Use Of Internet Tools For Teaching And Learning Computer Studies

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The recognized potential of technology to improve education has led to several initiatives to foster effective use and integration in the curriculum. As a new technology, the Internet offers the greatest promise for learning and universal access to high-quality education that humanity has ever known. The internet is a vital information and communication technology that has ushered in a worldwide information revolution (Siraj, et al., 2015). The internet is a knowledge pool, and any country that does not give its children with access to it is dethroning itself from its throne of dignity among other nations. It’s being created to serve as a hub for a variety of activities for people of all ages (Akin-Adaeamola, 2014). The internet has become a huge part of people’s everyday life. The internet was introduced to academic institutions as a tool to enhance student’s academic experience in the mid-1990s because of its potential to operate as a support medium for many tasks for which people utilize it. According to Türel and Muhammet (2015), internet access has greatly increased over the previous several decades and is now available in a variety of locations, including homes, businesses, travel, and schools. Access to information can impact students’ academic performance, according to empirical studies (e.g. Adedotun, 2015; Akende & Bamise, 2017). For academic research, the utilization of reliable online resources is more important, especially in high-level courses that need a literature review (Sahin et al., 2010).

The usage of the Internet for educational purposes, on the other hand, has been discovered to be at the core of teenage academic success. According to Ellore, Niranjan, and Brown (2014), internet access is nearly ubiquitous, and the majority of students have online access on their cellphones. This allows students to increase their academic knowledge, do research, and complete projects by gaining access to material from around the world, as well as improve contact with their peers.   According to Yesilyurt et al. (2014), having a home computer and internet connection helps kids’ academic achievement as well as their self-learning abilities. The surveys also found that the internet provides a number of advantages for the academic cycle, including 24-hour access to a broad variety of global information sources and the opportunity to debate and exchange experiences with colleagues in order to get the most out of ICT’s features. Olatokun (2008) found that most pupils considered the internet was far better and more convenient than their school libraries, based on their access and usage of the internet by secondary school students in Nigeria. They viewed it as a source of general information, and as a result, it has aided them in improving their reading habits as well as their academic achievement.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Computer Science is a very vital subject for technological development,  the poor performance of students in secondary schools in  has become a source of worry to stakeholders in education.  Some scholars has attributed this ugly scenario to so many factors including poor facilities, inadequate internet resources and usage, poor quality teachers with ICT competency  amongst others. As a result, this makes the morale and interest of the students in  computer science  low. On the other hand Ukpabi (2018) observed that the internet tools allow the access, processing and production of information available in text format, image, sound, data, multimedia and hypermedia documents, constituting an essential language of communication in contemporary society (Lévy, 2001) and this is  importance of internet usage to students’ academic success. Contrarily some students use the internet for non-academic activities like gaming and social networking, causing them to miss class (Singh et al., 2013). Furthermore, students utilize the internet for entertainment rather than study, which might result in lowered academic standards. Charting, downloading, viewing movies online, playing online games, and online shopping are the most popular uses of the internet among secondary students (Akin-Adramola, 2014). This shows that some secondary students do not receive adequate instruction on how to utilize the internet for academic purposes. If its use is not supervised, the internet may be a terrible instrument for improved academic attainment. According to recent research, children who use the internet in a balanced way are more likely to succeed academically. According to studies conducted by Siraj, Salam, Hasan, Jin, Roslan, and Othman (2015), secondary school student who have control over their internet usage and are expose to it during computer science subject do better academically. This study is therefore seeks to examine use of internet tools for teaching and learning computer studies.

1.3     PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The main purpose of this study is to assess use of internet tools for teaching and learning computer studies.. The study has the following specific objectives.

1. To examine the level of availability of internet resources for teaching and learning of computer science in secondary school.
2. To find out if internet resources are adequately accessible for teaching and learning of computer science in secondary school.
3. To examine the extent at which teachers utilize internet during teaching and learning  of computer studies  in secondary schools.
4. To ascertain whether the use of internet facilitates effective teaching and learning of computer studies in secondary schools.

1.4 Research Question

The research is guided by the following questions

• Is there adequate availability of internet resources for teaching and learning of computer science in secondary school?
• Are the internet resources adequately accessible for  teaching and learning of computer science in secondary school?
• What is the  extent at which teachers utilize internet during teaching and learning  of computer studies  in secondary schools?
• Does the use of internet facilitate effective teaching and learning of computer studies in  secondary schools?

1.5       Research Hypothesis

HO1: Teachers does not utilize internet during teaching and learning  of computer studies  in secondary schools.

HO2: The use of internet does not facilitate effective teaching and learning of computer studies in  secondary schools.

1.5       Significance of the study

Findings from the study will provide a framework for government, private school management, curriculum planner, stakeholders in education to come up with strategies on how to guide secondary school student  on internet usage such that their usage behavior is guided in other not to disrupt the learning outcome. The study will also encourage computer science teachers on the need to be acquanted with internet resources and tools in other to attain effective teaching and learning process which in turn improves student academic achievement. Empirically, the study will contribute to the general body of knowledge and serve as a reference material to both scholars and student who wishes to conduct further studies in related field.

1.7    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study borders on  the use of internet tools for teaching and learning computer studies. The study will further discuss sources of internet access in secondary school, the level of its availability and whether teacher utilize it during teaching learning of computer studies. The study is however delimited to selected secondary school  in Arewa Dandi local government Area of Kebbi State.

1.8    LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

His research project, like all human endeavors, had some challenges that threatened to derail the study’s completion. One of the reasons is that the time allotted for this work was so limited that the researcher did not have enough time to complete the task thoroughly. During data collection, the researcher also had to put forth extra effort to understand the respondents’ interview schedules, several of whom fell into the incomprehensible age group. Also, there were financial and transportation constraints to deal with. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, interview).

1.9     DEFINITION OF TERMS

Internet: The Internet is a vast network that connects computers all over the world. Through the Internet, people can share information and communicate from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Teaching: Teaching can be defined as engagement with learners to enable their understanding and application of knowledge, concepts and processes. It includes design, content selection, delivery, assessment and reflection.

Learning: Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences.

Computer studies: Computer science is the study of computers and computing as well as their theoretical and practical applications.

Academic Performance: Academic achievement or academic performance is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals.

1.10 Organisations of the Study

The study is categorized into five chapters. The first chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, research questions and hypothesis, the significance of the study, scope/limitations of the study, and definition of terms. The chapter two covers the  review of literature with emphasis on conceptual framework, theoretical framework, and empirical review. Likewise, the chapter three which is the research methodology, specifically covers the research design, population of the study,  sample size determination,  sample size, and selection technique and procedure, research instrument and administration, method of data collection, method of data analysis, validity and reliability of the study, and ethical consideration. The second to last chapter being the chapter four presents the data presentation and analysis, while the last chapter(chapter five) contains the summary, conclusion and recommendation.