ICT AS A TOOL FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Africa is faced with multiple problems. These problems range from religion, social, political and economic. Religion is major among other problems because every other department of living depends on it for survival. The paper posited that if the problem of religion is effectively addressed in Nigeria, every other problem is solved. The major problem of religion is lack of improper understanding of the religion content, many people believe that religion is to believe and worship. No, religion is understanding and practice the religious values these include honesty, discipline, dignity, accountability, impartiality, forgiveness, good character, responsibility to God/god and to one another. For the above assertion therefore, Nigerian need all encompassing for better understanding of religious values for national development and this could be achieved through effective use of media in teaching and learning of CRS in all School levels. The challenges of Nigerian society tag to ignorant and improper understanding of religious content, because it is difficult to apply moral standard to solve life situation problems.
The multifarious problems of the society is sound worried in the mind of meaningful Nigerian and these problems raise alarm on how the teaching and learning of Christian Religious Studies could be more effective in order to bring maximum change in term of quality intellect to solve both physical environmental and spiritual problems. For CRS to be effective carry this assignment out therefore method of teaching and learning must be highly motivated through the use Media as aspect of ICT.
In modern society study, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) described as a colossus driving different fields of human endeavor to destination. Nigeria can avail herself of the unlimited facilities provided by the ITC re-launch the nation for the best. ICT in all level have wider understanding of learning and teaching development, it is a means of achievement not just a matter of turning up some short-term stimulus. The effective teaching and learning of CRS in order to obtain the quality objectives determines the level of Media motivation.
Emeruwa (1990) defines motivation as an inner restlessness that urges an organism into activity. According to him inner restlessness are those factors from outside that made one perform some definite acts. The paper deduced from Emeruwa that motivation could be internal and external stimulus that makes one to satisfy some kind of needs such as intellectual, social and personal needs.Mcfarland (1979) classified the most widely needwhich are useful and relevant to this paper into three ways these include intellectual need; self-realization and compliment, Social need; love, affection, safety from external danger ,social activities And physiological need. The assertion of Mcfarland is relevant to the topic because the concern of this paper is how Media (ICT) could serve as a tool to make these needsmaterialize successfully in the teaching and learning of CRS for nation betterment.
CONCEPT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ITC)
Weiner (1990)asserted that ICT is a means of acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of information by combination of computers and communication of information. Hence, it isa broad based technology needed to support information system.Sambo (2002) defined ICT as a generic term referring to the technologies use in collecting, storing, editing, and passing information in various forms He continues that the importance ofinformation in the determination of man activities becomes a widely acclaimed fact. For example, man cannot act without adequate supply information. Kola (2004) positedthat information needed toensure positive changesociety with good decision. Information involved knowledge acquires in any manner, ideas and facts communicated or any refine data, which can be stored and retrieved in a machine-readable form. In order word, the term Media according to Adewoyin (1991) described media as ‘’channel through which messages, information and knowledge are conveyed and disseminated. He furthers, media are those tools or information through which stimuli obtained.Ogunranti (1981) gives the general description of the term as collection of materials and equipment that can be used effectively for communication..Benedict (1995) posited that media is any device or equipment that is normally used to transmit information between person. Oxford Advance Learners Dictionary (1996) defined media as the main mean of communication with large number of people.
Adewoyin (1991) classified Media into three classes; Audio, Visual and Audio-Visual media..
According to him,Audio media are those, which appeal to the sense of hearing. These include; radio, loudspeaker, microphone and talking drum. Visual media are those that appeal to the sense of seeing ;( television and films while Audio-Visual media appeal to both sense of hearing and seeing. Media is important medium of information and communication for obtain an idea, skill and attitude.
The Concept of Christian Religious Education and Objectives
National Commission for College of Education (2004) defined Christian Religious Education as an academic discipline specifically designed for the moral and religious development of the notion. Similarly, Adesiro (2007) asserted that Christian Religious Education is a final body of truth that has been divinely revealed and imperative for the survival of any society. From the above definition, it deduced that Christian Religious Education inculcates in the learner sound religious values such as honesty, love, kindness, tolerance, forgiveness, and corporate existence, which can only be properly, used to facilitates change. The national objective of Christian Religious Education in Nigeria as stated by the National Commission for College of Education (2004) states to:
- Demonstrate practical proficiency for teaching Christian Religious studies in school level
- Demonstrate and express satisfactory intellectual capacity
- Benefit further studies in CRS
- Demonstrate sound knowledge and appreciate of the moral value needed to live as a Christianin the various stages of growth and development
- Expose the place and significance of religion in human life and make a meaningful contribution to humanity.
- Radiate attitude and values, which are typical of nature and responsible member of the Community such as love, respect, honesty, and service.. The actualization of the lofty Objectives of Religion can achieve in the practical sense through the effective use of information and communication technologyin teaching and learning.
ITC Potential (Media) and Christian Religious StudiesRevolution
ICT has the potential to offer significant support to teaching and learning of CRS; By:
Providing a standard information media system; if media is effectively, use it appeal to more than one sense of organ. Therefore, it motivatesteaching learning, and retain memory organ.
Providing sound infrastructure and financial strength,Media make teaching and learning more real, concrete and immediate if certain basic facilities put in place and workshop organised to impact knowledge and techniques required to carry out preventive and productive maintenance to avert the breakdown of critical equipment and machinery.
Ensuring excellent contact in private, public and government sector; when sense organs are involve, it makes one to see real action and hear the sound.
It motivates skill development policies and control proper attention in leaner and make learning becomes meaningful.
Finally, a medium bring distance location closer and preserve old information for the present use and makes education equal to both slow and active learner by using instructional of audio-visual programme.
With the potential mentioned above, there are opportunities available to CRS teaching with ICT in general. Internet is the world’s largest computer network which, link people for the reason of creating global knowledge and society. For example, ICT pass information across the world. Again, the World Wide Web (www) provides an ideal medium for education to create awareness about improving teaching and learning through websites. The importance of website is to dispatch information to the public in a fast and efficient way and to show various education activities online. Websites supply information about services, administration planning and so on. Thus, if the teaching and learning of Christian Religious Studies want to survive and effective impacted to the society in this modern technology, they must embark on the good aspect facilities provided by ICT for improvement of idea, knowledge conveyed and disseminated.
For effective utilization of ICT (Media)facilities for the teaching and learning of Christian religious studies, government and religious sectors must ensure to see the important of CRS in nation building, and ensuring infrastructure readiness to monitor and review the CRS curriculum in order to meet the need of the society and individual
The Problem Militatethe Effectiveus ofICT (MEDIA) In Teaching of CRS
1 Inadequate technical skill support for effective use of media by the CRS staff - Low availability of electricity supply as in the case of electronic media
- Lack of interest and commitment on the part of the government and religious sectors
- Lukewarm attitude on the part of the school administrators
- Lack of low level funding
Recommendation
The paper therefore suggests the following in order to achieve the important of ICT (media) to be effective tool for teaching and learning of CRS;
Seminars and workshop which include CRS as a discipline in education should be organized regularly by the Nigerian Communications Commission in order to educate people how to use ICT equipment to get good value of the CRS content.
Government should encourage and promote the provision of ICT infrastructures and encourage the study of computer in all school levels
Media should be used to the suitable of a given environment and teacher.
Government and religious sectors should join hand to provide adequate fund to procure or supply the media that needed for effective teaching learning of CRS.
There must be adequate electricity supply in the country to make use media effectively.
Conclusion
The paper concludes that ICT ( Media) is a veritable tool for effective teaching and learning of Christian religious studies in order to make the course, relevant to other areas of learning.