13 Teaching And Learning In Tertiary Institutions: Issues, Challenges And Prospects In The Use Of Information Communication Technology In Education In The 21st Century

Abstract

This paper focused on Information Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching and learning in tertiary institutions in the 21st century. ICT can be seen as a tool that enhances both local and international exchange of ideas which are critical for advancing meaningful educational initiatives especially at the tertiary education; training high skilled labour force, and understanding issues related to both education and economic development. In this digital era, ICTs use and application in the classroom is very critical for offering the students opportunities to learn and develop critical thinking and creative ability which are the demands of the 21st century knowledge and skills. ICT improves teaching and learning in tertiary education and its benefits for lecturers in employing the appropriate pedagogy is paramount. The purpose of this paper was to discuss issues in the use of ICT in teaching and learning at the tertiary level in the 21ist century. Specifically, the paper was discussed under the following: Teaching and learning in tertiary institutions in the 21st century, issues in the use of information communication technology in education in the 21st century, challenges in the use of information communication technology in education in the 21st century, prospects in the use of information communication technology in education in the 21st century. Conclusion was drawn and recommendations were proffered two of which are: 1.The provision of ICT in Nigeria education system especially at the tertiary level should be planned in such ways that will make it available, accessible and acceptable to the lecturers and the students, 2. Professional development of lecturers should be a priority in order to upgrade the lecturers’ competencies in the use and application of ICTs.

Keywords: ICT, Higher education, Issues, Challenged, Prospects, teaching and learning.

Introduction

Education is the basic human right of all the citizens. According to Ambedkar  cited in Esoswo (2011) “Right to Education” implies that education is the basic human right of all the citizens in the nation and a significant factor in the development of every child, community and nation. Halder, Mehboob and Niazi (2013) noted that “education is the primary agent of transformation towards sustainable development since it increases people’s capacities to transform their vision into reality”. Education in Nigeria has four levels which include the pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary/higher levels. This paper dwell on tertiary/higher level of education in Nigeria.

Tertiary education refers to all post – secondary education which includes: Public and private tertiary institutions such as: Universities, Colleges of Education, Polytechnics, Nursing Schools, Distance Learning Centres and so forth. Tertiary institutions are responsible for producing high level manpower that contribute to human and national development. The National Policy on Education (NPE) (FRN, 2004) stipulates that tertiary education institutions shall pursue their goals through teaching, research, dissemination of existing and new information, pursuit of service to the community and being a storehouse of knowledge.

Teaching is very critical to the success of education especially tertiary education. Teaching can be seen as the impartation of knowledge and skills from the teacher to the learners. The purpose of teaching is to promote learning. Learning on the other hand, refers to the acquisition of knowledge and skills by the learners. Therefore, teaching and learning refers to a process that includes many variables which interact during the learning process as learners work toward acquiring new knowledge and skills and build range of learning experiences which would lead to a change in their behaviour and attitudes. These variables could include: Classroom environment, learning task, students’ behaviour and attitude to lectures, lecturer’s behaviour such as personality, teaching style and so on. The introduction of technology into education can be said to be a good idea.

Technology is any electronic machine that enables people to manipulate information such as words, numbers, images, or sounds. It has made it possible to connect with any part of the world in a matter of seconds. Technology in education helps the teacher and students communicate with each other, make decisions and improve knowledge and skills to solve problems. To have an effective teaching and learning activities, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is very critical.  According to UNESCO cited in Owhotu (2006), ICT is a term used to describe the tools and the processes to access, retrieve, store, organize, manipulate, produce, present and exchange information by electronic and other automated means. These tools include: Hardware, software and telecommunication in the form of personal computers, scanners, digital cameras, phones, faxes, modems, CD and DVD (digital view disc), players and records, digitalized video, radio and TV programmes and multimedia programmes.

According to Edward (2007), the combination of two technologies gave rise to the Information and Communication Technology. These technologies are the communication and the computer technology. The communication technology includes the radio, the television and the telephone technology, while the computer technology includes the computer, satellite, the wireless and the internet technology. The communication technology provides the means by which information is being transmitted and the computer technology provides the structure for transmitting, receiving and processing data. It also provides the means of storing and retrieving the information. Thus, ICT is the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers and software, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information (Okeh and Opone, 2007). ICT therefore, includes the old ICTs of radio, television and telephone, and the new ICTs of computers, satellite and wireless technology and the internet, the authors continued. The combination of these two technologies is what has networked the whole world today into a global village. ICT enhances international exchange of ideas which are critical for advancing meaningful educational initiatives, training high skilled labour force, and understanding issues related to both education and economic development (Ololube, Ubogu and Ossai, 2011). Many tertiary institutions in Nigeria today are struggling to adopt the ICT as teaching and learning technologies. This is in an effort to create an enabling environment for both students and their lecturers to engage in collaborative learning environment and gain access to information (Ifinedo, 2006). Access to information through ICT is the amount of information accessible to individuals to support them in trying new strategies, develop critical thinking and creativity skills Ololube et al 2011).

The purpose of this paper is to discuss issues in the use of ICT in teaching and learning at the tertiary level in the 21ist century. Specifically, this paper was discussed under the following sub-headings:

Teaching and learning in tertiary institutions in the 21st century

• Issues in the use of information communication technology in education in the 21st century,
• Challenges in the use of information communication technology in education in the 21st century,
• Prospects in the use of information communication technology in education in the 21st century,
• Conclusions
• Recommendations.

Teaching and learning in tertiary institutions in the 21st century

Teaching and learning is a combined process in which the teacher and the learners interact with the content in a conducive classroom environment using appropriate methodology and media to bring about transformation in the knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour of the learners. Before the 21st century, teaching and learning was mostly done through the traditional teaching method where communication between the teacher and the students were on face – to face basis. 21ist century is the information and knowledge age. Kayode (2010) noted that the teaching process in Nigeria education including tertiary education is still dominated by traditional method in which the teacher interacts with the students on face – to face manner. The author added that this kind of situation makes the students not to thrive on their own and that insufficient activities of the students is one of the drawbacks of this type of learning. This type of teaching and learning is similar to pragmatic rhetoric which was practiced in the past Straub cited in Oduma and Chika (2014) This is a method in which teachers communicate knowledge to students and the students just accept facts as incontestable truth. By implication, the students see the teachers as knowledgeable in every aspect of endeavour. Through rhetoric pragmatic, communication is unidirectional (From the teacher to the students) and does not encourage students to further examine and discover things by themselves (Galbreath, 2000).

This has affected teaching and learning in tertiary institutions which has been characterized by teacher – centred method called lecture method.

Lecture method focuses attention on the teacher. Lecture method is one of the traditional methods of teaching. In lecture method, the teacher dominates the lesson by being the only one talking all the time. Students are passive recipients who hardly participate nor contribute in the teaching and learning process. According to Schwab and Moreau cited in Ololube et al 2011), lecture method has been observed not to be an effective way to improve students’ learning. Don cited in Oduma and Chika (2014) observed that in lecture approach to teaching, students tend to remember only 10 to 50 percent from “passive” involvement in the teaching learning process; but they can remember up to 70 to 90 percent if they are actively involved. In traditional lecture method, teachers tell to tell their students what to do and how to do it than to involve them in directing their own learning. Most often, the students prefer the teacher to direct their learning pace for them. Their passive learning habit makes it difficult for them to explore on their own. This makes it difficult for the students to have an independent learning habit where they can explore and discover things themselves.  When they enter the labour market, the ‘passive’ habit acquired in the school would make it difficult for them to identify and overcome challenges. They will still wait to be told what to do and how to do it. However, one good aspect of the lecture method is that it can be used to lecture a large class.

A paradigm shifts from the way we used to do things is necessary. According to Freedman cited in Esoswo (2011), the 21st century teaching paradigm has shifted from the perspective of pragmatic rhetoric to encourage inquiry-based and experiential learning that are explicit and that promote critical thinking skills. However, as teachers provide opportunities for the students to be involved in critical thinking, they accept the fact that their ideas can be challenged as opposed to accepting them at face value. This would lead to looking at an issue by different students from different perspectives. This is a bidirectional communication that produces better results. It is in line with the student –centred method that shifts the focus of instruction from the teacher to the students who actively participate, get fully engaged/involved in the teaching and learning process. The aim is to: Provide learning opportunities that would make the students think critically and be creative in outlook; develop learner autonomy and independence; recognize individual differences in learners, emphasize each student’s interests, abilities, and learning styles, encourage the personal development of the whole student. The teacher serves as a facilitator of learning by guiding the students rather than for the class as a whole.

This modern practice is based on the constructivist learning theory of John Dewey which emphasizes the learner’s critical role in constructing meaning from new information and prior experience. In view of this, Don cited in Oduma and Chika (2014) advocated that the lecture system should be replaced by a combination of discussion method, independent study and greater freedom and responsibility for each student. By implications, the author advocates for a change from a paradigm based on the transfer of knowledge from the lecturer to the students, to one based on learner acquisition and construction of knowledge through active dialogue with other learners, content, the teacher and also through experience. Teaching and learning in tertiary institutions in the 21st century    should be fully based on experiential learning theory (ELT). This provides a holistic model of the learning process. Experiential learning theory emphasizes the central role that experience plays in the learning process. Experiential learning theory defines learning as the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of acquiring and transforming experience. Thus, the integration of ICT into teaching and learning especially at the tertiary level is very critical.

Issues in the Use of ICT in Teaching and Learning in Tertiary Institutions in the 21st century

Information and communication technology (ICT) is a potent instrument for effective teaching and learning in the tertiary institutions in this 21st century. According to UNESCO (2009), “ICT is a scientific, technological and engineering discipline and management technique used in handling information, its application and association with social, economic and cultural matters”. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been proven to be a very important aspect of teaching and learning process. It plays a significant role in development efforts as it provides opportunities for individuals to make progress in life, facilitates exchange of knowledge between learners, promotes creativity and intercultural dialogue. These technologies can also help to strengthen social cohesion and reinforce the capacity development for humanities education.

This age (21st century) is characterized by information which need to be communicated effectively using technology gadgets. The information age, therefore, requires new lecturers’ role. Lecturers cannot depend only on the traditional tools such as chalk, textbooks, overhead video projectors and other types of traditional instructional materials to lecture students the skills required in the information age. They have to use technologies such as computers, interactive video, CD-ROM and satellite communications to create new roles for themselves. The development and use of these (ICT) tools and ideas to promote teaching and learning is the whole essence of an ICT-driven curriculum. Effective implementation of this type of curriculum requires new lecturers’ roles regarding how instruction should be delivered. The era when lecturers were traditionally considered as directors, and disseminators of information is over (Rhodes, cited in Esoswo, 2011). The new roles of lecturers include managers and leaders of instruction. Rhodes opined that teachers should assume the roles of seekers, long-range planners, collaborators, researchers and mentors/mentees. However, a lecturer cannot assume these roles unless he/she is knowledgeable with ICT applications. Many tertiary institutions in Nigeria today are trying to adopt the ICT as teaching and learning technologies. This is in an effort to create an enabling environment for both students and their lecturers to engage in collaborative learning environment and gain access to information (Ifinedo, 2006). Access to information through ICT according to Ololube et al, 2011) is the amount of information accessible to individuals to support them in trying new strategies, thinking and creativity that are reflective in practice aimed at engaging them to new innovations. The authors further noted that every nation invests heavily in education because it can produce unquantifiable benefits for individuals, organizations and the society as a whole. In this regard, the ICT have been conveniently used to provide education both in the formal conventional face-to-face classroom interaction and in distant education offered with separation in terms of physical location of lecturers and students.

Conditions necessary for effective use of ICT in tertiary education

There are conditions necessary for effective utilization of ICTs to improve teaching and learning in tertiary education in this 21st century.

These include:

• One of the conditions is the availability of the Nigeria Policy for Information Technology Yusuf (2005) which should give detailed direction on the integration of ICTs in teaching and learning process at the state, local government and school administration level.
• Again, well trained and developed lecturers to be competent in the use of ICTs is necessary for effective use of ICT in tertiary education.
• Furthermore, equipping the schools with necessary ICTs facilities as envisaged in the national IT policy is a requirement for effective use of ICT in tertiary education. Assisting lecturers with personal computer through loans would be a good idea.
•  In addition, ensuring that school leadership is committed to ICTs implementation in the schools is a critical condition for effective use of ICT in tertiary education.
• Another necessary condition to effective use of ICT in tertiary education is involving the community in the implementation. Working with community will lead to development of a more authentic and conceptualized approach to learning (Scrimshaw, cited in Oduma and Chika (2014)). The community can assist in the provision of ICTs infrastructure in schools.
• Moreover, the existence of a national agency to be in-charge of ICTs implementation in schools is of paramount importance. The essence is to continually conduct research on ICTs issues in schools, develop curriculum on ICT for various levels of education, encourage the development of local content software, monitor ICTs implementation at school levels, regulate ICTs specialized institutions, assist states, local government, and schools in developing ICTs policy for education, advice government on ICTs and education, and so on.

Challenges in the Use of ICT in Teaching and Learning in Tertiary Institutions in the 21st century 

Looking at the education sector, it appears there is a little impact of ICT utilization. Issaetal cited in Esoswo (2011) noted that over the past decades, Nigeria higher institutions have been ranked higher in African continents, but have not been doing well in competing globally due to certain challenges that face the integration and use of ICT in higher education in Nigeria in this 21st century. The challenges include:

1. Capital Intensive: Training the students on ICT application for teaching and learning is capital intensive and with current economic situation in the country it might be difficult to achieve.
2. Poor Knowledge of the Lecturers: One of the challenges in the application of ICT in Nigeria education system is the poor knowledge of the lecturers in using the systems gadgets. Although ICT in Nigeria education systems is gradually capturing the attention of the government, institutions, teachers and learners, teachers‘ knowledge of application of system does not match the ovation. This is a critical handicap in the use of ICT in Nigeria education system.
3. Insufficient ICT materials: The ICT materials are not adequate in the schools for teaching and learning to take place effectively. With the high cost of obtaining them, it will be difficult to provide the quantity and quality ICT gadgets needed in the higher institution.
4. Lack of systematic approach to ICT implementation:  Inclusiveness of ICT in the function of any organization is a complex process that requires to be maximally conceptualized and defined from the beginning.
5. Administrative support: This is critical to the successful implementation of ICTs into the teaching and learning process. There is the need for administrators to provide the conditions that are needed such as ICT policy, incentives and resources. The commitment and interest of the top management and other leaders are the most critical factor for successful implementation of ICTs.
6. Technical support: This is an important part of the inclusiveness and implementation of the ICTs in the education system. This includes issues like installation, operation, maintenance, network administration and security. Technical support in most cases is not available. It therefore means that lecturers and students require some basic skills to overcome technical problems.
7. Inadequate funds: Many developing countries like Nigeria find it difficult to fund the expenses involve in the integration and implementation of ICTs in teaching and learning at the tertiary education. To overcome this, higher learning institutions should urge their government to release more funds; and diversify their sources of funds to have a wider financial base.
8. Yusuf (2005) summarized the various constraints to ICTs utilization as follows: Inadequate computer trained and certificate teachers, poor funding, irregular power supply, cost of equipment, lack of relevant software. According to Salomon cited in Granados (2011), there are clear indications from many countries that the supply of relevant and appropriate software is a major obstacle hindering wider application of the computer especially for teaching and learning in higher institutions.

Prospects in the Use of ICTs in Teaching and Learning in Tertiary Institutions in the 21st century

• When ICTs are employed in education given the right condition, they can accelerate, enrich, and deepen basic skills in reading, writing, mathematics and the sciences
• ICT can motivate and engage students to learn as they become more independent and responsible for their learning and also enable them to relate academics to the practices of today’s work
• ICTs can help to produce technologically literate workforce with positive disposition to technology use, capacity and competency in performing in a borderless knowledge based – economy.
• ICTs especially network technologies have been found to encourage active learning, support innovative teaching and encourage teachers and students to become active researchers and learners.
• ICTs can assist in reducing lecturers’ workloads through its use for lesson preparation and worksheet, writing students’ report and individual education plan, collating and analyzing students’ attainment information for target setting; recording and analyzing attendance and disciplinary information, and maintaining link between the school and parent to ensure parental involvement in school activities (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, BECTA) cited in Granados (2011).
• It can be used in getting necessary instructional content of subjects, and collaboration can be ensured with lecturers globally. In addition, lecturers can also have up to date knowledge of a subject area.
• ICTs can assist in lecturers’ development, for instance, the Internet. In the context of lecturers’ development e-learning can be used for both initial and continuing development through courses, workshops, and other activities. There are several global gateways of on-line resources to support lecturers’ development. According to Anderson (2004), these include: ICTs in Education, developed by UNESCO, Paris; Education Network of Australia, developed by Education Institute, Adelaide; Institute of Education Technologies in Education, developed by UNESCO, Moscow; and so on. These portals provide opportunities for users to ask questions, post materials, and submit assignments, the author added.
• With ICTs, teaching and learning is trying to shift focus from teacher-centred to student centred learning, where learners are active participants in the learning process, produce and share knowledge, and participate and learn in collaboration with others. Thus, lecturers become learning facilitators and collaborators and not just transmitters of knowledge.
• ICT can be multi-media for instructional delivery. Instructional content can be delivered in textual, audio, visual, and audio-visual forms. Thus, equity can be ensured for all categories of learners such as the disabled, geographically disadvantaged, those who cannot attend regular school and so on.
• Information and communication technologies can improve students’ problem-solving skills, provide opportunities for student-constructed learning, increase students’ collaboration on projects, increase mastery of vocational and workforce skills, increase the preparation of students for most careers and vocations, and improve confidence and attitude of students (Cradler and Bridgforth, 2004).
• ICT tries to eliminate geographical boundaries, which means using internet as a resource, a student will be able to access information or data located on remote places thereby enabling learning to take place at any time and everywhere. This means that a student will be able to learn at their own pace and time. This assists slow learners to grasp concepts they find challenging at their own time and pace.
• Teleconferencing facilities also play a critical role in bridging the learning distance. This removes the barrier created by physical distance which should have obstructed effective use of the ICT tools.

Conclusion

Using the necessary strategies, ICTs can become a major tool for improving the quality of teaching, learning, and research in Nigeria schools especially the tertiary level. The potentials of ICT can be harnessed by school administrators, classroom teachers, curriculum developers, researchers, and so on, to improve the administration of the schools and provide sound basis for innovative education in Nigeria. Using such technology in training and development programmes for the lecturers, the quality of teaching will increase effectively. This will call for a well-designed training programme by the teacher trainers and policy makers to meet the demand of lecturers in this 21st century on the use of ICT for effective teaching and learning activities.

Suggestions

If education for all is to be achieved, that is, in terms of equity of educational opportunity, and services; the provision of ICT in education in Nigeria, need to be planned in ways that will make it available, accessible, acceptable and adoptable in our education system. Specifically:

Considering the numerous challenges confronting ICT use in education, the paper recommends the following:

Techniques to the used in the application of ICTs in tertiary education in this 21st century should be pursued holistically. The success or failure of most ICT/education initiative is based not only on sound implementation practices, but on the nature and quality of educational policies and strategies in which the use of ICTs is embedded.

• Investments in ICTs should not only be used to promote the development of basic ICT skills such as keyboarding and competencies in operation, but also to enhance the development of critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills.
• Professional development of lecturers should be a priority in order to upgrade the lecturers’ competencies in the use and application of ICTs.
• There should be integration of ICTs into teacher education programme. This will require a document to provide a framework for ICTs in teacher education and proper description of this document on the essential requirements that must be met for successful technology integration is necessary.
• Since the education system of Nigeria is gradually giving priority to ICT literacy, it is imperative that the teachers be viewed as the prime engine for this priority. Thus, ICT training and development agenda for teachers which may be tagged Information Technology Literacy (ITL) for teachers should be established by the Education Ministry stemming from the federal, state and down to the local education authorities (Fouts, 2010).
• The use of ICTs should be monitored and evaluated regularly to meet a variety of educational objectives in the Nigeria tertiary institutions.
• There are innovations in ICTs and stakeholders should articulate the added value of ICTs from the innovations by assessing and mitigating risks, planning and implementing necessary change management processes.
• Tertiary institutions should be well equipped to face the challenges and opportunities that ICTs would present by helping education systems meet not only the Millennium Development Goals, but to increase the technology and knowledge-driven world.
• There should be well developed standards to guide implementation of ICTs programmes in teacher education institutions.
• Students and lecturers should have enough access to digital technologies and the internet in their schools especially classrooms.
• Traditionally considered roles of the teacher as directors, lecturers and disseminators of information must change to the new roles as managers and leaders of instruction planners, collaborators, researchers and mentors/mentees.
• ICT resources centres for teachers should be established in every local education authority.
• Private partnership should be encouraged in the provision of ICT literacy for teachers in remote areas.
•  Education administrators as well as (staff and employees) in education departments and ministries should be trained alongside teachers to be ICT literate.

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Correspondence can be directed to:

Dr. Jacinta Adaku Okonkwo

College of Education

Zing, Taraba State, Nigeria

email: acintaokonkwo60@gmail.com

phone no: +2347067524402