ABSTRACT

The study“Challenges of Technology as a Tool of Learning and Communication in the University of Buea” set out to investigate some of the challenges the University of Buea community faces when it comes to the use of technology as a tool in communication and learning. The research piece implemented the quantitative research design with the survey method. As such, questionnaires were printed out to get the views of students on the subject matter and concrete analyses were made accordingly. The study used the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), introduced by Davis (1986) as the main theory guiding the research.

From the research, it was realized that inadequate connection is the main difficulty students face when using technology on the UB campus as indicated by 64% of respondents. As such, it is important for the university to put more efforts to improve network connectivity that supports the growing population of the university

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Education is usually considered as the backbone of every community, the reason why the government of every country usually invests most of its resources in promoting education. In some countries like Cameroon, some primary, secondary, and higher education have embraced the use of internet technology. The introduction of computers as a subject in some schools, with others having computer labs goes a long way to explain the relevance of technology in education.

Cleaver, S. (2014) in his research titled “Technology in the Classroom: Helpful or Harmful?” acknowledged that many educational systems in the world today are showing support for increased levels of technology in higher learning by providing hardware such as tablets and computers, enhancing internet connectivity, and implementing programs designed to improve computer literacy for both teachers and students. Such is even the case in the University of Buea where the government made provision for laptops commonly referred to as PB in (2017) to some higher learning institution in the country.

Technology without the use of the internet can be void since both complements each other reasons why most countries around the world are investing in the provision of the internet. To Lange (2008), Cameroongained access to the internet since 1997, and ever since then the country is resolutely committed to being part and parcel of the “information and communication society”. Tamokwe, (2008) remarked that the Internet is used in almost all areas of life(Education, socialization, economy, politics, development, etc) and has become part and parcel of today’s life the world over. The role of technology in every sector, be it politics, education, social and the economy cannot be undermined as the various technological device have the ability to stimulate economic growth and enhance student’s learning in the educational sector.

In Cameroon, although teachers generally appreciate the benefits of educational technologies, they often find smooth and effective integration of new educational technologies challenging. That is from the acquisition of new technology equipment to the adaptation of curricula and teaching techniques to incorporate new educational tools. Technology integrations still present significant challenges to educators at each level of school systems and even the University of Buea students and teachers are not left out.

     Statement of the problem

Technology has become part and parcel of us. Gone are those days where the world was still in the dark ages where messages composed were sent to receivers through various means such as the use of birds, posts office, and ‘town criers’. Today the world has witnessed a shift in paradigm and every sector seems to have been affected even in the world of education.

During the yesteryears, to resolve an issue during classroom lectures, students had to raise their hands, ask their questions and wait for the teacher to respond. The response of the professor usually would be practically the only answer and even if there is any doubt there will be no way to resolve it. But today while the lecturer is answering a question in class in course of teaching, should there be any doubt, a student may launch a question on a social network site such as Twitter or Facebook and receive help to resolve it with the response from many people. Or more common, the question can be entered into a browser and different responses can be provided as answers for the question postulated. Duta, (2012), even remarked that the emergence of technologies and especially the Internet, have not stopped generating opportunities, projects, platforms, and initiatives that have to do with learning and that many schools are gradually embracing the culture of using technology in learning.

It is on this note that Bach &Fores(2007), remarked that there is no university in the world that does not already have the digital platform or campus to develop part of their learning. This is greatly reflected also in the University of Buea, where the University Authorities have made available technological facilities such as the creation of the IT center that is in charge of creating student accounts amongst much other data-related information. Equally the presence of the American corner in the university library where students can equally do their research goes a long way to highlight the relevance of the ICT not leaving out Cameroon’s government initiative to give laptops to university students in the year 2017.

That notwithstanding there is often two sides of the same coin because, despite the presence of all these tech facilities on the university campus, it is no doubt that lecturers and students in the university of Buea still face a couple of challenges especially in the classroom lecture when it comes to using these technologies, such as site distractions, lack of training facilities, poor network in the country amongst many others.

It is on this note that this research titled “Challenges of Technology as a tool of for learning and communication in the University of Buea” is out to investigate some of the challenges that both students and lecturers face in course of teaching and in the University of Buea as well as propose solutions to overcome all the challenges in order to make the technology suitable for learning.

     Research Questions

• To what extent is technology an effective tool of communication and learning in the University of Buea?

• To what extent does the use of technology pose a challenge to some students and lecturers of the University of Buea?

• To what extend does students’ usage of technology during lectures improve their learning?

     Objectives of the study

            General objectives

• To investigate the extent to which technology is perceived as an effective tool in learning and communication in the University of

       Specific objectives

• To explore the different avenues where students of the University of Buea use technology as a tool in learning and communication be it for research purpose or for chatting with friends.
• To explore the extent to which the advancement of technology has enhance communication and learning amongst students in the University of Buea

Challenges of Technology as a Tool of Learning and Communication in the University of Buea

Challenges of Technology as a Tool of Learning and Communication in the University of Buea

Challenges of Technology as a Tool of Learning and Communication in the University of Buea

Challenges of Technology as a Tool of Learning and Communication in the University of Buea

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