Digital Technologies and Woodwork Skills Development: The Nigeria Experience

Abstract

The paper explained digital technologies, woodwork and its skills. It discussed digital technologies used for woodwork skills development. The importance of digital technologies to woodwork skills development was highlighted. This includes: using 3D modeling software for designing wood articles and it allows students to practice on their own and gain more experience in designing wood articles, computer has software that stimulate real woodworking machine and allows students to practice and have hands-on-experience, it saves labour and makes work easier and faster. The constraints to digital technology usage for woodwork skills development were also discussed. These constraints include lack of digital technology equipment in many schools for woodwork skills development, some schools that have few of these digital technology equipment lack experts to operate them epileptic power supply also affect effective use of these digital equipment, paying lip service to technical and vocational education (Woodwork skills development) by federal and state government and negative attitude of some school administrators to woodwork as a trade. It is suggested that woodwork teachers and instructors should be up-skilled in order to use these modern woodwork equipment effectively since many of them are fitted with digital technology equipment, modern woodwork equipment should be supplied by federal and state government and emphasis should be given to tertiary institutions and technical colleges in the first instance. School administrators of schools should strive to provide woodwork shops with generating plant for effective use of this equipment