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The IUP Journal of Information Technology

A Study of ICT Competence Among Nigerian Academic Staff in Monotechnics

Article Details

Pub. Date	: Jun, 2019
Product Name	: The IUP Journal of Information Technology
Product Type	: Article
Product Code	: IJIT31906
Author Name	: Aisha Awal, Amit Mishra, Elijah Joseph and Jamilu Mai Pan Uku
Availability	: YES
Subject/Domain	: Engineering
Download Format	: PDF Format
No. of Pages	: 20

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Abstract

Today’s fast-paced world is becoming increasingly characterized by technology-driven communication, which has transformed the world into a large globally connected community with ever-increasing outreach of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Technology plays an increasingly important role in people’s lives, and it is envisaged that technological literacy will soon become a functional requirement for people’s work, social and even personal lives. For both social and economic reasons, staff will need computer and communication technology skills if they are to live successfully in a knowledge-based society. The paper examines the ICT usage habits and the self-assessed ICT competencies possessed by staff of monotechnics and polytechnics. A second important issue that was addressed was whether there were significant differences in the perceived ICT competency among staff according to the demographic and study-related factors.

Description

Education is the first and best key area for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) applications. ICT is often perceived as a catalyst for change, change in teaching styles, change in learning approaches and access to information (Watson, 2001). ICTs can help by providing alternative possibilities for education (Casal, 2007). Use of different ICTs has become inevitable for staff in learning. By using modern ICTs, staff can retrieve required information within a short time. They can access and disseminate electronic information such as e-books and e-journals and can improve their learning using different modern ICTs in the form of wireless networks, Internet, search engines, databases, websites and web 2.0 technologies. Teachers are a vital link in the education chain, and for education to truly respond to the needs of 21st century, they must play a central role in leveraging technology, and in particular, using new and old ICT devices in teaching and learning. What kind of skills do teachers need to acquire in order to be effective in an ICT-based learning environment? This study will address this issue by highlighting the experiences of teachers using ICT in Nigeria, and offering some further examples of established ICT teaching and learning applications in other developing and developed countries.