AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF WEB-BASED TOOLS FOR EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF INSTRUCTION IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-SOUTH ZONE
ABSTRACT
The study examined the extent of availability and utilization of web-based tools in Nigerian Universities. A descriptive cross section survey research design was used for the study. Nine research questions were posed and six hypotheses formulated to guide the study. The population of the study consists of 35,680 lecturers and students in federal, state, and private universities in the study area. The sample is 395 lecturers and students, a proportionate stratified sampling technique was used to group the respondents into departments after which simple random sampling was used to draw the sample from the strata. The instruments for data collection were a checklist and questionnaires which were validated and internal consistency reliability coefficients determined using cronbach alpha technique; Data were analyzed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 2.0. Percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while ANOVA was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. It was found that Web-based tools are more available for effective delivery of instruction in State and Private Universities than Federal Universities in Nigerian; resources such as internet services, web-based learning software, personal laptops, scanners, smart boards, on-line library are available to a high extent. There was a significant difference in the mean ratings of lecturers and students in federal, state, and private universities on the extent of availability of resources that aid web-based tools for effective delivery of instruction. There is a high extent of utilization of web-based tools for effective delivery of instruction by lecturers and students in State and Private Universities in Nigerian. Female lecturers utilize web-based tools more than their counterparts in Nigerian Universities, both male and students utilize web-based tools to a less extent in content accessibility. Major implications of the findings are; there is a less extent in the use of web-based tools in e-assessment of students by lecturers in Nigerian Universities, that there is a less extent to which students utilize web-based tools in content accessibility. Based on these findings and implications, it was recommended that universities should include web-based learning in their teaching programmes and source grants to promote the use of web instruction at all levels, all university lecturers must as a matter of compulsion be made to acquire ICT skills, Courses on application of web-based tools for teaching and learning should be mounted in all faculties and departments to produce specialists that will man the units established for providing web-based support services in our universities.