Promoting Instructional Technology for Effective and Efficient Academic Performance in Nigerian Schools

Introduction

Instructional technology has the potential for enhancing students learning effectiveness in education so as to motivate and energize teachers for better teaching and learning. According to Armstrong and McDaniel (1993), in developed economies, education at all levels has instructional technologies as a force that drives curriculum enhancement. Consequently, the developing countries including Nigeria have become aware of the invaluable role of instructional technologies for effective and efficient teaching and learning. Nigeria has been able to make significant progress in improving education through this medium. Also, concerted efforts have been made by successive governments in Nigeria to initiate Internet connectivity and technology training programmes but the efforts have not been yielding expected results. Such programmes are expected to link schools and libraries around the world to improve education, enhance cultural understanding, and develop vital skills of creativity; problem-solving and independent thinking which learners need for academic performance in global world. As used in this write-up, the term instructional technology includes hardware such as personal computers, smaller peripherals such as Global Positioning Systems (GPSs) and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) that interface with computers, and other equipment such as video cameras, VCRs and other educational resources. Also included is the software that runs on these devices and networks that allow them to send and share information concerning teaching and learning.

Research on how instructional technology can promote effective academic performance was conducted by Duffy, Brown, and Cunningham, (1996) and concluded that technology can enhance teaching and learning by facilitating the incorporation of real-world problems into the curriculum. Instructional technology can help make a learning environment more learner-centered by providing a greater variety of resources that allows students to follow their own interests and build upon their strengths. It can also help teachers motivate students to work toward deep understanding or transfer by illustrating how what is under study in the classroom relates to the world beyond it by accessing real-time data on current events.

Technology therefore can help teachers meet students’ differentiated needs, by serving as a tool for enrichment or review, or for presenting information in additional formats Berson (1996); Ehman and Glenn, (1991). However, conventional teaching has emphasized content in almost all the subjects without much reference to instructional technology to be used. For many years courses or subject have been written around textbooks, teachers have taught through lectures and presentation interspersed with tutorials and learning activities designed to consolidate and rehearse the content (Abanikanda 2011).

In summary, Instructional technologies are now favouring curricular that promote effectiveness and efficiency in academic performance, at all levels of education in Nigerian schools (Ogunseye 2001). There is an urgent need for the teacher to be creative through application of instructional strategies appropriate to the students of 21^st century.