EFFECTIVE LEARNING THAT INVOLVES THE USE OF COMPUTER-BASED HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Abstract

Effective learning involves the use of computer-based hardware, software, and communication systems, to enable the acquisition, representation, storage, transmission, and use of information. Information and communication technology (ICT) has become, within  a  very short  time,  one  of  the  basic  building  blocks  of  modern  society.  Many countries now regard understanding ICT, mastering its basic skills and concepts as part of the core of education, alongside reading, writing and numeracy. Student and researcher use ICT faculty to source information relevant to their area of study and also stay informed about what is happening around the world. The aim of this project is to lay the foundation for the sustainable transformation of IBB University into a world class citadel of learning by proposing a state of the art faculty information and communication technology. The faculty would contain; electronic library, cyber café, lecture rooms, seminar rooms, bindery unit, business centre and offices. It has been observed that most electronic device emit heat which later effect the efficiency of the device and make the surrounding environment unbearable to the user of such device. Therefore it is important to ensure that anybody in the faculty can reach and exploit information in an environment that is neither too cold nor too warm. The proposed design looked at the heat conductivity of the building material, and analyse the best material to be use in the construction of the faculty. The designs has provided inspirational learning environments shaped around people, and shall deliver improved environmental performance in the present; the building has the ability to incorporate further renewable energy in the future, as the economic and environmental contexts change. It has been observed that best approach to building construction that has good cooling technique is all about suitable practice, in terms of choice of material, construction methodologies as well as design philosophy.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Effective learning involves the use of computer-based hardware, software, and communication systems, to enable the acquisition, representation, storage, transmission, and use of information. Information and communication technology (ICT) is dependent upon being able to cope with the overall architecture of systems, their interfaces with humans and organizations, and their relationships with external environments. It is also critically dependent on the ability to successfully convert information into knowledge.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) may be viewed in different ways. The World Bank defines ICTs as “the set of activities which facilitate by electronic means the processing, transmission and display of information” (Rodriguez and Wilson, 2000). ICTs “refer to technologies people use to share, distribute, gather information and to communicate, through computers and computer networks” (ESCAP, 2001). “ICTs are a complex and varied set of goods, applications and services used for producing, distributing, processing, transforming information – [including] telecoms, TV and radio broadcasting, hardware and software, computer services and electronic media” (Marcelle, 2000). ICTs represent a cluster of associated technologies defined by their functional usage in information access and communication, of which one embodiment is the Internet. Hargittai (1999) defines the Internet technically and functionally as follows: “the Internet is a worldwide network of computers, but sociologically it is also important to consider it as a network of people using computers that make vast amounts of information available. Given the two [basic] services of the system – communication and information retrieval – the multitude  of  services  allowed…is  unprecedented”.  ICTs,  represented  by  the  Internet, deliver “at once a worldwide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, a medium for interaction between individuals and a marketplace for goods and services” (Kiiski and Pohjola, 2001).

Information and communication technology is concerned with improvements in a variety of human and organizational problem-solving endeavors through the design, development, and use of technologically based systems and processes that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of information in a variety of strategic, tactical, and operational situations. Ideally, this is accomplished through critical attention to the information needs of humans in problem-solving tasks and in the provision of technological aids, including electronic communication  and  computer-based  systems  of hardware  and  software and  associated processes. Information technology complements and enhances traditional engineering through emphasis on the information basis for engineering.

The knowledge and skills required in information technology come from the applied engineering sciences, especially information, computer, and systems engineering sciences, and from professional practice. Professional activities in information technology and in the acquisition of information technology systems range from requirements definition or specification, to conceptual and functional design and development of communication and computer-based systems for information support. They are concerned with such topics as architectural definition and evaluation. These activities include integration of new systems into functionally operational existing systems and maintenance of the result as user needs change over time. This human interaction with systems and processes, and the associated information processing activities, may take several diverse forms.

It may be easier to define what ICTs are not: ICTs are not a panacea for development or a replacement for real-world processes. If the latter are flawed, deficient or absent, ICTs cannot make good the flaws or make up for the deficiencies. If a government process is bureaucratic, convoluted and subject to delays, moving it on-line may not make it any more efficient; and instant transmission may not necessarily make it any faster. If controls over financial systems are inadequate or missing, making systems electronic will not make them effective, and may in fact make it more difficult to trace the audit trail. This emphasizes the importance of having well-thought-out, well-established, clear real-world processes before moving them on-line. According to this view, ICTs can be an effective “and”, rather than a substitute “or”.

ICTs may, however, reshape, reorganize and fundamentally restructure working methods, and ultimately the sectors in which they are used. They offer generic advantages of efficiency gains, information-sharing, communication and faster knowledge accumulation, dissemination and application, in support of the specific purposes for which they are used. They also permit new, collaborative work methods through their potential for networking. Communication and interaction between previously isolated agents pool their individually isolated resources, knowledge and experience to build a common knowledge base upon which all members can draw. ICTs can transform work and research methods by enabling group interactions based on central reserves of shared knowledge. The evidence suggests that we are still on the threshold of what ICTs may achieve, and that these collaborative networking methods will evolve further, as people learn to communicate, interact and work in new ways. This makes ICTs a very exciting “and”, and one that may transform the equation altogether.

1.2       STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The information and communication technologies are now an integral part of the socialisation process. When a phenomenon becomes part of people’s socialisation process, it inevitably becomes an inescapable concern for a number of social institutions. In the case of   information   and   communication   technologies,   this   characteristic   is   even   more accentuated because these technologies perform important tasks or functions that support a number  of  individuals  in  their  manual  work  (robotisation,  automation,  automated regulation, and so forth) or intellectual activities (modelling, simulation, graphic representation, translation, word processing, text correction), because they increase not only the resources but also the speed of communication (e-mail, electronic conferencing, electronic theme discussions, etc.) and help change the relations among individuals (such as written interaction, remote interaction, impersonal interaction) and between individuals and information/knowledge (document consultation, database consultation, thematic searching, videography and so forth). Any given society can react to such socialising forces by trying to prevent or limit their incursion into various fields of activity or relations. This brings about the need to have an information and communication technology faculty in order to make the phenomenon increasingly available and  useful. This is because the present-day societies have adopted the latter approach to the information and communication technologies.

1.1       AIM

The study aims to design a structure that has minimal solar heat penetration which will enhance student’s ability to interact, learn, and solve problems using modern computational tools and techniques.

1.2       OBJECTIVES

    To create learning environment that will require minimal amount of energy for cooling.

        To have a building that will cost less financially as well as environmentally.

        To minimize fuel consumption and lessening the environmental impact of building

    To integrate buildings with their natural environment by using of local bio-climate for environmental benefits.

1.3       DESIGN LIMITATION

Having set out the aim and objectives, it is also necessary to state the limitations which determine conclusions, arrived at in the work. Due to the absence of advance faculty of information technology in the country, the Nigerian information technology outfit is basically based on ICT center and cyber café. It is also difficult to obtain information, especially about the design of public building in Nigeria for security reasons, which will limit the complete understanding about some of the arrangement in some parts of the faculty, of which case studies were done. There was very few documented information about the research area. However, the limitations enumerated above do not foreclose the authenticity and value of this work.

1.4       IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY Digital Divide

Digitization has divide the world at present into “haves” and “have not’s”, those countries that have the capacity and ability to develop new digitalized networks and those that do not (Microsoft Encarta 2009). The concentration of economic power will be in the hands of those who now own quite different segments of media, from books to motion pictures and from  cable  to  satellite  and  the  opportunity  of  choice,  offered  to  individuals  will  be genuinely widened. Most of the problem of the digital divide is not only related to acquisition and access to ITC, but also to the adaptability of these techniques by the society and the people worldwide, especially in developing countries where culture and language barriers have posed problem. This divide will be broken if manpower and proper measures will be put in place. The first thing that will be required is a well design infrastructure such as faculty of information technology where the manpower will be trained in new technologies , techniques and methodologies to develop high-quality products in the drive to bridge this divide and match up to the league of nations that are ITC complaint.

1.5.      RESEARCH JUSTIFICATION

Information and communication technology (ICT) is increasingly moving to the core of national competitiveness strategies around the world, thanks to its revolutionary power as a critical enabler of growth, development, and modernization (GITR 2008-2009). Recent economic history has shown that, as developed countries approach the technological frontier, ICT is crucial for them to continue innovating in their processes and products and to maintain their competitive advantage. Equally importantly, ICT has proven instrumental for enabling developing and middle-income economies to leapfrog to higher stages of development and fostering economic and social transformation. All over the world, ICT has empowered individuals with unprecedented access to information and knowledge, with important consequences in terms of providing education and access to markets, of doing business, and of social interactions, among others. Moreover, by increasing productivity and therefore economic growth in developing countries, ICT can play a formidable role in reducing poverty and improving living conditions and opportunities for the poor. In these challenging times of global economic crisis, the extraordinary capacity of ICT to drive growth and innovation should not be overlooked, since it can play a critical role not only in facilitating countries’ recovery but also in sustaining national competitiveness in the medium to long term. At the World Economic Forum, we are strong believers in the link between economic growth and ICT readiness, a link that should be further emphasized in the face of the current severe economic downturn and calls for budget cuts (GITR 2008- 2009).

1.6.      THE DESIGN PHILOSOPHY Faculty of Information Technology

It is important to ensure that anybody in the faculty can reach and exploit information in an environment that is neither too cold nor too warm. Passive cooling is important both for one’s well-being and for productivity. It can be achieved when the building design relies on rules of thumb for harnessing the power of wind for the purpose of natural ventilation, building location and orientation, building form and dimension, landscaping and material usage.

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