ASSESSMENT OF TEACHERS ATTITUDE TOWARDS APPLICATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Nigeria have witness the development of ICTs in various sectors over the last decade including education. The growing trend in the use of ICT has created a great deal of knowledge about how ICTs are being used in developed countries with Nigeria inclusive, there is not much information on the attitude of teachers to the application of information and communication technology especially in the secondary schools. Looking at the developing countries according to Hawkins (2004), there is generally limited access time per month using ICTs by both the teachers and students, and even less time spent with reliable Internet access. It should be noted that the attitude of teachers and students to the application of information and communication technology diers significantly. Despite this, the new and emerging technologies challenges the traditional process of teaching and learning, and the way education is managed. While information communication technology is an important area of study in its own right, it is having a major impact across all curriculum areas.

Easy worldwide communication provides instant access to vast array of data, challenging assimilation and assessment skills (Fowowe, 2006). Rapid communication plus increased access to ICTs in the home, at work, and in educational establishment, could mean that learning becomes a truly lifelong activity- an activity in which the pace of technological change forces constant evaluation of teaching process itself. Information communication technology covers computer and other equipment created to enhance acquisition, storage and dissemination of information materials. Most of these equipments were initially confine to the vicinity of offices. Libraries in the course of time embraced the use of these equipments to carry out their day-to-day activities as usage was adapted to carry out some routine activities. It functions does not end there. The current issue is the current application of ICTs in the classroom by the teachers. This includes specifically the use of computers, Internet, telephone, digital camera, data projector, etc. As the world continues to revolve around technology, teachers need to continue incorporating these new technologies into their teaching.

Information communication technologies (ICTs) are information handling tools that are used to produce, store, and process, distribute and exchange information. These different tools are now able to work together, and combine to form networked world- which reaches into every corner of the globe (UNDP Evaluation Oice, 2001). It is an increasingly powerful tool for participating in global markets, promoting political accountability; improving the delivery of basic services; and enhancing local development opportunities (UNDP, 2006). To Ogunsola (2005) ICT “is an electronic based system of information transmission, reception, processing and retrieval, which has drastically changed the way we think, the way we live and the environment in which we live”. It can be used to access global knowledge and communication with other people (Ogunsola, 2005). Students who learn with ICTs gain deeper understanding of complex topics and concepts and are more likely to recall information and use it to solve problems outside the classroom (Apple Computer, 2002). In addition, through ICT, students extend and deepen their knowledge, investigation, and inquiry according to their needs and interest when access to information is available on multiple levels (CEO Forum on Education and Technology, 2001). Technologies available in classrooms today ranges from simple tool-based applications (such as word processors), to online repositories of scientific data. Others are primary historical documents, handheld computers, closed-circuit television channels, and two-way distance learning classrooms. Prensky (2005) asserts that even the cell phones that many now carry with them can be used to learn. According to Lei and Zhao (2006) each technology is likely to play a different role in students learning. Rather than trying to describe the impact of all technologies as if they were the same, researchers need to think about what kind of technologies are being used in the classroom and for what purposes. These usability guide the teachers attitude to the application of these equipments. Students can learn from computers where technology are used essentially as tutors and serve to increase student’s basic skills and knowledge. Moreover, they can learn with computers where technology is used as tool that can be applied to a variety of goals in the learning process and can serve as a resource to help develop higher order thinking, creativity and research skills (Ringsta and Kelley, 2002).