NEED TO INTRODUCE BLENDED LEARNING IN SECONDARY SCHOOL

NEED TO INTRODUCE BLENDED LEARNING IN SCIENCE SUBJECTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

Many issues have been found confront the Nigeria educational system. The mostly identified one is the level of achievement in science among students in certificate examination (Aghenta in Ndioho, 2007). Achievement in the course of study or certificate examination has to do with how well or badly a student performs in that particular course of study or examination. The type of teaching method adopted in teaching the Nigerian student appears to affect their level of achievement which in turn affects the entire educational system. The survival and development of any nation is dependent on a sound scientific and technological base. Several efforts have been made by the federal government of Nigeria through curriculum revision to ensure the above objectives are realized so as to meet the nation’s goals.

The secondary level of education occupies a very significant position in the school system as it is the bridge linking the primary and the tertiary level of education. Special attention given to this level will go a long way in affecting the quality of the output from the system that would be either pushed into the labour market or into the higher level of the education system (Ikpeba 2010).

Realizing that students in the secondary level of education are in their adolescent stage most of the times, youths tends to imitate every behaviour especially new ones (Alio, 2010). Technology application has taken over every aspect of everyday life. It is hard to imagine life without using one form of technology application or the other. Osasolor (2008) noted that one of the greatest challenges faced by secondary education in Nigeria is the capacity to apply modern information technology appropriately. Yet, the role of modern information technology application in fostering the instructional and management activities that enhances student’s achievement is continually being emphasized by scholars and administrators  alike. Modern information technology application has brought a lot of changes to so many foreign nations’ classrooms through the use of computers, mobile phone, internet, e-mail, video conferencing etc. But the faith of Nigeria secondary schools in this advance of technology for classroom instruction remains unresolved as computer access and use of mobile phones among Nigeria secondary school students have grown exponentially over the past decades.

, adolescents engage in a wide variety of social media behaviors, including doing school work, playing games, downloading music, text messaging and chatting and so forth. Secondary school students use the internet primarily for social reasons (Gross, 2012; Robert, Foehr and Rideout, 2010). The internet has become a virtual meeting place where secondary school students hang out with their peers to pass time and also chat. Although students have been using cell phones consistently in their daily lives for some years now, many public schools in our states continue to resist allowing the devices into the classrooms yet, these devices find their way into the classroom of today public schools as the number of kids with phones has just been blown out of the water the last few years. According to data compiled by uwaezuoke precious(2016)  through an interview indicate that 62% of students from 14-17years old owned a smart phone as of July 2016 an increase of more than 60% over the previous year, and with over 50% of mobile phone users in Nigeria now using smart phones, the number only seem to be growing day by day. With their easy internet access, a multitude of education-friendly apps and the ability to be used at a moment’s notice (after all, what smart phone-owning teenagers would go anywhere without their phone?) these device have all the necessary tools to boost students learning achievement.        

    In respect to the great role which technology plays in the educational system and the beneficial outcome which may come with its integration with the conventional teaching method a stronger learning environment as emerged with combining the very strongest aspects of the two available approaches to remove the deficiencies of the traditional learning and at the same time also remove that of the web base learning. This new approach is referred to as Blended learning some international literature call it hybrid learning and mixed learning.

Blended learning is the combination of two educational models which include traditional face to face and distance learning (Graham 2006). A blended learning approach is been used in school subject which include hard copy study material, face to face sections and communication via email coupled with the more recent internet base message, board and other online resources.

Blended learning is that shift which is needed to alter the education, training and preparation of the current generation of learners (Oblinger,2005) printed books and structured classrooms can no longer be the primary means of preparing our students for 21^st century,(centre for digital education 2007) creating classrooms that are preparing students with 21^st century leaning skills, requires re-equipping classrooms and teachers with the necessary technologies to make learning relevant to the learning styles of the students. Emerging as the next generation of online learning environment is the blended or hybrid learning (Bonk, 2006). Blended learning is the convergences of online and face-face education, the approach combines the best elements of the two approaches and is likely to emerged as the living model of the future of education as the world turns global.