The just concluded two-day conference held in Abuja themed “Technology Assisted Learning in the Nigerian University System” which was co-hosted by the American University of Nigeria, National University Commission and Digital Promise Global saw the coming together of big players in the ICT industry and a broad spectrum of influential education stakeholders in the nation’s university system.
It was in this conference that Group Chief Executive Officer of the Emerging Platforms Group, Mr. Kola Aina proposed the concept of “glocalisation” in the adoption of new technology for educational advancement in Nigeria.
Glocalisation of new technology, Mr. Aina explained, will involve customising and localising new technology to suit our unique environment. He continued, “Simply because a technology succeeded in the USA or UK does not make such technology an automatic success in Nigeria – off the shelf.”
Mr. Aina, being an e-learning expert, challenged stakeholders in Nigeria to scrutinize and consider adequately the most appropriate approach to domesticating and localising emerging technologies for proper adaptation to the Nigerian educational ecosystem particularly for our tertiary institutions.
According to him, “How do we ensure that students can successfully watch a lecture video for 20 minutes without buffering so the students can enjoy their lectures online? Can we offer pre-loaded devices with educational resources required by students to allow easy offline access and reduce the level of data exchange? How can we leverage ubiquitous SMS technology in education delivery? These and other questions must be answered now as Nigeria is going through this period of change”.
He advised that in answering these questions, the hurdles of economic, infrastructural and cultural realities must be surmounted before we can fully appreciate the significance of technology in our educational system and achieve our goals on national development.
