ICTS AND EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE UTILIZATION OF MOBILE PHONES IN DISTANCE EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

The demand for education in Africa has been on the increase. Thus, there is the need to identify more affordable ways of improving access to learning. For many decades, Open and Distance Education mediated by ICTs has been used to improve access to education. But in developing countries ICTS have been full of challenges of cost, and lack of appropriate infrastructure creating the notion of “digital divide”. At the same time, we are now witnessing an unprecedented explosion in the number of mobile telephones globally, and in Nigeria. This technology, which is arguably the commonest means of communication, could play a pivotal role in extending the possibilities for teaching, learning, and research in distance educational institutions. Numerous studies have shown success stories of mobile learning in the developed world. This paper makes a case for implementing mobile learning in Nigeria by showing a number of successful Mobile Learning initiatives. The study also identified challenges that need to be addressed in order to sustain and succeed in the implementation of mobile learning in Nigeria