THE APPLICATION OF ICT IN STUDENT-TEACHER LEARNING OF INTEGRATED SCIENCE
CHAPTER ONE
1.1INTRODUCTION
Today’s business depends on communication. Through tele-education and tele-medicines, as already practiced in many developed countries such as South Africa, India, and China, education and health can be brought to the doorsteps of rural and impoverished urban cities in all African countries.
Tertiary education is at the pinnacle of educational endeavors in Nigeria. Following secondary education, tertiary education is provided in universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, and monotechnics, among others. According to the national policy on education (FRN, 2004), the goals of tertiary education include contributing to national development through high level manpower training,
developing and instilling proper values for the survival of Nigerian society and individuals, developing individual intellectual capabilities so as to understand their immediate and local environment, and providing opportunities for the acquisition of physical and intellectual skills required. It is also intended to promote and encourage scholarship and community service, as well as to forge and promote national unity and national and international understanding.
Information and communication technology (ICT) is defined as computer-based tools that people use to work with an organization’s information and communication processing needs. It is widely acknowledged that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be used to improve the quality of teaching and learning in any tertiary institution.
Because of the prevalence and rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs), human society has transitioned from the information technology age to the knowledge age (Galbreath, 2000). According to Moursund and Bielefeldts (1999), there are three major ways to use ICT for teaching and learning. These include IT-assisted learning, technology as a tool, and computer and information science. IT-assisted learning was classified into the following categories:
i. Computer-assisted learning, which is the interaction between a student and a computer system designed to assist students in learning through drill and practice, tutorials, simulation, and virtual realities.
ii. Computer-assisted research denotes the use of ICT to aid in library and empirical research. This is aided by the growth of the internet, which has created a virtual library that can only be accessed by those who are technologically literate.
iii. Distance learning, which is the use of telecommunications to help students learn through e-mail, interactive web sites, and two-way audio/video teleconferencing.
ICT (information and communication technology) should be used as a pedagogically powerful tool for knowledge construction and modeling. Despite the recognized potentials of ICT, their integration in the teaching-learning process will be dependent on teaching. According to empirical findings, even teachers who are proficient in the use of ICT do not incorporate them into their t4eaching. According to Moursund and Bielefeld (1999) report on now teachers’ use of information technology,
i. The technology skills of teacher education faculty were comparable to those of the students they teach.
ii. Most teacher educators did not demonstrate the use of technology in their classrooms. As a result, lecturers must be trained not only in using ICT but also in integrating it into instruction.
1.2THE PROBLEM’S STATEMENT
The advancement in the development of ICT facility usage has been significant. It is believed that this advancement has not been felt in the academic realm. Most students around the world understand how to use these so-called ICT facilities, but their contribution to the learning and teaching process has not been studied, which is why this study has been designed to investigate the use of ICT in the learning of integrated science among students and teachers at the College of Education in Ekiadolor-Benin City.
1.3 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH
1. How do student teachers use ICT in their daily lives to solve problems?
2. What factors limit or enable the use of ICT in student teacher learning?
3. How do student teachers collaborate to address ICT-related constraints in their daily learning practice?
1.4THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVES
1. Determine the extent to which students and teachers use ICT in the learning process.
2. To identify the constraints that impede the use of ICT in the study area.
3. To propose solutions to the constraints that impede the use of ICT in the research area.
1.5THE STUDY’S SIGNIFICANCE
This research is being conducted to determine the use of ICT in the learning of integrated science among student teachers at the College of Education in Ekiadolor, Benin City. Knowing the importance of using ICT facilities will encourage the authority on how to make this facility more available to students and also educate the available to students and also educate the novice among the students on the importance of using ICT.
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THE APPLICATION OF ICT IN STUDENT-TEACHER LEARNING OF INTEGRATED SCIENCE