AWARENESS, PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDES OF UNDERGRADUATE PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' ON THE USE OF MOBILE LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES FOR LEARNING PURPOSES IN NIGER STATE

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate undergraduate pre-service teachers' awareness, perception, and attitude on the use of mobile learning technologies for learning purposes in tertiary institutions. The study adopted a descriptive survey design carried out on 300 randomly sampled undergraduate pre-service teachers drown from a population of 2,713 pre-service teachers in tertiary institutions in Niger state, using the Krejice and Morgan (1970) sample size determination table. Six research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide this study. Data was collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire structured in four sections A, B, C, and D containing 30 items. Section A was used to collect demographic data of the respondent, while section B, C, and D containing 10 items each was used to collect data on awareness, perception, and attitude respectively. The questionnaire was content and face validated by experts to determine the instrument's suitability. The reliability of the instrument was determined after been pilot tested and a reliability coefficients 0.85, 0.82, and 0.79 were obtained for awareness, perception, and attitude respectively using Cronbach Alpha, which indicated that the instrument was reliable for data collection. Mean and standard deviation score were used to answer the research questions. The formulated hypotheses were analyzed using t-test analysis. Findings from the study revealed that undergraduate pre-service teachers' awareness, perception and attitude on the use of mobile learning technologies for learning was positive. The analysis of the hypotheses revealed that there is no gender significance in the awareness, and perception of undergraduate pre-service teachers on the use of mobile learning technologies for learning. However, the analysis revealed that there is a gender significance in their attitude as male tends to exhibit significantly more positive attitude towards the use of mobile learning technologies for learning than female. Based on these findings, it was recommended that undergraduate pre-service teachers should be encouraged to adopt mobile learning technologies in order to enhance their independent learning ability and helps build self confidence. Also, governments and schools should ensure continuous sensitization of students on mobile learning technologies as it provides easy access to online learning materials and easy flow of information between teachers and students.