Life is full of uncertainties and risks faced by Nigerians irrespective of social class, ethnicity, religion and other factors, however, those who succeed in life are those who acknowledge these uncertainties and hence, arm themselves with a well-planned strategy on how to face and overcome their challenges.
That uncertainty no doubt could better be overcome with qualitative education that exposes children in their early age, especially at the formative stage of their lives to inclusive education that develops not just the learning abilities of the child, but also help in building his/her soft skills.
This according to media specialists who are professionals in the design, implementation and execution of educational resource and management can be made possible with technology adoption in basic education.
Similarly, education management experts have always argue in support of a Federal Government led policy statement on technology integration in the Nigerian education sector to aid teachers in handling and managing classroom challenges faced in regard to the teachers-to-students ratio in the country, as a way of improving the learning-teaching outcome of Nigerian children.
According to media specialists, education has gone beyond the four walls of the classroom to include technology integration and Nigeria cannot but align with the rest of the world to develop its educational sector. Education they said should involves creative utilisation and adaptation of educational resources to enhance classroom management by teachers.
However, government seems to lack the political will or is sometimes foot-dragging to drive technology integration in education based on its limited revenue and budgetary allocation to the sector.
Aloy Ejiogu, Professor from the Department of Education Management, University of Lagos, in a paper titled ‘How Can a Nation Develop without Teachers’ said, “Teacher is not my job, it is my life”. According to him, a teacher is a curator of the mind that gives sense of value and validation to students outside the home.
According to Ejiogu, teachers are responsible for making other professionals and should be celebrated. “A teacher is someone who works for the good of others and exhibit autistics ability as professions,” he said.
However, in driving Nigeria’s technology adoption in education, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) recently launched a digital playground for children to have fun, learn and interact. Called the GTBank ‘Play Centre’, the digital initiative is Nigeria’s first digital playground for children.
The newly launched play centre gives children what is referred to as the digital experience of a lifetime. It is equipped with a wide range of interactive games that gives kids fun and immersive digital experience whilst aiding their mental and intellectual development.
Located in Lekki, Lagos State, the GTBank Play Centre is open to children between the ages of 5-10 years, the centre is divided in to three activity areas; Sketch Town, Leggo City, and the Chalkboard. The Sketch town utilises 3D paper crafting where kids can design cars, build mansions, launch rockets, and colour all their sketches to life.
The Leggo City engages the minds of the kids as they develop their own fictional characters through adventurous Lego games while the Chalkboard encourages kids to express their unspoken words/drawings on the great wall of Play Centre.
“Our (GTBank) new Play Centre will give children a tension-free space to build these critical developmental skills, expose them to new and emerging digital technologies, and, most importantly, give them a wonderful time out,” said Segun Agbaje, the chief executive officer, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.
Just like the Play Centre, another of GTBank initiative, ‘Habari’, a digital platform that gives customers unlimited access to local and international music, and at the same time, allows them to shop online, split bills with friends and take care of their everyday needs, in one place.
Habari, like the GTBank Play Centre, is the first of its kind in Nigeria, reflecting the bank’s digital drive as well as its focus on creating unique experiences for all segments of its customer base.
According to Agbaje, GTBank is passionate about building the bank of the future, which means constantly leveraging the best of technology to create amazing digital experiences for all of its customers, in a way that adds real value to their lives. “How and where children play contributes significantly to their cognitive and intellectual development, helping them build better communication and problem-solving skills,” Agbaje stated.
The play Centre is open to all GTBank SKS account holders between the ages of 5-10 years, while parents are required to book a visit at least 48 hours prior to the session. Parents are also allowed to bring up to four (4) children at once to freely experience the digital learning field.
Creating a digital business
Thinking through and executing a digital business model requires a fundamental shift in strategy because it is completely different from offline business. In this case, you either bring out a new offering or take the existing offering to market in newer ways. This means being able to explore technologies such as the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence to make the customer experience seamless.
Hence, the opportunities for digital/technology adoption in education are numerous. It only requires good and strong education management professionals and a media specialist that understands how to utilise and analyze what the ecosystem looks like, with a very strong understanding of technology can be deploy to affect the teaching-learning outcome positively.
Social impact
You can’t afford to operate your school or educational institution as if it exists in a vacuum any longer. The rise of social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram means students are a click away, and can attend classes without regard to physical presence in class, geographical obstacle, financial background, or even social status.
Indeed, in the past, there were very limited avenues for students to raise their queries but now more and more institutions pay attention to their digital platform, and are anxiously on the lookout to prevent any unfavourable rant or bad review on social media. This is why as a business; you should not compromise on standards because what goes on on the internet stays on the internet.
This means that if you earn a bad reputation, it’s going to stick with you. It is for this reason that businesses large and small worry about their digital footprint, and a good number of organisations have experts who are on the lookout for potential “bad press” and are out making the rounds trying to be proactive.
Connectivity
Digital technology has also increased the ease with which we can all stay in touch, interact and engage. Whether it’s about having your students and teacher in a virtual classroom via text/video chat within the shortest notice, or being able to send targeted promotional email blasts to pre-qualified customers when they’re shopping at nearby businesses, the rise of mobile technology has blended almost seamlessly with communication software to create a web of real-time information.
Improved access to information and data
Digital Technology has made it easier than ever to research and finds data without leaving the office. Enhanced access to data gives your business the ability to offer your customer service team not only a way to connect with customers but also a way to instantly access complete customer history. In addition to this, you can provide a better user experience for anyone who interacts with your brand.
Irrespective of how big or small a business enterprise is, application of digital technology offers numerous benefits including those that facilitate the smooth running of business operations. These benefits are sometimes tangible while other times, they are intangible. The bottom line is that business applications play a significant role in increasing profitability for businesses while generating the results that customers need.
SEYI JOHN SALAU
