Knowledge and Utilizations of ICT Among Nursing Students of College of Nursing Science in CBT Assessment
Chapter One
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study is to investigate students’ knowledge, accessibility and use of ICT in College of nursing science in CBT assessment in University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
Objectives of the Study
The specific objectives of this study were to:
- Ascertain students’ knowledge of ICT in College of nursing science UNEC.
- Determine accessibility to ICT among nursing students of College of nursing science
- Investigate students’ use of ICT in CBT assessment College of nursing science
- To determine the constraining factors to use of ICT in CBT assessment as perceived by students.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Concept of Information Communication Technology (ICT)
ICT can be described as a complex varied set of goods, applications and services used for producing, distributing, processing, transforming information, telecoms, television and radio broadcasting, hardware and software, computer services and electronic media, (Ozorji, 2010). ICT represents a cluster of associated technologies defined by their functional usage in information access and communication, of which one embodiment is the Internet. Bandele (2006) sees ICT as a revolution that involves the use of computers, internet and other tele-communication technology in every aspect of human endeavour. The author posited that ICT is simply about sharing and having access to data with ease. ICT is often associated with high-tech devices, such as computers and software, but ICT also encompasses more “conventional” technologies such as radio, television and telephone technology, (UNESCO; 2013). ICT and computers are not the same thing.
Computers are the hardware that is often part of an ICT system. ICT is regarded as the super highway through which information is transmitted and shared by people all over the world. Jimoh (2007) in Ozoji 2010) defines ICT as the handling and processing of information (texts, images, graphs, instruction etc) for use, by means of electronic and communication devices such as computers, cameras, telephone. Ofodu (2007) also refers to ICT as electronic or computerized devices, assisted by human and interactive materials that can be used for a wide range of teaching and learning as well as for personal use. From these definitions, ICT could therefore be defined as processing and sharing of information using all kinds of electronic device, an umbrella that includes all technologies for the manipulation and communication of information.
Types of ICT
There are varieties of technologies that can be used in education. Each of these technologies has its own redeeming qualities and limitations and different situations call for different technologies according to UNESCO, 2003:
Internet/Web-Based Training: Internet/Web-Based Training provides an environment where students access and study course materials online. It may involve the use of live e-learning tools such as application, sharing, internet, telephone, online whiteboards, discussion boards, and chat and messaging programmes that allow real- time interaction between instructors and learners. It can also be used to transmit text, graphics, images, animation, or video. The required tools for online learning include a personal computer and an Internet connection.
There are several ways a user can connect to the Internet: standard analog modem, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), Cable Modem, Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN), Local Area Network (LAN), Cellular, and Wireless broadband (fixed wireless and satellite). All the above connections, except for a standard analog modem connect are considered broadband connections. All these methods allow connections to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that provides a gate way to the rest of the Internet. An analog modem and ISDN require a “dial up” connection where a user must dial in to connect to the ISP, whereas the other Internet access method denoted as “always on” connections, require no dialing.
CD – ROM and DVD: CD –ROM (Compact Disc – Read Only Memory) store on any computer equipment with a CD-ROM drive (Hampton and Bartram, 2002 in UNESCO 2003). DVD (Digital Video Disk or Digital Versatile Disk) are similar to CD – ROMs and can be used the same way as CD-ROMs but contain more information. Most CD- ROMs have 650 or 700 mega bytes storage space whereas most DVDs have room for gigabytes, which equals approximately seven times more storage space than a CD- DVDs are not widely used yet, mainly because of different standards for writing to DVDs.
CD-ROMs have a large capacity and can support the storage of information in a variety of formats including text, animation, video, audio, and graphics. Thus, learning materials can be presented in different ways. This allows the material to cater to multiple styles of teaching, (UNESCO, 2003).
CD-ROM or DVD is very durable and quality does not degrade after repeated use. However, scratching the surface or other abuse on the medium may prohibit it from being read by the CD-ROM drive. A major limitation with CD-ROM and DVD is that a computer with CD-ROM drive (in the case of DVD, a DVD-drive) is required to access the information. This equipment may not be available to learners in developing countries.
Teleconferencing: Teleconferencing refers to interactive electronic communication among people located at two or more different places. There are four types of teleconferencing based on the nature and extent of interactivity and the sophistication of the technology: audio conferencing, audio-graphic conferencing, videoconferencing and Web-based conferencing.
Audio conferencing: Audio conferencing involves the live (real-time) exchange of voice messages over a telephone network. When low-bandwidth text and still images such as graphs, diagrams or pictures can also be exchanged along with voice messages, then this type of conferencing is called audio graphic. Non-moving visuals are added using a computer keyboard or by drawing and writing on a graphics tablet or whiteboard.
Audio conferencing allows two-way, real-time communication between instructors and learners through audio. Older audio conferencing technology uses the telephone system infrastructure, where the key component is an electronic device called an audio conferencing bridge. Using Internet telephony where digitized voice packets are sent between individuals over the internet. Individuals can use computer programmes such as instant messenger, micro soft net- meeting or MSN messenger to converse with individuals. Older audio conferencing technology simply includes local or long-distance telephone costs and the cost of the bridge itself.
Internet audio conferencing incurs the cost of internet access and the internet telephony equipment and or programmes. The main advantage of audio conferencing is that it allows for direct, two-way interaction between participants. Discussions occur in real- time where learners can ask questions and instructors can respond immediately. Audio conferencing technology also has low set-up and operating cost. The main disadvantage of audio conferencing technology is the absence of visual interaction between the instructors and the students.
Video Conferencing: Video conferencing allows participating individuals in different locations to see and hear each other in real-time through video-conferencing equipment. Older video conferencing technology uses leased telephone lines at high hourly rates and the installation cost of the type of system is expensive. It is also a more rigid environment that requires special room set-up, advanced scheduling, and a professional operator (Dixon; 2000, in UNESCO 2003).
CHAPTERTHREE
RESEARCH METHOD
Introduction
This chapter discussed the research methods used for the study under: research design, area of study, population of the study, subject for the study, instrument for data collection, validity of instrument, reliability of instrument, ethical consideration, procedure for data collection and method of data analysis.
Research Design
Descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used for this study. Cross- sectional design was adopted because there was no manipulation of any condition; rather the subjects were investigated in a more or less natural environment (Polit & Beck, 2010). The design was successfully used in similar studies among students in Bahawalpur (Khan et al, 2011) and in Nigeria (Adetimirin, 2012).
Population of the Study
The population of this study included all the undergraduate students and all teachers (lecturers) in the College of nursing science in CBT assessment, UNEC. According to the Departmental Office (Record, 2014), the undergraduate Nursing students comprised of: 97 from 200 level, 122 from 300 level, 131 from 400 level, 104 from 500 level and teachers 23. Thus, a total population of four hundred and seventy seven (477): undergraduate Nursing students (454) and their teachers (23) constituted the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
Socio-demographic Characteristics of the Respondents
Descriptive statistics involving frequencies and their percentages were used to analyze data on socio-demographic profiles of the respondents. The results of the analysis were presented in Table 2 below:
Table 2: Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents n = 452
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION
DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS
This chapter dealt with the discussion of the findings of the study, the conclusion drawn from the findings and the educational implication of the study. Recommendations based on the findings and suggestions for further research are also highlighted. Finally, limitations of the study as well as a brief summary of the entire work were presented.
Discussion of major findings
The major findings of this study are discussed in line with the research objectives and hypothesis that were formulated to guide the study.
Specifically, the findings were discussed according to the following sub- heading:
Students knowledge of ICT
Knowledge about ICT depends on if the student and teacher had any form of information received before the study. In this study, majority of the respondents had information about ICT. The respondents’ major types of information were formal. The reason adduced to this may be that most of them might have been a beneficiary of the multiples of trainings often organized by the Governments, NGOs, Development Partners and Corporate Organizations (Adeosun, 2010).
The findings on the kind of ICT training received or exposed to revealed that “Microsoft word”; “Computer Appreciation; “Microsoft Excel” “Email” and “Internet” attracted the highest responses. The high response rate may be associated with the respondents’ needs to improve their teaching and learning needs which the above packages often as observed by (Khan etal, 2011), in their study on the use of ICT in CBT assessment by the students.
The findings about “benefits” or “usefulness” of ICT revealed the first 4 highest responses are, “using ICT makes lesson more interesting” “using ICT proves presentation” “using ITC makes teaching interesting” and “using ICT improves students learning”. This agrees with the findings of (Khan etal, 2011) that ICT have great impact of learning, on their study on, use of ICT in CBT assessment by students: A survey of faculty of Education at IUB.
Students’ and teacher’s access to ICT
On the issue of access to ICT, majority of the respondents indicated that mostly “internet”, “e-mail” and “computer” are accessible in their institution. This finding disagrees with that of (Adeyinka et al, 2011) in their study: An Assessment of Secondary School Teacher’s use of ICT in CBT assessment, that it is only internet and email services that teachers did not have access to. This result indicates that ICT are available for access and that respondents have skills to access them. Concerning the factors that affect ICT access, the study showed that high cost of ICT” was a major factor affecting ICT access negatively. Other factors that attracted high response rates are “irregular power supply, “time factor” Security Challenges” and “computer Illiteracy”. “High cost of ICT” attracted the highest score. This agrees with the findings by (Olatokun et, al 2009) that high cost of ICT facilities and services is a factor that constrain RHWs’ full access to ICT. “Irregular power supply also attracted a high response as a factor that affect ICT access. Ajayi et, al, (2009) and Adeosun (2010) noted that irregular or in ability to provide minimum acceptable standards of electricity services affect ICT access negatively since ICT needs other infrastructure like electricity to function.
“Computer illiteracy” as a factor that affects ICT access also revealed a high response rate as well. This finding agrees with that of (Ajayi et al., 2009) that students were to a little extent exposed to ICT, hence they have poor access to ICT.
The findings of this study also revealed that a substantial proportion of the respondents possess a computer. As regards the type of computer they possess; majority had laptops and most of them are linked to internet quite unlike the result by (Ajayi et al., 2009) that in the Schools computer and internet were not accessible to teachers.
Students’ use of ICT in CBT assessment.
Findings indicated that the respondents use ICT/ Computer: daily (35.8%) and several days in a week” (32.7%). The findings emphasize that less than half the respondents use ICT regularly. This is in line with the view of (Ajayi et al., 2009), who observed that there was a low level of ICT application in Schools.
Findings also showed that it is only Microsoft word 352(77.9%) that the respondents make reasonable use. This finding is not congruent with the findings made by (Olatokun et al, 2009) which showed that RHWs’ at UCH make reasonable use of various ICT: e-mail, internet, video conferencing and audio conferencing. Findings also revealed that ICT/computer were minimally used for academic purposes 211(46.7%). This agrees with the findings of (Ajayi et al 2009) that there was a low level of ICT application in teaching and learning in schools. The implication is that most of the teachers may still be using the old method of chalk or pen and talk, the practice which will make them lag behind on the world of ICT.
As regards, the respondents’ difficulty level in using a computer, “easy” attracted the highest score, 261(57.7%). The result showed that the respondents are confident in the use of computer. As regards with ICT skills, respondents perceived themselves confident in the 3 highest scored items which are “Word Processing” “Downloading materials’ and “Printing document”. The result suggests that respondents’ information retrieval skills were good. This agrees with the findings made by (Khan et al, 2011) on their study, use of ICT in CBT assessment by students; that students information retrieval skills were good such as down loading of materials.
Students perceived constraints associated with ICT
Table 9 indicated that the 4 highest scored items on respondents’ factors constraining the use of ICT in CBT assessment are, “Lack of expertise with ICT” (71.2%) “Insufficient knowledge of appropriate software”. (69.5%) “high cost of airtime” (62.2%) and “insufficient knowledge on how to use ICT” (58.4%). The findings clearly show that greater number of respondents perceive ICT knowledge as a vital tool to its use. The finding is in line with that of (Khan et al, 2011) that Nigerian teachers possess a very low knowledge of computer. “High cost of airtime” was also seen as a constraint to ICT use by most respondents. This is a pointer to the low level of ICT use in teaching and learning in schools as indicated by the finding of (Ajayi et al., 2009) in their study, application of ICT in schools.
On the aspect of ICT availability, computers, internet and e-mail are the 3 highest ICT available in the institution. The provision of these 3 ICT in reasonable number may be owed to the government policy to make available ICT to all users and stakeholders through National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) according to (Nigeria National Policy for Information Technology, 2001).
The findings also revealed that data projectors, electronic notice boards and television sets are minimally available in the institution. This agrees with the findings of (Adeosum, et al., 2011) that ICT tools and equipments are grossly lacking in almost all the sampled schools
Implications of the Findings
The findings of this study have some implications as follows:
- Sufficient ICT materials are very essential for effective and efficient use of ICT in CBT assessment materials, as lack of these will obviously affect the
- If the students are adequately trained for the use of ICT in CBT assessment, teaching and learning will be adequately conducted with
- ICT materials are not adequately utilized in the core of teaching and learning in the university. ICT provides efficient and current information Once the staff and students are able to use these technologies effectively, the teaching, learning and research activities in the university will be made easier for the university community.
- ICT usage will facilitate development since there will be free flow of
Conclusion
Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions were made:
- Most students have knowledge of ICT
- Majority of students encounter challenges in accessing ICT especially lack of expertise and high cost of
- ICT materials are not adequately utilized in the core teaching-learning in the
Recommendation
The following recommendations are made in view of the findings and educational implication of the study.
- The problem of high cost of ICT, needs to be addressed especially for students in order for them to better access and use the ICT materials. Correcting the problem of no or little access of students to ICT requires a holistic approach on the part of the government and the university
- In order to ensure better exploitation of ICT, the management of the university should invest in acquisition of ICT, both hardware and software in sufficient numbers to cover the ICT needs of both Investment in maintenance is also required.
- The university administration should ensure that she sets up a monitoring team competent in ICT, to ensure ICT use during teaching and learning in the
- Both students need on-going ICT related training which will assist in significantly developing their ICT skills, improve access to needed information and enhance efficiency in their occupation (student or teachers).
- Finally, the government, the university administration and stakeholders should provide adequate and current ICT equipment, services and related materials such as regular power supply relevant in the education industry with a view toward increasing availability and access to ICT in particular and improving teaching and learning in general in the University.
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