Influence of Information Communication and Technology on Social Life and Academic Performance of Students in Imo State University

Chapter One of Influence of Information Communication and Technology on Social Life and Academic Performance of Students in Imo State University

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Education in the narrow and common sense usage is what takes place during the process of teaching and learning in the educational institutions. In the wider sense, education is what happens to us from the day we are born to the day we die (Castle 1985). In this period of technological revolution and advancement, education is thought to be the first step for every human activity. It plays an important role in human capital development and it has significant relationship with well-being and opportunities for better standard of living of an individual (Battle & Lewis, 2002)

Information and Communication Technology is gaining vast popularity globally in recent years it use which extended information processing capabilities are influencing organization of all type and size bringing about changes in institutional goals, relations, a large percentage of the activities in any educational institution comprise the processing of communication. In 2000, Nigeria developed a policy on Information Technology (IT), with the aim of making Nigeria an (IT) Information Technology adapted country in Africa and also a leading player in the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) as an implement for sustainable development and global competitiveness. Since then ICT has become an issue of interest in the academic circle.

According to Shamumil Islam (2009) Information and Communication Technology includes technologies such as laptop, computer software, peripherals and connections to the Internet that are intended to fulfill information processing and communication functions. The basic point of this communication is therefore the internet and mobile phones. ICT however included both hardware elements and software (Lee Bih Nii 2012).

Such benefits include their impact on catalyzing teaching practice thoughts; language acquisition; motivating learners; enhancing students’ academic performance and enhancing pedagogy (Jaffer, Ng’ambi & Czerniewicz 2007). ICT in higher education locally and globally has been very useful. This is predicated on the rapidly changing environmental dynamics, globalization, demand for ICT and life-long learning as well as competition among private and public institutions (Collis & van Der Wende 2002; James 2008).

In the study of history most times the library is never enough and as such students have to depend on Information and Communication Technology in form of the internet in getting information since it is current and constantly updated with information which could be used in the effective learning of history in the university level. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, UK (2004), gave a revelation that as the pace of technological development continues to grow school children will live in a world where ICT will be fully embedded in their daily lives.

The information age brought by internet change has formed social or new technology world. ICT has created alterative new world of information, communication, and interconnectivity order which cannot be activated using face-to-face method among the students (Al-Sharq et al., 2015; Chukwuere & Onyebukwa, 2017). The new world order has therefore reshaped and refined students’ wellbeing as well as their social life. With ICT, pressing issues in the societies are discussed and given attention (Shabir et al., 2014). However, few years ago, high education institution students has engaged on excessive usage of ICT which has coined a debate on whether the usage of ICT has affected their social life, wellbeing and behaviour in general (Al-Sharq et al., 2015). According to Al-Sharq et al. (2015), the level of changes brought by social media has motivated tutors, students, education institutions and other stakeholders to improve their interactions and teaching and learning delivery technique. The introduction of ICT into education and in life at large is attributed to it user-oriented features, cheap and easy to use and others (Chukwuere & Onyebukwa, 2017).