Distance education, also called open or distance learning is a form of education in which there is normally a separation between teachers and learners. Thus, it includes one which others may refer to as a means of the printed and written word, the telephone, computer conferencing or teleconferencing used to bridge the physical gap between the instructor and the learner. Distance education equally involves the provision of whatever educational opportunities that are needed by anyone, anywhere, at any time for those who otherwise would have been denied.
Published in Chapter:
ICTs and Distance Education in Nigeria
Nwachukwu Prince Ololube (NOVENA University Ogume, Nigeria) and Andrew Egba Ubogu (Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 5
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-845-1.ch053
Abstract
Advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) have posed complex problem for colleges and universities in Nigeria especially in their distance education programs (Ololube, 2006). Improving the quality of education through the diversification of contents and methods and promoting experimentation, innovation, the diffusion and sharing of information and best practices as well as policy dialogue are UNESCO’s strategic objectives in education (UNESCO, 2002, 2005). As such, information and communication technologies (ICTs) literacy rate have become key tools that have a revolutionary impact on how we see the world and how we live in it. This phenomenon has given birth to the contemporary and advances in our ways of life. ICTs are having a revolutionary impact on educational methodology. However, this revolution is not widespread and needs to be strengthened to reach a large percentage of the population through distance education. In a complex society, many factors affect distance education. Hence an interdisciplinary and integrated approach is very necessary to ensure the successful development of Nigeria’s economy and society (Mac-Ikemenjima, 2005).