ICT SKILLS AND BLENDED LEARNING AMIDST COVID-19 PANDEMIC: EXPECTATIONS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ON LEARNING LIBRARY COURSES IN UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA

Ibrahim Wada; Dr. Mohammed, Abubakar Bitagi & Dr. Fatima Lasisi Ibrahim

Abstract

This study investigates the ICT skills of Undergraduate students in relation to their expectations on Blended learning amidst coronavirus pandemic as they return back to the schools in University of Maiduguri, Borno State. The study adopted survey research design. The population of the study consisted of undergraduate library and information students.Two research questions and one hypothesis were used for this study. Questionnaire was employed as instrument for data collection. Multistage sampling technique was used for the study. With the aid of Raosoft Sample Size Calculator, 320 sample size was obtained from the research population of 1,500 studentswho were pursuing their first degree programme in 2019/2020 academic session. Of 320 copies of questionnaire administered using lecture halls as point of contact, 306 copies of questionnaire retrieved from the students were found valid and usable.Descriptive statistic of frequency count, percentage, mean and standard deviation as well as inferential statistics of PPMC were used in analyzing the data. The findings revealed that ICT skills of undergraduate students were below average ((x̅_w = 2.48 < x̅= 2.50) and the expectation of students on Blended Learning were also low (x̅_w = 2.49 < x̅= 2.50). However, the p-value < α=0.05 and Correlation coefficient (r=0.285) indicated that there is significant positive but weak relationship between ICT skills and expectation on Blended Learning of undergraduate students in learning library courses in University of Maiduguri. It is also discovered that the current level of ICT skills of undergraduate students can only have 28.5% impact on their expectations on BL. It is recommended that Library and Information Science Department should put in place ICT learning facilities and blend every library course with ICT at all levels to improve the ICT skills of students while institutionalizing hybrid learning culture to curtail the spread of Covid-19 among students.