Assessment of Students' Perceived Preparedness for E-learning in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic has made software developers come up with different e-learning tools to facilitate distance learning in institutions. These tools have eased the challenges brought about by limited contact among persons during that period and there could be variations in the level of preparedness to use these tools among different populations. This study thus aimed to assess the level of student’s preparedness to use these e-learning tools. Materials and Methods: A descriptive design was used to carry out this study among 203 respondents of the Federal Training Centre for Teachers of Health Sciences, in the University College Hospital, Ibadan. A simple random sampling technique was adopted to select the study participants from the population. A semi-structured questionnaire with 4 sections was used in the collection of data. Ethical considerations were adhered to and analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Results: The results show that a high level of preparedness (71.4%) was recorded and this was evidenced by a greater proportion of availability of e-learning materials (76.8%) with a corresponding network system (82.8%). A majority (73.9%) of the respondents had utilized these e-learning tools for class assignments and virtual meetings in their respective environments. The recorded level of preparedness was reported to be faced with some constraints including poor availability of telecommunications networks (42.4%), lack of functional laptops (17.2%), and lack of e-learning facilities (10.3%). Conclusion: E-learning utilization preparedness was found to be good in this study but is faced with certain barriers limiting its use effectively. This research has been able to make a case for the effective development and sustenance of e-learning in institutions in Nigeria. Governments and necessary stakeholders need to prioritize the provision of infrastructure, training, and materials needed to enhance e-learning in the education system of Nigeria.