National Educational Technology Centre in Nigeria (PDF)

**3.5.2. The Emergence of National Educational Technology Centre in Nigeria** Until 1967, the then three regional governments had school Broadcasting units which produced and transmitted radio and television programmes for schools throughout the three regions; the most stable and active one being t...

**3.5.2. The Emergence of National Educational Technology Centre in Nigeria** Until 1967, the then three regional governments had school Broadcasting units which produced and transmitted radio and television programmes for schools throughout the three regions; the most stable and active one being the Northern School Broadcasting Unit. Its broadcasts were received and used throughout Nigeria. Following the creation of states in 1967 and the break of the Northern region into six states, the Northern Schools Broadcast unit was taken-over in April, 1969, by the Federal Government and re-named Federal Schools Broadcast units and was merged with the National Resources Center, Lagos and the National Educational Technology Centre, Kaduna with the following objectives: 1. The development and production of educational radio and television programmes for schools. 2. The promotion, development and production of instructional teaching materials for use in schools using local materials. 3. The training of specialists in the field of educational broadcasting (radio and television, audio-visual aids). 4. The conducting of seminars/conferences to teachers and teacher trainers on the application of educational technology to class teaching/instruction. 5. Provision of consultancy services to both federal and state governments in the field of the broadcast media, audio-visual aids and instructional system technologies. 6. The establishment of national education resource library of equipment and materials for dissemination throughout the country. 7. Documentation and collation of statistical data on the broadcast and audio visual aids services in the country. 8. Training of educational technologist and cinematographers for services in both federal and state establishments. 9. For assessment, evaluation and classification of imported instructional materials and equipment marketed in the country. These 1-9 points mentioned above, formed the basis on which the objective of the educational technology in the national policy on education is formulated. These include: 1. To develop, assess and improve educational progmmmes 2. To enhance teaching and improve, teachers' competence. 3. To make learning more meaningful to learners 4. To reduce educational cost 5. To promote in-service education 6. To develop and promote an effective use of innovative materials in schools Accordingly, the national policy on education provided the following as measures or conditions for achieving the educational technology objectives, and these are: - The establishment of Teachers' resource centers in all the states. - The establishment of Curriculum Development Centre. - The provision of funds to National Education Resource Development Centre (NERDC) and the universities by both the federal and states governments. - The establishment of language centers, educational resource centers, science and mathematics centers, libraries as well as guidance and counseling centers. The question is how far, and how well have these been achieved as it relates to our educational policy and objectives, and how feasible are these measures with our contemporary systems of education practice, as it relates to accessibility, affordability and flexibility for required educational outcomes? This leads to the next topic. **3.6. Communication Theories and Teaching and Learning Process** In any teaching situation different lecturers teach the same subject matter differently because human beings have unique personalities and varied perceptions. No existing golden rules for all teachers, for all subjects, for all levels and in all teaching situations can he followed in order to achieve teaching effectiveness. There is neither a single method nor one computer-assisted-instruction program that can be used to facilitate successful teaching and learning outcomes. Nevertheless, there are available literatures and research materials that may be examined or be referred to, if we wish to improve our communication skills and methods in teaching. Thus, in planning and the use/selection of instructional materials and/or instructional media; the teacher must know what the communication elements are if effective teaching is to be achieved. He/she must make the utmost use of different media to stimulate the students' interest, imagination and critical thinking. A teacher may employ interaction or verbal communication techniques or non-verbal communication skills, or may use symbols or signs depending on the situations at hand. **3.6.1. The Concept of Communication** Communication, as a concept, has its origin from a Latin word communicate which means to share or establish commonness. It can therefore be said that human communication means the process of sharing meaning, ideas, thoughts, experience, information or opinion from person to person(s). Thus, it can be seen as a social process of establishing commonness of ideas, thought or message/information. Communication can be described as a social process that use signs, symbols, language and other such means to bring about inter-exchange of thought and meaning between and among individuals and group for better understanding and relationships. Ogili (2001) described communication as a process of transmitting and receiving symbolic clues, both verbal and non-verbal. It can also be oral or written, formal and informal. The above definition is global or rather a broad one. It includes all forms of communication either interpersonal or public. Although communication is ubiquitous, it appears nonetheless difficult to define. We see that different individuals define communication in different ways depending upon their interest. Ruehen (1984) says that communication is any "information related behavior. Dale (I 969), says it is the "sharing of ideas and feelings in a mood of mutuality." Other definitions emphasize the significance of symbols, as in Berelson and Steiner (1964) who said it is the transmission of information, ideas, emotion, skills, and attitudes, etc., from one person or group to another... primarily through symbols. Theodorson (1969), take together, these definitions hint at the general picture of communication. They also illustrate the influence that an individual's perspective may have on the way he or she approaches a problem. These definitions are influenced by the aspect of human behavior of the greatest interest to them. Thus communication means the process of exchange of information, ideas, attitudes, feelings and reactions, between two or more persons (or points) at a time. In this context, communication should include delivery of learning experiences to a learner or groups of learners with feedbacks/ reactions from the learner(s). **3.6.2. Types of Communication** Broadly speaking there are two types of communication: 1\. Verbal 2\. Non-Verbal **Verbal Communication:** This consists of words spoken or written forms (i.e. oral and written) **Non-verbal Communication:** The use of other means to express itself e.g. winking of the eyes, laughter, hissing, beckoning, traffic indicator, signals touching, charts, eye contact, etc. These are carried out via the following tools; - Print Media - Electronic media --- computer/internet - Audio/Visual --- radio/Television, etc. It is important to know that communication gap exist as a result of: - Inadequate information - Wrong information - Failure of information to reach targeted audience at the right time, at the right place and by the right person/right means.