Instructional technology in higher education: A case of selected universities in the Niger Delta

Education is a complex social undertaking, and there is no easy way to analyze the many dimensions of the policies involved. Nonetheless, we can begin with the simple characterization of higher education as a process involving the allocation and use of available resources to achieve certain instructional, social and/or economic objectives (Ololube, 2007). In most higher education circles in Nigeria, it is often observed that some institutions are undoubtedly better endowed than others in terms of, for example, the number, qualification and experience of the faculty and the availability of books and instructional technology materials (Ololube, 2008).

There are very few sectors of the Nigerian economy that have progressed beyond the emerging phase. It is estimated that 90% of Nigerian educational institutions are in the emerging phase, 7% in the applying phase, and 3% are in the infusing and transforming phases (Iloanusi & Osuagwu, 2009). The better endowed institutions tend to produce better results. Some faculties are simply more skillful than others. This result underlines the fact that, although substantial instructional resources may affect academic outcomes through their impact on the quality of the classroom environment, the interaction between faculty members and their students also plays an important role (Ololube, 2006a). Information and communication technology (ICT), when applied to education, enhances the delivery of and access to knowledge, and improves the quality of the curriculum. It produces richer learning outcomes when compared with ICT-poor education. ICT-enriched learning encourages critical thinking and offers a much broader spectrum of means for achieving educational goals (Iloanusi & Osuagwu, 2009).

While it has been rightly noted that instructional technology will not remedy all that is wrong with present-day education, there is no doubt that modern life is dominated by technology. As such there is universal recognition (Aduwa-Ogiegbaen & Iyamu, 2005; Ololube, 2008; UNESCO, 1998) of the need to use ICT in education as we enter a globalized era, in which the free flow of information via satellite and Internet sources considerably influences the global dissemination of knowledge to faculties and students. According to Iloanusi and Osuagwu (2009), the key thing is not the ICT per se, but, in understanding ICT and effectively employing it in the delivery of knowledge and in reaching goals in less time. In this way, ICT is used as a means but not as an end.

Computer technologies are perhaps the most fundamental information and communication technology tools in use today. With increasing pressure on higher educational institutions to “do more with less,” ICT can help to maintain or improve the quality of services in higher education while at the same time significantly reducing cost (Voss & Hadden, in Ololube, 2006b). Computer technologies include all removable media such as optical discs, disks, flash memories, video books, multimedia projectors, interactive electronic boards and continuously emerging state-of-the-art PCs (I1oanusi & Osuagwu, 2009).

Information technology (IT) is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numeric information via the microelectronic-based combination of computer and telecommunication (Ololube, 2008). It is an encompassing field that covers texts handling, data storage and referencing, computer output on microform, document image processing, teletext/view data, telecommunication, e-mail, voicemail, networking, value-added network services, teleconferencing and videoconferencing and data transmission among others (Lucy, 2000; Wiliams, 2003). Despite intensive studies (Ifinedo, 2005; Ololube, 2008; Ololube & Egbezor, 2009; Ifinedo & Ololube, 2007) on the process, impact and decline of technology use in instructional teaching in IT disciplines, the lack of availability of technology laboratories for students and faculty in Nigerian higher education systems, and a limited instructional use of IT in teaching in general, an effective policy has not been put forward to remedy the situation.

Purpose of the study

This article aims

To examine the effectiveness of instructional technology in higher education institutions in relation to the role and usage of ICTs, its effectiveness in faculty teaching and its impact on students academic achievements;

To access factors that hinder the implementation and use of effective instructional technology and the impact of these factors on students’ education;

And to provide higher education faculty with confident recommendations on how to improve the quality of their teaching and learning.

Research hypothesis

The following research hypotheses were formulated to give direction to the study:

HO₁: There are no significant relationships between the impact of instructional technology and usage of instructional technology and student academic achievement.

HO₂: There are no significant differences between male and female attitudes and anxiety towards ICTs and their academic achievements.

HO₃: There are no significant differences between the opinions of respondents in University 1 and University 2.