Professor of Educational Technology, Lagos State University, (LASU), Ojo, Prof. Silas Egbowon has called for the establishment of educational technology centres in universities across the country that will help capacity building in the education sector.
He said this will also help the country keep abreast with the development of technology to achieve the millennium goals in education.
He stated this while delivering the university’s 102nd inaugural lecture titled: ‘Educational Technology: The Uninformed, The Misinformed and the Informed’, on Tuesday.
Other functions of the centre when established, according to him include orientation of newly employed staff and in-service training of those on the job; developing resources for learners with disability and ensuring accessibility to education through technology; offer assistance to lectures in packaging off-line courses and organizing and updating digital materials for ease of access, among others.

Explaining further, Prof. Egbowon said educational technology is a comprehensive, systematic approach that utilises both human and material resources to enhance instruction through a process of careful design, application and assessment.
He said: “That is why it should be embraced and people should be informed about its importance in training and skill development.

“It is also important to note that it does not throw people out of jobs, rather, it enhances their productivity on the job and save their precious time,” he added.
Prof. Egbowon said though technology has transformed learning through integrating digital tools and resources into teaching, there are numerous challenges that limit its potentials.
These include teacher training readiness, infrastructure challenge, content quality and relevance, privacy and security concerns; over-reliance on technology, resistance to change, ethical and social issues, funding and sustainability and evaluation and feedback.
Talking on the future of educational technology, Prof. Egbowon said that as long as human beings are alive and active to actualise their dreams, technology will continue to evolve.

“Right now, in the context of digitisation, access, skills, and engagement with digital technologies are used to classify or categorize people.
This classification, he said helps identify gaps and tailor strategies to promote digital inclusion.
“With these classifications, we need to ask questions to know which group individuals belong. A consumer or a facilitator?”
Prof. Egbowon added that technology is dynamic and it needs people who are dynamic to know what to do, when and how to do it
To this end, he urged universities to encourage lecturers to undergo training in design, production, selection and utilisation of instructional materials to enrich their international delivery.
“Students outside education faculty should be encouraged to take the course on design, production, utilisation and evaluation materials coordinated by educational technology unit in order to prepare them for the outside world where they would be involved in training job after their graduation.

“Also every faculty should be well equipped with materials for instructional delivery; broadcast outfit should be established at the educational technology centre where students can receive live and recorded lectures: lecturers should embrace the 4Cs, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication and Collaboration in their preparation.”
He also said it is important for experts in educational technology to be involved in the installation of teaching and learning facilities in the lecture halls during construction of the halls.
BV.