25-02-2013, 10:32 AM
Use of mobile phones for project based learning by undergraduate
students of Nigerian private universities
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ABSTRACT
A university’s objective is to educate its students using information and communication
technologies (ICTs) and teaching techniques that would enable its graduates become flexible and
life-long learners that can easily adapt to the changes eminent in the information society.
Achieving this aim requires among other factors, the adoption of appropriate teaching model such
as the project based learning (PBL) which supports the inculcation of collaborative and lifelong
learning skills, technology use skills, knowledge sharing skills and social networking skills into
students. Consequently, this study was carried out to evaluate the use of mobile phones by
students involved in PBL in three randomly selected private universities in Nigeria. The
questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection from 750 undergraduates students
distributed across the three selected private universities in southwestern Nigerian states. This is
to say that 250 students were sampled from each of the participating private universities whose
population was estimated to be about 2000 students each. Also, the use of stratified sampling
technique ensured that only those students that were in their second, third, fourth and fifth year in
the sampled universities, who were presumed to have acquired required learning experiences,
participated in the study.
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The proliferation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the increase in the
quest for their use in educational institutions have not only affected the structure of university
education but has also affected the way teaching and learning is done in these institutions. One
of the primary factors used to define an information society compliant university is the extent of its
infusion of ICT into its teaching and learning programmes.
METHODOLOGY
The study is a descriptive research that adopted survey research method. Its aim was to
evaluate the use of mobile phones for PBL by undergraduate students in private universities in
Southwestern Nigeria. Private universities came into being in Nigeria in 1999 when its
government decided to deregulate the higher education sector by allowing private universities to
run along side public universities. Three private universities were licensed in 1999 and by 2010
the number grew to twenty three private universities. These private universities are characterized
by their ownership (mostly religious organizations), size (number of students mostly averaging
between 1500 and 2000 students), level of education (mostly undergraduate programs) and
location (mostly in southern part of Nigeria which comprise south-south, south east and south
west geo-political regions). However, there were 18 private universities in Southwestern Nigeria,
which were estimated to be 43.9 % of the total number of private universities in Nigeria. Three of
these 18 private universities were selected using convenient sampling technique to participate in
the study. Non-probabilistic sampling technique was also used to determine the number of
students from each of the sampled universities that participated in the study. Since there were
about 2000 students enrolled in each of the three universities, 250 students were therefore
sampled from each of the three private universities using convenient sampling technique. This
resulted to a total sample size of 750 students. The sample population was assumed to have
amounted to about 12.5 % of the students’ population in the three private universities. However,
the sampled population was stratified to include only students in their second, third, fourth and
fifth years in the university, that were presumed to have gained appropriate university education
experience required to participate in the study. The researchers expected that the study unit
must have participated at least twice in PBL based learning situations.
Mobile Phone Services and Use of Mobile Phones for PBL
In other to know how often respondents were involved in PBL in their universities a five scale
Likert analysis of the frequency of their involvement in PBL was assessed. The results showed
that only 81 (15.2 %) respondents were involved in PBL very often, 151 (28.4 %) respondents
were often involved in PBL, 63 (11.8 %) respondents were not sure of the frequency of their
involvement in PBL, while 138 (25.9 %) respondents were not often involved in PBL, while 92
(17.3 %) of the respondents claimed also that they did not very often involve in PBL. 7 (1.4 %) of
the respondents did not respond to the frequency of their involvement in PBL. The consequence
of the result shown above is the assurance that the respondents have had some kind of learning
experience under PBL condition in their universities.
DISCUSSIONS
One of the primary observations in this study was the frequency of respondents’ involvement in
PBL. Despite the importance of PBL to contemporary university education, the Nigerian private
universities studied seem not to be keen on using the PBL technique for teaching and learning.
This is despite the fact that the constructivist theory upon which PBL is based helps learners to
imbibe flexible learning, collaborative learning and social networking skills that are important skills
in the information society. However, the frequency of their involvement in PBL notwithstanding,
the study’s aim of assessing respondents’ use of mobile phones for PBL was achieved. Another
primary observation is the age range distribution where over half of the respondents were
between the age range of 16-20 years. Surprising as this may be, it is in line with Obanya (2006)
position that the university student body of the information society would undergo a significant
age distribution change. Also, the gender distribution may have resulted from the dividend of the
growing enlightenment on gender issues in Nigeria especially in the Southwestern states where
the study was conducted. Apart from this, majority of the students in Nigerian private universities
belong to high income homes and can afford to a high extent, the cost of private university
education.
CONCLUSION
Mobile phones represent new and fast growing development in ICTs innovations. Their adoption
for teaching and learning models that have been adjudged information society compliant has also
been growing. It has been reported so far that mobile phones are reliably used by students
involved in PBL for knowledge sharing, although at a rate which can be described as basic and
uncoordinated. The prospect revealed in the study is that mobile phone posses the potential to
become very reliable instructional technology that can be used by lecturers and librarians to
achieve feats that have been hampered by technology divide. The fact that mobile phones can
be taken to any location where teaching and learning are taking place and still receive Internet
signals makes them unique. However, much is still left to be done in terms of harnessing them
for education purposes and this may need the collaboration of various stakeholders. If proper
assessment is done universities in a country like Nigeria with long history of digital divide would
make out good alternative to instructional technologies from mobile phones.