A Sociological Analysis Of Factors Influencing The Use Of Educational Technology In Selected Universities In Ogun State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

The integration of technology into the learning process has become critical in contemporary times; this is because virtually every segment of society has been influenced by technology. A comprehension of the factors of the use of technology ought to assist in ensuring the effective utilisation of the facilities in organizations. This usage is a necessary condition for ensuring output efficiency from investments in technology. Technology usage and acceptance is a dynamic area of research in which several models and theories have been propounded to understand the drivers of technology integration, adoption and usage. However, the factors of Power (electricity) and Technology Culturation that are peculiar to developing nations are missing in these models. Consequently, this study was undertaken with the aim of investigating factors that influence Educational Technology usage in selected universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. Drawing from the Social Learning Theory (SLT) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, and two other key factors/variables which are Technology Culturation and Power, a conceptual framework was developed to explain predictors of educational technology usage in universities in Ogun State and by extension Nigeria and other developing nations. The study used regression analysis, correlation coefficient and descriptive statistics to examine the pattern of inter-correlation among the constructs as well as the level of significance. Cross-sectional Survey research method of 800 respondents who were undergraduate students from three selected universities in Ogun State, Nigeria named University A, University B and University C was used. Five research questions, objectives and hypotheses were put forward. These centered around six major constructs (factors); Performance Expectancy, Social Influence, Attitude, Skill, Technology Culturation and Power. The geographical scope of the study was limited to undergraduate students, lecturers and Directors of ICT Centres of the selected universities, from which samples were drawn through the purposive sampling technique. The findings reveal that attitude, skill, social influence, performance expectancy, technology culturation and power are strong determinants of educational technology usage and that using educational technology tools would enhance learning. The work recommends that Nigerian government should explore renewable energy (power) sources such as solar, wind, etc. as alternative ways out of the power problems in Nigeria. In other words, government should invest massively in power generation; Tertiary Institutions in developing nations should have their own independent power projects as backup plans in case of power outages in order to ensure sustainable technology utilisation in their respective institutions. Children should be exposed early to the use of basic technologies by their parents/wards and schools(Technology Culturation) with adequate monitoring. The National Universities Commission should drive educational technology usage in Nigerian universities. There should be regular training and re-training of students and lecturers alike on the use of e-learning facilities and tools. The model derived in this study which combines some SLT and UTAUT factors and incorporates Power and Technology Culturation factors, no doubt, contributes significantly to the body of literature in the area of Sociology of Education and Sociology of Technology.

Keywords: educational technology, SLT, UTAUT, technology culturation, power, Nigeria.