For several decades, teaching and learning in tertiary institutions in Nigeria have predominantly occurred in walled environments, utilizing the conventional physical method of delivering educational content, wherein the teacher’s point of view was largely shielded by the walls against global perspectives. The traditional method of delivering educational content has been marred by certain limitations, some of which were incontrovertibly manifested, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when virtually all our tertiary schools were like ghost towns. To what extent have we harnessed the use of digital technology to add flexibility, accessibility and innovation to tertiary education to ensure continued relevance and functionality? Can tertiary institutions maximise electronic teaching and learning to align with globalised education?
Technology is developing rapidly, demanding that instructors and learners stay abreast of and adapt to innovative and technological strategies and pedagogies. Failing to do so makes it challenging for both educators and learners to integrate seamlessly into the global evolving educational landscape. A somewhat lack of intentionality and commitment with regard to integration on the global scale may account for the reason we are still largely operating at the conventional face-to-face level. The physical or on-site method of teaching and learning provides an opportunity for the learner to experience intellectual, social, and physical change by having facial interaction with the teachers. Particularly, the educator has the opportunity to know and motivate each student on an individual basis. It is this belief in the “human contact” element of teaching that leads many skeptics to discount the possibility that online learning can be as effective as the conventional method of information delivery.
No doubt, there are several benefits of the on-site method of teaching and learning. Little wonder even after the experience of the pandemic, the conventional method is largely still maintained in tertiary institutions. Granted that there are certain advantages with regard to the on-site method of teaching and learning, we cannot ignore certain inherent challenges or deficiencies. More so, we are in a digital and technologically driven era and education should lead the way. Thus, adopting only the on-site method of teaching and learning cannot guarantee a competitive place in the global space. This, to a certain degree, explains why the rankings of our universities, among other universities in the world, have not been very impressive. According to Times Higher Education (THE), the best universities in our country are placed between 801 – 1000 (c. THE – October, 2024). This means that a lot needs to be done in terms of teaching quality, research environment, research quality, industry engagement, and global outlook.
EXPOSED!! POPULAR ABUJA DOCTOR REVEALED HIDDEN SECRET ON HOW MEN CAN NATURALLY AND PERMANENTLY CURE POOR ERECTION,QUICK EJACULATION, SMALL AND SHAMEFUL MANHOOD WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS. EVEN IF YOU ARE HYPERTENSIVE OR DIABETIC ..STOP THE USE OF HARD DRUG FOR SEX!! IT KILLS!
There is an utmost need to transcend the limiting factors inherent in the conventional method of delivering educational content. The event of the pandemic and the effects of globalisation have necessitated a paradigm shift. So, under the influence of digital revolution, fast-paced development, and internet technology, educational interaction systems can be reinvented. It is in this vein that many modern education systems have largely shifted away from the traditional face-to-face form of educational instruction in favour of individual students’ needs owing to the demands and dynamics of the digital age, which birthed the electronic learning (e-learning) method.
E-learning is an inclusive terminology that encompasses all forms of educational technology to access educational curricula. It is an innovative approach for delivering electronically mediated, well-designed and learner-centered contents to students anyplace and anytime. E-learning can be synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous requires simultaneous participation of all learners and instructors at different locations, while asynchronous is pre-recorded or is available, prepared, and kept and can be accessed when needed at any time, in such a way that learners can make their own schedules. Today, more than ever before, tertiary institutions around the world are moving with deliberate speed to electronic classrooms as it exposes both the instructors and the students to the reality of the world outside the classroom since the world is a global web. It is worthy of note that few tertiary institutions in Nigeria, especially private institutions, have embraced e-learning. They seem to be at the forefront of e-learning capacity as a result of their innovative and flexible operations.
Advertisement
Despite the advantages of e-learning, it is still in its infancy and early adoption stage in Nigerian tertiary institutions due to its dynamic structure. Currently, many lecturers are either ‘ICT immigrants’ or ‘ICT fugitives.’ In cases where lecturers are disposed towards up-skilling to use modern technologies in the classroom, there exists a dearth of tools. Also, tertiary institutions have minimal benefits from the e-learning method owing to challenges like epileptic power supply, cost of internet data, cost of ICT equipment, poor budgetary allocation and corruption, government commitment, attitudinal problems of teachers and students, demographic differences, lack of technical support, among others. These largely explain why in-person teaching and learning is indispensable in our tertiary institutions. In the same vein, a fully online method of teaching and learning will be difficult in a country where only about half of the population has access to the internet (statista.com accessed: 2023), has poor connectivity and experience exorbitant costs. So, prescribing fully online learning in a country where many of its citizens do not have access to the internet and millions of its citizens are multidimensionally poor is grossly unrealistic. Thus, owing to current challenges, and considering the potential inherent in technological tools to enhance educational delivery, on-site teaching and learning must be combined with electronic or online teaching and learning. These provide the basis for educational hybridisation. Hybridisation is an educational approach that is a combination of the physical and electronic models of teaching and learning for goal attainment. Hybridised learning involves having some portion of all interactions taking place online while incorporating some form of offline or face-to-face interaction.
While hybrid teaching combines two models of lesson delivery, it is often used interchangeably with blended learning. The idea of hybridised teaching and learning is to get the best of both worlds by offering almost unlimited student autonomy in terms of place and time for student-content interaction while supplementing this with the best offline education has to offer in terms of high-quality student-student and student-teacher interactions in the physical realm. Blending the two models creates a singular learning experience which addresses the weak spots of both models. Many individuals wish to have access to tertiary education, but are unable to achieve this due to the nature of their job, health concerns, incapacitation, etc. A hybridised educational system is all-inclusive. More importantly, it would reposition tertiary education to align with the rapidity of digitalisation so that both students and staff can participate in teaching, learning, and management functions regardless of location since the world is a global village.
With the rise of education technology, many universities around the world offer their courses in a hybridized form. Distance learning is being used at a global scale, and many educational institutions are beginning to implement hybrid learning models. And the Nigerian tertiary education system should not be left behind in meeting the needs of 21st-century education. There should be improved mobility, integration and connection between lecturers and students in Nigeria and other parts of the world, such that professors abroad can teach our students in Nigeria, while our professors can do likewise. Our tertiary institutions need to elicit a certain measure of global appeal so that it is not only the case that our students go to study abroad, but that our own institutions attract foreign students and lecturers. It is important to note that there may not be an appreciable achievement of this global experience or the attainment of set goals as laid down in the National Policy on Education without educational hybridization which also guarantees uninterrupted teaching and learning so as not to truncate the production of high-level manpower for development. In addition, a transition to a hybridized model of teaching and learning cannot be overemphasized because it will aid the realization of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2030. The Nigerian education system cannot be left behind in the sweeping changes on the global scene affecting every facet of human life.
It is incumbent on educational managers to manage changes, new normal, and improved ways of teaching and learning in the school system. Educational managers must re-calibrate their strategies to ensure continued relevance and functionality. They must think out of the box and embrace innovative ideas, which is all about being creative in operating the tertiary school system to meet societal challenges and remain relevant in today’s evolving educational landscape. The transition to educational hybridization must be carefully and consciously planned. The shift is essential, but the transition process must be carefully managed so that the goals and objectives of tertiary education will not be jeopardized.
It is important to underscore the fact that a paradigm shift cannot be overstated in the sense of an optimal harnessing of technology for the attainment of goals. The innovative transformation involves not only the deployment of new or hybridized methods but also the improvement of existing methods of interaction and operation. It should be such that the knowledge transmitted also delves into the distinct understanding and retention of the material, that is, not just about what is taught but how effectively students internalize and apply the knowledge in addressing national and global issues. The Nigerian government is to demonstrate willingness and support by allocating the needed resources and providing the requisite infrastructure. The government can develop curriculum that reflects local contexts at the same time incorporating global skills and standards such that the institutions are attractive, competitive, affordable and accessible. Thus, effort is to be sustained in rethinking and reinventing education to meet current needs.
*Uzoanya writes from University of Port Harcourt via uzoclem21@yahoo. com (0806 383 3149)
