ABSTRACT

Teaching is a deliberate attempt by a more knowledgeable individual to impact knowledge; the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) into the classroom situation is an essential catalyst. This study is an attempt to find out the impact of ICT in teaching and learning of agricultural science in senior secondary schools in Ijero Local government area of Ekiti State. The questionnaire used examines issues related to the impacts of ICT in teaching and learning process which reflects teachers’ and students’ opinion on the concept of information and communication technology (ICT). One hundred and twenty students were randomly selected from six senior secondary schools in the local government chi-square statistical method was used in analyzing the effectiveness in teaching and learning of English in secondary schools will be enhanced through the use of information and communication technology (ICT) some recommendations were made based on the findings.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the study

The term agriculture is derived from two Latin words, “ager” meaning field and “cultura” meaning cultivation. By this statement, agriculture means field cultivation. However, this is not a complete definition of agriculture since agriculture has to do with animal production also.  Agriculture can be broadly defined as the art and science of crop and animal production for human use. It can also be defined as the tilling of land for cultivation of crops and rearing of livestock for food and money.

A concise general definition of agriculture may be difficult to arrive at as agricultural science is a blend of many of the pure and applied sciences for example, botany, zoology, chemistry, genetics, entomology, physiology, bacteriology, geography, Agricultural Science and physics Apart from farming which involves the cultivation of land for the production of plants and animals, the agricultural industry also involves those who supply inputs of production such as farm crop information, fertilizers, machinery, livestock feeds, those who collect, process, distribute and market farm produce, the researchers, and the extension agent who keep the farmers informed of new and better methods of farming. Oyewole and Alabi (2004).

Computer, is one of the key equipment of information communication technology (ICT), is an electromechanical device which accepts data as inputs, processes the data according to a set of previously stored instructions called program; stores and or releases the to results of processing (i.e information) as output. It is capable of solving problems or manipulating data by accepting the data, performing prescribed operations (Mathematical or logical) on the data and supplying the results of these operations. However, all types of computers consist of two basic parts viz; Hardware which is any part of computer physical structure such as the computer monitors or keyboard. Software on the other hand is any set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do. It is what guides the hardware and tells it how to accomplish each task. Some example of software is web browsers, games, and word processors such as Microsoft word. Raji et al; 2001).

Today, there are lots of every day devices that are basically specialized computers even though we do not always think of them as computers. Such includes tablet computers which uses touch sensitive screen for typing and navigation. Since they do not require keyboard or mouse, they are even more portable than laptops. The example of a tablet computer is an ipad. Many mobile phones can do a lot of things a computer can do, such as browsing the internet, playing games etc. These phones are often called “Smartphones”.

Information and communication technology (ICT) is a force that has changed many aspects of human endeavours. The impact of ICT on various fields of human endeavour such as medicine, tourism, business, law, banking, engineering and architecture over two or three decades has been enormous. But when one looks at the field of education, there seems to have been an uncanny lack of impact of ICT and far less change than other fields have experienced. A number of scholars such as Soloway and Prior, 1996 have attempted to explore this lack of activity and impact of ICT on education and many others. In other words, though ICT has begun to have presence in education, its impact has not been as extensive as in other fields (Collis, 2002). Education is a very socially oriented activity and quality education has traditionally been associated with strong teachers having high degrees of personal contact with learners. With the world moving rapidly into digital media and information, the role of ICT in education is becoming more and more important.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are electronic technologies used for information storage and retrieval. Development is partly determined by the ability to establish a synergistic interaction between technological innovation and human values. The rapid rate at which ICTs have evolved since the mid-20th century, the convergence and pervasiveness of ICTs, give them a strong role in development and globalization (Nwagwu, 2006). ICTs have a significant impact on all areas of human activity (Brake and Chisenga, 2003).

The field of education has been affected by ICTs, which have undoubtedly affected teaching, learning, and research (Yusuf, 2005). A great deal of research has proven the benefits to the quality of education (Al-Ansari, 2006). ICTs have the potential to accelerate, enrich, and deepen skills, to motivate and engage students, to help relate school experience to work practices, create economic viability for tomorrow's workers, as well as strengthening teaching and helping schools change (Davis and Tearle, 1999; Lemke and Coughlin, 1998; cited by Yusuf, 2005).

In a rapidly changing world, basic education is essential for an individual be able to access and apply information. Such ability must find include ICTs in the global village. The Economic Commission for Africa has indicated that the ability to access and use information is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for development. Unfortunately, many developing counties, especially in Africa, are still low in ICT application and use (Aduwa-Ogiegbean and Iyamu, 2005).

Although the offer of new tools using information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching has grown in the last years, their practical uses in the classroom remains uncommon in teaching secondary school levels. A French policy maker recently claims for making common place the use of ICT in teaching, “it is a tool among other” and pre-service teachers’ formations should consider it (Obin, 2012). Although many research results claim the high potentiality of ICT in learning, ICT is not a tool among other in actual science classrooms and we hypothesize that teachers must have difficulties to introduce them in their practices. The aim of the present work is to look at the impact of information communication technology (ICT) on effective teaching and learning of computer studies in secondary schools. The main difference between ICT and more traditional techniques for representing knowledge, such as textbook, is based on the nonlinear representation of information (Jacobson & Archodidou, 2010). In hypermedia, nodes of symbols are linked together in a flexible manner that make it powerful but which increases the difficulty (e.g. for teachers) to enter the product to appropriate its potentialities.

Many researches have been devoted to ICT to understand the factors that can influence learning such as the multimedia effect – in which students learn more deeply from words and pictures than from words alone, the coherence effect – in which students learn more deeply when extraneous material is excluded rather than included, the spatial contiguity effect – in which students learn more deeply when printed words are placed near rather than far from corresponding pictures and the personalization effect – in which students learn more deeply when words are presented in conversational rather than formal style (Mayer, 2011). Relations with modelling have been largely explorer so are the benefit of exploring the possibilities of multiple representations (Kozma & Roussel, 2007). The way technology can augment the cognitive and social processes of scientific understanding and learning has been largely commented (Kozma 2010). The use of surface features has been positively and negatively described. It may shape the students’ understanding and are profitable (Kozma,2010), or be used with no understanding and lead students to copy and paste information with low learning.

Technology on the other hand is described as the application of information in the design, production and utilization of goods and services and in the organization of human activities. Technology is generally dived into the following; Tangible (blue) prints, models, operating manuals, prototypes), intangible (consultancy, problem-solving and training methods), High (entirely or almost entirely automated and intelligent technology that manipulates ever finer matter and ever powerful forces, Intermediate (semi-automated partially intelligent technology that manipulates refined matter and medium level forces, Low (Labour-intensive technology that manipulates only coarse or gross matter and weaker forces. (Bushiness Dictionary com). Hence the aim of this research works to determine the contributions of computer ICT in the teaching and learning of agricultural science.

Statement of the problem

Nigeria recognizes the importance of ICT, and its role in promoting development in all sectors such as economic, health, education, and agriculture. The successive development plans has confirmed, within the general objectives of the development, the need to focus on technology, including information communication technology, and to harness ict for the benefit of developments services. The literature recorded several instances where ICT was used as teaching aids to facilitate students learning especially in skilled based subjects like Accounting, fine Arts, technical subjects too with little or no reports on the application of ICT as teaching learning equipment in Agricultural Science in Nigeria Secondary Schools. Therefore, this study is aimed to evaluate the contribution of ICT to the teaching and learning of Agriculture in Nigerian secondary schools.

Significance of the study

This study which focuses on the use of ict in teaching and learning of agricultural sciences.

The significance are:

i.             It would provide an insight to the relevance of ICT as effective teaching and learning of agricultural science in secondary schools.

ii.           It would help in examining the importance of ICT in the presentation of learning concepts in Agriculture to students.

iii.        It would help to assess how students access the internet in other to increase their level of understanding.

iv.         It would provide knowledge of how the use of information communication technology stimulates the interests of students during teaching and learning of agricultural science.

Objectives of the study

The main objective of this study is to examine the  impact of ICT oneffective teaching and learning of agricultural science in some selected secondary schools in Ikere Local Government of Ekiti State.

The Specific objectives is

1.     To examine the relevance of ICT in the effective teaching and learning of agricultural science in secondary schools.

2.     To investigate the availability of  ICT facilities for effective teaching and learning of agriculture

3.     Find out  if the usage of Modern ICT facilities and Teachers’ productivity as reflected in students’ academic  performance in agriculture

Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide the study

1.  What are the relevance of ICT on effective teaching and learning of agricultural science in secondary schools?

2.     Are there enough ICTs facilities available to Agricultural science Students for use?

3.     Is there any relationship between usage of Modern ICT facilities and Teachers’ productivity as reflected in students’ academic results?

Research hypothesis

(i)         There is no significant effect of using ICT on effective teaching and learning of agricultural science.

(ii)       The  use  of  ICT  as  teaching  and  learning  aids  in  Agricultural  Science  will  not stimulate the students     interests significantly.

Scope of the study

The study is focused on the teachers and students of Agricultural science in some selected   secondary schools in Ikere Local Government area of Ekiti State. The study is limited to five secondary schools randomly selected.

Definition of terms

For the purpose of effective understanding and avoidance of misinterpretation of some words used in this study, the following are explained.

Agriculture: this refers to the science or practice of farming including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals for human uses.

Computer: refers to an electronic device for storing and processing data, typically in binary form, according to instructions given to it in a variable program.

Technology: This is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry. It can also be referred to as machinery and equipment developed from such scientific knowledge.

Teaching: This is the occupation, profession or work of a teacher. It refers to the process of imparting knowledge and skills from a teacher to a learner.

Learning: This refers to the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, practice or study or by being taught. It is a goal directed act. It is acquiring new or modifying and reinforcing, existing knowledge, behaviors etc.

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