Assessing the Challenges Facing the of Adoption Virtual Education (E-Learning) in Training Students

Background of the Study

E-learning though not new in Nigeria has been given much prominenc of recent. Many Nigerians have benefited through the open (correspondence) of rapid college and exam success correspondence (Aginam, 2006). In fact, e-learning in Nigeria tertiary institutions has recently continued to grow at unprecedented rate but with a lot of challenges. Today, the advances in communication and computer technologies have culminated in the supplementation and near phase-out of traditional educational delivery system. These new technologies allow for more flexibility in learning and a wider reach for education in many countries world-wide (Salawudeen, 2010). In recent times, the issue of mobile learning which means the use of wireless electronic technology to deliver and receive knowledge and skill has been raised and is practiced in the developed nations of the world (Ayodele, 2010). Nigerian tertiary institutions however can be said to be behind in the adoption of these technologies as there is evidently an extremely low rate of diffusion of e-learning and as a consequence, a low rate of usage. The reason for these are not farfetched as Nigeria, apart from being a developing country and having inadequate education finance policy, is also highly deficient in the area of engineering and technological development (Salawudeen, 2010).

E-learning is defined by various authors according to their personal knowledge and perspectives, but they all seem to agree that e-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching which are procedural in character and aim to effect the construction of knowledge with reference to individual experience, practice and knowledge of the learner. This definition is supported by Ravichandra, (2005), who said that E-learning in the broadest sense concerns itself with learning that occurs online through the internet, off the using the CD-ROM or other facilities such as radio, television and telephony. E-learning encompasses learning at all levels, both formal and non-formal that uses an information network, the internet, an intranet (LAN) or extranet (WAN), whether wholly or in part, for course delivery, interaction, evaluation and facilitation which Salawudeen, (2010) explained, uses network technologies to create, deliver and facilitate learning any time, and anywhere.

The development of e-learning in Nigeria could be traced back to the development of telecommunication which began in 1886 when e-cable connections was established by the colonial masters between Lagos and the colonial office in London to transmit information and receive feedback. By 1893 all government offices in Lagos were provided with telephone services for easy communication and later, other parts of the country were provided with telephone services (Ajadi, Salawu & Adeoye, 2008). They further stressed that in Nigerian schools, the commonest type of e-learning adopted was in form of lecture notes on CD-ROM which can be played when the learners desire. The challenge of this method is that number of students per computer was unattractive as compared to when lectures are being received in the classrooms.