Ways to motivate education via ICT

The great advancement in information and communication technology (ICT) could be of help to the current decay in Nigerian education especially in the secondary schools. It is an acceptable fact that science and technology has changed and continued to change the face of the world. Take for instance; as our children are born in the era of information technology and other electronic gadgets, they take more interest in watching home movies and televisions than listening to a teacher in front of the class. Therefore the use of such audiovisuals like videos and computer soft wares as teaching aids should be of necessity in promoting the standard of education in our time. This work is concerned with how to introduce some of the modern educational media especially the audiovisual machines as part of our teaching aids in the secondary schools.

It is a clear fact that the standard of education has gone down compared to what use to obtain in the time of the early missionaries. The reason for this could not be farfetched from the system of education and method of teaching. Often we find it difficult to adapt to change and innovation. The same method of teaching and learning that was prevalent in the days of the missionaries is still in use today. This work is therefore focused on the possibility of the ICT doing the magic in the classroom to help upgrade the standard of education.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The rational of this research is to see the possibility of improving the falling standard of education in Nigeria using the innovations of the ICT.

The world today when compared with the world one hundred years ago, illustrates a tremendous and amazing advances in science, commerce, health care, transportation, and other areas. In our educational system, a remarkable change has also been recorded especially as regards the techniques in the classroom communication process, thus we now have different methods of teaching and learning in education. We now talk of individualized instruction, team teaching; problem solving; discovery, inquiry, simulation, microteaching and so on.

However, despite these great efforts in teaching and learning, it has been discovered that the standard of education has greatly gone down especially in the primary and secondary schools. Let us look at the past and see the history of meaningful western education in Nigeria traceable to the activities of the Christian missionaries , which started in 1842 as accounted by numerous educationists in Nigeria like Taiwo (1980), Adesina (1988), Fajana (1978) and Fafunwa (1974), to mention but a few.

The schools when managed by the missionaries

Decades after the introduction of western education in Nigeria, education had remained under the control of the Christian missionaries. Government was unwilling to participate in the system in part or in total. The sources of funds for the mission schools mainly came from donations from groups and individuals outside the country, including local Christian and parents who were later paying for their children. The bulk of the contributions were from the grants in-aid from the main missions abroad; the standard was not encouraging due to inadequate funding coupled with the fact that the primary intention of the missionaries were purely religious – to convert the natives to Christianity.

However, when in 1877, government decided to give unconditional grants to the mission schools, it was only used to proliferate mushroom schools in villages. Thus, the conditions of the schools remained poor because the primary concerns were largely religious tracts or information unrelated to local background, Taiwo (1980).

The collapse in education

The growth in education lasted just for few years before government after the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970 forcefully took over the management of all mission schools. The situation since then has not been encouraging. The standard of education has continued to fall. The rising number of unqualified professionals in our different fields of discipline has terribly affected our nation both in the economic development, politics and even in other social cultural development. The challenges have been that of poverty, disease, hunger, illiteracy, corruption and general underdevelopment. Take for instance, students now get senior school certificate examination with A’s and C’s through what is now called ‘special center’ without even entering the examination hall, how we are able to tackle these problems will depend largely on the values and commitment we attach to educational, which is the biggest industry that touches on every fabric of our human endeavour.

Since the take over of schools by the government, the consequences are obvious, moral decadence like examination mal-practice, mediocrity, dishonesty, disobedience, promiscuity, stealing etc. These have been registered in different sectors and stages of education formation of students especially among the students of the secondary level. The quality or standard of education set by the early missionaries when they were in partnership with the government has been reduced in a great measure due to poor management.

In recent times there is a reintegration of the church in the school system. Many churches and individuals are coming up with their own schools in order to set a pace in academics and morals. However, the involvement of the church into the management of the school system at this time seems not to have reduced the problem. Most of the current mission and private schools are falling back to the same predicament of low standard because the world is changing and the system of teaching must have to change with it. Therefore the old traditional method of teaching and leaning is not the best approach in solving the current education problem noticeable in the quality of our students especially in the secondary schools today.

From the above discussion, it is obvious that the problem we experience in our education anchors more on the neglect of the advancement and innovations coming from the ICT sector.

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary objectives of this study are:

1. to examine the merits that can be achieved using ICT like the audiovisual and other educational media in the secondary school;

2. to find out problems/constraints in the use of educational media in the secondary school.

3. to determine strategies to improve the use of education media in the secondary school.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions were explored in this study:

1. What merits can be derived from using ICT educational media in the secondary school?

2. Are there problem/constraints in the use of these educational media in the secondary schools?

3. What strategies can be employed to improve the use of educational media in the secondary schools?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

An introduction of audiovisuals in our schools will easily capture the interest of students, as most of them are familiar with watching of Television and home movies. With audiovisual teaching and learning process, the students’ capacity of assimilation will increase greatly. Gerbner (1973) in his ‘cultivation theory’ states that the media especially the television exert tremendous influence on people by altering the individual’s perception of reality (Okunna, 2002). While discussing the effects of the media on the society, the proponents of this theory discovered that heavy TV viewers had a markedly different view of reality than light viewers. The simple reason to this is that what we see has much impact in us that what we hear. People remember more easily when the eyes and the ears are focused towards a particular object or subject. Thus with the eyes and the ears directed toward a particular direction the mind is captured easily. Thus, Audiovisuals foster personal involvement and stirs emotional response and makes people take a stand in life. Therefore the students will be able to retain what they learn if audiovisual is employed in the system of teaching.

LIMITATION / SCOPE OF STUDY

The study was carried out in four of the twenty-one secondary schools in Awka South due to the constraints of both time and financial resources. The findings of the study can only be generalized the extent the four schools are representative of the entire population. And again, the study is a survey design and thus, based its findings on opinion of respondents. Perhaps, an experimental study using a control group could be more revealing and reliable.

CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

AUDIOVISUAL EDUCATION: This is the system where we use those devices and materials that involve sight, sound, or both, for educational purposes.

EDUCATIONAL MEDIA: This refers to those media of communication like the television, radio, the press, the internet etc which have the ability to give instruction or knowledge.

ICT: This is used to designate information technology (IT) in education. Literally it means information and communication technology. It came into existence as an outcome of the continuing developments in information technology (IT) on education.

REFERENCES

Fafunwa, A. (1974). History of education in Nigeria. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

Imogie, A.I. Improving teaching and learning: an introduction to instructional technology. Benin: Joe Seg. Assoc.

Lippincott, W. (20007). Students make Audiovisuals themselves. U.S.A: Williams & Wilkins publications.

Nnadozie, J.C. (2004). The procedural Schemata of Curriculum Design. Enugu: Johnkens & Willy publ. Ltd.

Okunna, C. (ed.) (2002). Teaching mass communication: a multi dimensional approach. Enugu; New Generation Books.

Uwaje, C. (2006). The role of Information Technology in Catholic Education. Abuja: The first Summit conference on Catholic education.

Rapid increase in the number of radio and TV channels in Africa

Over the last ten years, the African broadcast industry has slowly been liberalising and over the last year, the pace of this process has quickened. New Free-To-Air channels are planned in an increasing number of countries and there are new entrants to the Pay-TV market which has begun to grow in size.

There are shifting patterns for advertising in different media. For anyone in the industry or interested in how it has and will develop, there has been a frustrating lack of data up until now.

This week sees the publication of African Broadcast and Film Markets by Balancing Act in association with Intermedia. It is over 340 pages long and has 132 charts, 41 tables of statistical data and 12 graphic maps.

It is probably the most detailed data source on both industry and audience information for the sector in Africa. The report comes in two parts: part one covers industry trends and data and part two looks at audiences. There are seventeen country user surveys covering: Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Part 1 provides an analysis of the developing industry and has the following sections: African industry overview – Slow but steady liberalisation: This looks at the state of liberalisation, for radio and TV; the international players in the market; the scale of broadcast advertising; and the battle for Pay-TV subscribers. The beginning of the end for Mr President TV looks at the difficult commercial position of public broadcasters and ways they might get out the trap they are in. Other areas covered include: The costs of local and international programming; Digitilisation and High Definition– Slow progress but it is on its way; Africa’s film industry – Low output but big changes afoot; Africa goes triple-play – the early pioneers roll-out; The potential market size for Pay Television; Reaching African diaspora audiences – competing for eyeballs away from home; and Mobile TV – a technology for Africa? Part 2 looks at Africa’s rapidly shifting landscape through audience research from 17 key markets: Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Each survey involves a large sample size, and is conducted through face-to-face interview, usually in the home of the respondent. The result is an unusually rich, single source for data on how Africans are interacting with traditional and emerging broadcasters and platforms, new technologies and modes of mass and inter-personal communication. It is sufficiently standardised to allow cross-comparison between countries and trend analysis across the timeframe data has been collected. Trends picked up by Part 1 of the report include: Explosion in number of radio stations: The liberalisation of radio broadcasting has led to an explosion in the number of radio stations, particularly those broadcasting in local languages. These are known in East Africa as the "vernaculars" and they have been one of the growth areas of the last five years. The most vivid example of this trend is Uganda where there are now over 150 radio stations, 69% of which cater for audiences in the 38 different languages of the country. Success of Free-To-Air TV channels: Countries where the privately owned FTA TV channels have taken the majority of both audience and advertising revenues tend to be where fuller competition exists. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are all countries where the existence of several FTA companies means that both audiences and advertising are much more fragmented and the state broadcaster no longer necessarily has the dominant position in terms of either audience share or advertising revenues. TV advertising spend: Based on countries where more detailed statistics are available, overall advertising spend on television has increased slightly in some countries but declined in others. The report identifies 15 markets which have significant volumes of TV advertising. Growth of radio and TV ownership: On a fairly conservative projection, television ownership in the selected 40 countries surveyed will grow by an average of 17%. This growth will vary from country to country with the higher rates being found in those countries where economic growth is above the global average. Radio growth is equally strong and geographically more widespread. International investment: The absence of international players (except in the Pay TV market) has meant that Africa has not been viewed as a single potential market. Whilst there is an increasing level of international interest, the likely players remain regional or even sub-regional. Restrictions on foreign ownership mean that in most cases multinational investors are unable to buy direct control of these entities and are therefore unwilling to invest. State broadcast weakness: Where the state broadcaster competes in a more liberalised FTA TV channel environment with 4-5 competitors, the state broadcaster usually sinks to the bottom position in terms of advertising share over time or simply stays one ahead of the last new market entrant. Triple play and converged players: The report analyses the ten countries where there are converged operators (including cable) or telcos providing IP-TV. In each case, the size of the market is comparatively small but the numbers have continued to go upwards over the last 12 months: there are both subscriber numbers and bouquet breakdowns with rates. The report looks at those like Telkom Media and Egyptian operator PCN who are starting to enter the market. It examines Algerie Telecom’s Fibre-To-The Home roll-out and its ambitions with IP-TV. Triple play has been hampered by backward looking African regulation on VoIP in some countries and the high cost of international bandwidth but with the arrival of several new fibre projects in liberalised East Africa in 2009 all that will begin to change. Rights and programming costs: One factor that has slowed down the development of the African broadcast sector has been the costs of both rights and locally produced content. This report gives a breakdown of regional production costs and the resources required to buy in international programming. In one section it looks at the battle over rights and their costs during the African Cup of Nations. The great mobile TV experiment: The continent is the site of one of the most extensive set of roll-out plans for mobile TV. The report has a section that covers how it is being done, the initial numbers using the services and the technologies involved. Part 2 of the report focuses on audiences, with detailed robust survey data that tackles a range of questions including: Radio the dominant media in most countries: The realities of economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa mean that whilst television and radio are widely distributed in main cities, radio is the main medium for rural areas. In most of the countries surveyed, the majority of the population listen daily to the radio. That said, some countries have limited terrestrial television and as described in Part 1 of the report, there is a strong correlation between access to electricity and television ownership. More control, less trust: Wherever Government exerts tight control over the public broadcaster or all media, the audiences trust the resulting news output far less than they might otherwise. For example, in Egypt, the domestic media is less trusted than international outlets. The most trusted source of information is Al Jazeera. As a pan-Arab satellite giant founded by the Qatari emir, the channel is technically international or foreign. Yet Egyptians, like viewers in most Arab societies, have appropriated Al Jazeera as their own, considering it akin to a local channel. Popularity of imported content: Much of the most popular content tends to be music on the radio, or largely imported soaps on television. For example, in Mozambique’s main cities, private channels feature a regular diet of Portuguese and Brazilian soap material. But these are not just a feature of Portuguese-speaking markets for both Portuguese and Spanish soaps are a central programming element in Kenya. Hunger for music and entertainment: There is a huge appetite for FM music radio. Africans, both sub-Saharan and North African, surround themselves with music in cars, public transportation, shops and homes. Wherever deregulation has taken place, multiple FM channels have emerged. Consumers also hunger for entertainment television. Affordability and the size of the middle class: Many of the new converged services assume that there is an affluent audience out there who can afford to pay for them. This report contains breakdowns of the size of the middle class in each country. Where there has been above average economic growth in countries, the middle classes have actual grown significantly: for example, the Kenyan middle class has grown by several percentage points. That may sound small but the numbers run into millions of people. The user surveys tackle both media equipment ownership (televisions, radios, PCs, mobiles, satellite dishes) and also the level of usage "yesterday". On affordability, it asks respondents whether they can afford expensive goods like televisions and fridges. Balancing Act’s African Broadcast and Film Markets, published in association with Intermedia, is over 340 pages long and has 132 charts, 41 tables of statistical data and 12 graphic maps. Don’t say that convergence is all hype until you know what the new landscape may actually look like.

By Ejike Nwafor