions more students. Only in Nepal are around 87 lakh pupils from preprimary to postsecondary education levels [ISCED levels 0 to 8] affected by the COVID-19 pandemic closure. While it is difficult to foresee how the epidemic will unfold, the prospect of extended physical distance constraints remains.
According to the United Nations, 166 nations shuttered schools and colleges to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which infected around 1.5 billion children and young people, accounting for 87 percent of the enrolled population.
Many academics have looked into the impact of online education in the Nigerian educational sector (Onyeukwu, Akanegbu, and Igbokwe, 2017). The implementation of E-classrooms in Nigerian educational institutions has numerous advantages for both students and instructors. Classes are usually not interrupted in situations where E-classroom is appropriate in any learning institution.
Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has since spread throughout the world. The virus was brought to Nigeria by an Italian. Many countries’ economic, social, and educational advancement has been hampered. The dreadful COVID-19 outbreak prompted many lockdowns and disruptions in various sectors, and schools were closed.
It became critical to use E-classroom practice in teaching students throughout the country from home. In the Nigerian educational sector, the only weapon that could be used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic is the electronic classroom.
However, the concept has some obstacles, such as insufficient electric power supply, excessive airtime costs, and poor network service from network providers. These issues have hampered the efficiency and effectiveness of remote learning activities, social distancing, and online teaching at Umunze Federal College of Education (Technical). These difficulties led to the development of a suitable solution.
1.3 Goals of Research
The study’s major goal is to investigate E-classroom and Covid 19 prevention in Federal College Of Education (Technical), Umunze. Other objectives that were raised in response to research questions are as follows:
to ascertain how online education affects social alienation Federal College Of Education (Technical), Umunze; to investigate the influence of video conferencing on the physical contact spread of COVID-19 Federal College Of Education (Technical), Umunze; to investigate the impact of internet usage on COVID-19 Federal College Of Education (Technical), Umunze
1.4 Hypothesis of research
To steer the investigation in accordance with the research questions and objectives, the following null hypotheses were developed: Ho1: Lecturers’ attitudes toward e-learning promote student performance.
Ho2: There is no link between COVID-19 Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze video conference and physical contact spread.
Ho3: There is no hope of using the Internet as a tactic to limit the community expansion of COVID-19 Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze.
Ho4: There is no link between E-learning practices and the reduction of COVID-19 Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze.
1.5 Importance of the research
The COVID-19 virus affects individuals differently. COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, and most infected people may experience mild to moderate symptoms before recovering without the need for medical treatment. People with underlying medical issues, as well as those over the age of 60, are at a higher risk of acquiring severe disease and dying.
The research makes policy recommendations to the Nigerian government regarding the Nigerian educational sector. This will give Tertiary Institution Management in Nigeria an option for limiting the negative consequences of any future disease epidemic that has the potential to disrupt educational and school operations. The study adds to the body of information and can be used as a resource for other scholars.
1.6 Study Scope/Limitations
The study focuses on lecturers at Umunze Federal College of Education (Technical).
1.7 Research Organization
This paper is divided into four chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of the research. This chapter also includes the study’s introduction and goal. The research approach is covered in the second chapter (Chapter Two). The third chapter contains the research analysis. The analysis was designed to respond to the hypothesis expressed in Chapter One. The result and recommendations are presented in Chapter Five.
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PREVENTION OF E-CLASSROOM AND COVID-19 IN NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS