Dialoguing through E-Mail: An Ict Tool for Science Lesson Delivery in National Teachers’ Institute in Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

The study investigated the impact of integrating dialoguing through e-mail as an ICT tool in science lesson delivery in National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) in Akwa Ibom State. Descriptive and quasi-experimental designs were used for the study. Three research questions guided the study. A population of 102 final year science students spread across the six (6) study centres of NTI in the State was used for the study. A Questionnaire and an Achievement Test of 0.72 and 0.78 reliability indexes, structured by the researchers, were instruments used for data collection. Data collated were computed and compared using weighted means and standard deviations according to the research questions posed for the study. Findings from the study revealed that performance of NTI science students who integrated dialoguing through e-mail in their learning process performed better than those who only relied on the programmed printed materials given to them at their study centres. It also indicated a difference in performance between male and female students who integrated dialoguing through e-mail in their learning process, in favour of the males. Lastly the study revealed that high Internet access charges; fluctuation in Network access; inconsistent power supply; inadequate skill on how to operate the computer system; and selectivity of some modems to some environments for Internet accessibility were major factors militating against effective dialoguing through e-mail as an ICT instructional tool. Major recommendations made based on these findings are that lecturers and students of NTI should integrate e-mail dialoguing in their instructional process in order to achieve better performance; female NTI students should encourage themselves to meet up with the current ICT challenges, by enrolling in ICT trainings; improved modems that will be generally friendly to all environments should be produced by highly-skilled technicians for easy accessibility of Internet; and Nigerian government should work in collaboration with non-governmental bodies and philanthropists to solve the problem of power supply.