Educational Software Impact on Technology Mediated Learning (Published)
There has been a growing concern for transformation, modernisation and restructuring of education system globally. This research investigated the impact of educational software on technology-mediated learning to enable better teaching/learning transformation in the Information Communication and Technology driven world. The study highlighted the use of educational software as a product of technology in alleviating the pressure and difficulties faced in the use of conventional face-to-face teaching method that have hitherto impeded the growth of education system in Nigeria. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) was adopted for this research and blended with the face-to-face teaching method. Four research questions and corresponding hypotheses were formulated to guide the investigation. The study was anchored on Connectivism theory. Experimental research design was adopted with a random sample of 120 first year Accounting university students, randomised into three groups (educational software technology, conventional teaching method, and blended educational software technology with conventional teaching method). Each group learnt Introduction to Financial Accounting, Computer and Entrepreneurship. Data were collected using a highly reliable and valid Introductory Financial Accounting, Computer and Entrepreneurship Achievement Test. The examinees’ pre-test and post-test scores were subjected to Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Results showed statistically overwhelming effect of the treatment as the group that employed Educational Software Technology (EST) performed significantly better than the group that blended educational software technology with conventional teaching method, which in turn, made a substantially greater achievement that the group that adopted conventional teaching method.
Keywords: Conventional Teaching Method, Educational Software, Educational Software Technology, Learning Management System (LMS)., Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS)