Interlink Continental Journal of Educational Research and General Studies (ICJERGS)
March 2016 Vol. 2(1), pp. 001-006
Copyright © 2016 Transcontinental Publishers

Full Length Research Paper

Towards Improving Distance Education in Nigeria with Virtual Technology

Osileke Osipitan

New York State Department of Transportation, Albany, New York

E-mail: osipitan@hotmail.com

Accepted 07 March, 2016

Abstract

Technology has been a technique used in various disciplines and has been passing through various stages of development to improve upon the delivery of education to those who do not have the opportunity to attend traditional institutions or were impeded as a result of work. This study examined the existing method of delivering distance education by Nigerian universities to non-traditional students with the aim of enhancing the delivery methods with advanced technology which requires nontraditional students to be taught in real-time from remote locations. The data for the current mode of delivery for distance learning programs in Nigeria Universities were gathered from their respective web portals. Results revealed that the Universities that provide distance education used study centers, emails and campus classrooms for instructions. None of the universities employed a Virtual classroom, which require students and lecturers to interact in real time from their respective locations. The study described virtual technology and recommended that the universities should apply the real time technology with the aid of information technology helpdesks, so as to provide effective and efficient education from remote locations to learners as well as save time and costs to both the university authorities and the learners.

Keywords: distance education, technology, virtual classroom, study centers