DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF DIGITAL SUBJECT MATERIAL FOR TEACHING COMPUTER STUDIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Digital Subject Materials (DSM) are electronic files that can be viewed on a laptop or mobile devices either online or offline. The ultimate reason for developing a Digital Subject Material is because teaching with a whiteboard, chalk and markers are now a thing of the past. Therefore, if DSM is adequately deployed into teaching and learning, it can enhance learning ability including student’s performance and encourages them to learn on their own. The objectives of the study were to: (i) develop DSM for teaching computer studies in Ilorin; (ii) determine educational technology expert rating of the developed DSM on computer studies in Ilorin;  (iii) determine computer science expert rating  of the developed DSM on computer studies in Ilorin; and (iv)determine the cost of developing DSM. This study utilizes a design and development research of model type. The population for the study consists of all Educational Technology experts and  Computer Science experts in Ilorin.The target  population  comprised of  all  Educational Technology experts from Educational Technology Department in Faculty of Education, University of Ilorin and all Computer Science experts in University of Ilorin. Specifically, five Educational Technology experts and five Computer Science experts was used for the study. The research instrument used for the study are; DSM for teaching Computer studies, Educational Technology experts rating guide and Computer science experts rating guide. The findings of the study were that: i. ADDIE Model was used for the development of DSM;ii. the grand mean from the rating of educational technology experts on the developed DSM based on the structure, screen design and evaluation were greater  than 3.0; iii.he grand mean from the rating of computer science experts on the developed DSM based on the structure, screen designwere greater than 3.0 while the grand mean for evaluation was 2.58; and iv. the estimate for the developed DSM was for thousand, four hundred and fifty naira  (N4,45). The study concluded that DSM brings about effective management, teaching and learning. Based on the findings, the study recommended that students should help themselves by making use of information on the internet for learning and shifting their focus from using it for fun and entertainment only