Speaker
Description
Greg, E.
Ebonyi State College of Education Ikwo.
donaldgregory2013@gmail.com
Track: Digital Pedagogy and Teaching Innovation
This paper sets to address the challenges faced by tertiary institutions in Nigeria in terms of digitalization of teaching and learning and other forms of digital innovation in the higher education sector. The research focuses on tertiary institutions in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study. The population of the study is 20,000 and it comprises staff and students of Ebonyi State University Abakaliki and Ebonyi State College of Education Ikwo, two state owned higher institutions selected for the study. The study sample is 1000 which constitutes 5% of the population. Quantative survey research design was employed to collect the data. Findings revealed that certain factors have created digital gaps in mainstreaming and digitalization of teaching and learning including, inadequate technology, lack of steady power supply, lack of funding, lack of digital skills and competencies on part of educators, and lack of digital preservation policy among others. The paper on the strength of these findings makes the conclusion that the enabling environment for a future-ready digital ecosystem is lacking. To address the challenges and bridge the digital divide, the paper recommends some measures such as formulation of digital policy,
implementation of digital literacy programs to train educators and students on digital tools, developing user-friendly platforms for online learning, creating virtual labs for practical subjects and implementation of robust data protection measures among others.