Authors: Gideon Fyen Majam, Audu Christopher & Barnabas Hannatu
Journal pages: 1–9
Area: ICT / Biology Education

Abstract

The article investigates the relevance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching Biology in Colleges of Education in Kaduna State. It focuses particularly on whether ICT reduces monotony in Biology teaching and whether it facilitates students’ acquisition and absorption of Biology knowledge. The researchers used a descriptive survey and purposive sampling.

Introduction

The authors present ICT as a tool capable of improving teaching by:

• increasing student engagement;
• providing teachers with varied instructional resources;
• facilitating access to information;
• supporting interaction between teachers and students;
• making learning more interesting; and
• connecting classroom learning with practical/workplace experiences.

The article argues that ICT is particularly useful because Biology requires learners to understand concepts that can be difficult to communicate through conventional teaching alone.

Main issues examined

The article investigates two broad questions:

1. How does ICT break the monotony of Biology teaching?
2. How does ICT facilitate the acquisition and absorption of Biology knowledge?

Findings

The respondents generally reported that ICT:

• encourages students’ critical thinking;
• provides opportunities for brainstorming;
• gives teachers access to a wider variety of teaching resources and methods;
• makes teaching more exciting;
• facilitates the sharing of educational materials;
• makes Biology knowledge more accessible;
• increases the rate at which Biology information can be acquired;
• allows Biology teachers to discover additional teaching techniques; and
• exposes teachers to modern instructional materials.

Conclusion

The article concludes that ICT has considerable potential to enrich teaching and learning. However, the researchers note that many teachers still lack sufficient knowledge of ICT and its educational applications.

Recommendations

The authors recommend:

• regular ICT workshops, seminars and conferences for teachers;
• making educational materials available through institutional websites;
• improving ICT and internet infrastructure;
• strengthening e-library services; and
• adequate government funding for ICT facilities.