Assessment of Information Communication Technology Integration in State Colleges of Education in North WesternNigeria

Abstract

This study assessed Information Communication Technology (ICT)integration in four state Colleges of Education in North Western, Nigeria. The study focuses on three criteria of technology adoption: availability, utilization and integration. This becomes imperative given that the prospective teachers the colleges produce will operate in school systems and with students that were influenced by global trends in an information explosion. Also, like most educational innovations, the use of ICT in schools should satisfy the key demands of availability and accessibility to learners who demand its effective utilization, and, above all, integration into all facets of curricular and pedagogical practices. The study used the cross-sectional survey design since it aims at a description and evaluation of existing characteristics of a large population of respondents, by concurrently studying different samples drawn from the population. Data were collated using questionnaires administered to lecturers and computer laboratory technicians of the selected Colleges. The data were analyzed using percentages and means. The major finding of the study is that ICT presence in these colleges was still peripheral due to lack of access to internet connectivity. It was therefore recommended that the schools should expand their ICT capability, the students are given proper orientation and training on the uses and benefits of ICT and that ICT integration must begin from the teacher training curriculum of the institutions.