CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND  TO THE STUDY

The effects of information and communication ICT on academic performance of students in higher education programmes has been topic of a good deal of debate. This is because information and communication Technology ICT has become key tools and had a revolutionary impact of how we see the world and how we live in it.

This phenomenon has given origin to the contemporary and advances in our ways of life. There is drastic improvement on how students and lecturers explore benefits from information and Communication Technologies ICTs opportunities academic research, teaching and learning.

Information and communication technology ICT is the technology that ahs made positive impact in information generation, storage, retrieval and transmission or communication. Adeyinka, (1999). According to Adeya (2005), information and Communication Technologies ICTs cover internet services provision, telecommunications equipments and services, information technology equipment and services, media and broadcasting, libraries and documentation centres, commercial information providers, network based information services and other related information and communication activities.

Higher education is approaching the point at which information and communication Technology (ICT), plays a part in nearly all phases of the educational process. Every  institutions higher learning uses computers in their educational programmed and Lagos State University is not exempted. Today such issues like Global Mobile System of Communication (GSM), digitalization of information such as texts, numbers and sound are commonly used. They have inevitably become part of the information society and have encouraged easy access to data, records and information and above all made transmission of information among individuals million of miles always possible and less cumbersome.                              

However, the real challenge of information and communication is not the development of technology, but how to apply and use it for academic. Chukuwunonso (2004) is of the opinion that technology is developing faster than our ability to adopt it. The greatest difficulty is getting people to change.

John (1999) posits that Information Technology IT policies have been inconsistently developed or are lacking in many instances in higher institutions. According  to him, where they exist, institutions have implemented policies regarding the sue of computers in educational programs unevenly.      

Oyediran (2004) carried out surveys on awareness and adoption of information and communication Technology (ICT) by educators in Nigeria”. It reveals that capacity development of the educators and ICT facilities that can integrate IT culture into educational system of undergraduates have been taken for granted.

Nwaboku, (2002) notes that the present state (Teacher chalk—Board Method) is highly pathetic bearing in mind the obvious capacity of the computer and ICT such as that it ensues creative and independent learning, immediate feedback and the provision of unparallel interaction. The various technologies such as the slide projector, computers laptops, internets, world wide web and so on have been promoted over last 100 years to revolutionize education. But the problems is that, are these ICT facilities reality available in Nigerian schools. It can also be examine that to what extent is the students knowledge  of technical know how (skill) support use of information and communication technology for academic solutions in schools.

The evidence is clear that there are many problems with the current academic system. The fact of matter is that Nigeria tertiary intuitions instructional methods have not changed over the last 50 years. Chukwunonso (2004) in the long run, the effectiveness of these ICT and new digital tools will be dependent on the way in which ICT policies are evaluated and implemented.         

1.2       PURPOSE OF THE STUDY                                                                   

In a complex society like Nigeria, we recognize that several factors affects the academic performance of students in their various academic purist of higher institutions. For that reason, the purpose of this study is not is not to look in to such factors but to discuss information communication technology in relation to students education performance and relate it to sustainable development of education in Lagos State university.

Nellie (2001) suggests a follow –up of new innovations of informational and communication technology ICT trends, points to the fact that the educational system cannot shy away from the application of computers for instruction purposes in its entire ramification but these facilities are not readily available.

This research study intends to:

i.             Examine the availability of information and communication technologies ICTs facilities for students usage in schools.

ii.           Examines the pedagogical usage of ICTs

iii.          Examine the concept of information and communication technologies ICT and its relevance to education.

iv.          Examine student’s competency skills in handling ICT facilities in schools fro academic excellence. 

v.            To examine the impact of government on policy and provision of ICTs resources and facilities  in schools

1.3       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The research will examined students’ usage of computer and internet facilities for pedagogy of study at the tertiary levels, specifically, the work will take cognizance of the effects of information and communication technology ICT resources support availability, competence skills level of students and lecturers for information and communications technology  exploration, students of Lagos State University attitudes about ICTs and the importance of use of computer for research purposes in schools.

It is also a great concern of this research project to address the above problems from the following viewpoints.      

The problem to this research project is that, effects of information and communication technology (ICT) on academic performance of students in Lagos State University have not been examine. Also, it is also of great concern of this research to ascertain benefits students of Lagos State University get from ICTs facilities for academic excellence.

1.4   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 

The result of this research study will enable individual students, lecturers and government to discover the impact of information and Communication Technology in sourcing for information improving academic performance and shaping workforce opportunities.

It is also believed that the findings f this study will be of interest to the policy maker, curriculum developers, corporate bodies, students lecturers and the general masses who are continuous searching for how to explore ICTs services facilities for society development. This finding can also be of benefits to anyone as source of innovative ideas.

1.5   RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the purpose of this research, the following null hypothesis will be postulated and tested.

Ho1:  There is no significant difference between students gender attitude towards ICTs and academic performance of students in higher institution.   

Ho2:  There is no significant difference between students  (ICTs) skills and academic performance of student in higher institution

Ho3:  There is no significant difference between  effects of ICTs resources available and academic performance of students in higher institutions.

1.6   SCOPE  OF THE STUDY

This research study focuses mainly on the effects of information and communication Technology and the academic performance of students. The study will be limited to Lagos State University.

          Also, the issue of time, finance and logistic will affects effective investigation, as the project has to be submitted within a particular time frame. 

1.7   OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS 

Academic:            It implies things connected with education, especially studying in schools and universities. It involves a lot of reading and studying, rather than practical or technical skills.

Performance:       How ell or badly you do something. For example: High performance. The new management of the school aim to improve students academic performance.  

Effect:                   A change that something or somebody causes

ICT:                      Information and communication technology means the study or use of electronic equipment such as computers internet,Facebook, cell-phone e.t.c for storing, acquiring and analyzing information

Computer:           An electronic machine that can store, organize and find information, do calculation and control other machine.

The internet:        An international computer network connecting ether network and computers from companies, universities, countries, government, broadcasting stations etc.

Server:                 A computer programme that controls or supplies information to several computers connected in a network.

The world wide web: a system for finding information on the

(www)                   internet, in which document are connected to other documents using hypertext links 

Cell Phone:          It is a digital computerized wireless phone used to communicate between two individuals. It can store, retrieve and send information;

G.S.M:Global Mobile System of Communication.

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