Biology Students’ Perception of Online Learning in Selected Colleges of Education in Nigeria

Ukachukwu Nnanyelu Aloysius

Abstract


This study investigated perception of online learning by Biology students in Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze, Anambra State and Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all the 258 Biology students from the two Colleges of Education who participated in the study. There was no sampling technique as the intact number of the population was used for the study. A four-point Likert scale Questionnaire developed by the researcher was used to elicit data for the study. The instrument which has four (4) sections and a total of forty-six (46) items was subjected to pilot test in College of Education, Zuba, FCT with the original draft containing thirty-eight (38) items. The instrument was further subjected to reliability test using Cronbach Alpha reliability and a reliability index of 0.84 was obtained. Descriptive statistics of simple Percentage (%) and Arithmetic Mean (x̄ ) were used to analyse the research questions. Findings revealed that the respondents are aware of Telegram (100%), YouTube (90.8%), Zoom (92.5%), Khan Academy (68.6%) and Coursera (57.3%) as platforms that can be used for online learning. Findings showed that the ease of use of online learning as perceived by majority of the respondents is generally positive (grand x̄); they perceive online learning platforms are easily accessible (x̄ = 2.89), user-friendly (x̄ = 2.76), easily navigable (x̄ = 2.72) and they find it easy to use them amongst other things. The perception which majority of the respondents have about online learning is generally positive (grand x̄); they perceive online learning as useful in assisting them achieve mastery through repetition of course taken rather than just passing exams (x̄ = 3.08), helping them improve their virtual communication and collaboration skills (x̄ = 2.82), amongst other things. It was found that the perceived barriers to online learning include slow internet connection (x̄ = 3.16), high cost of internet subscription (x̄ = 2.87), limited communication with the instructor (x̄ = 2.65) and lack of proper training on online learning (x̄ = 2.53), amongst others. The study recommends among others that college managements should actively seek partnership with telecommunications companies to provide free access to selected platforms for learning purposes only. 

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References


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