The University of Ghana, Legon is to establish a digital centre to augment academic work in all subject areas, the Pro Vice Chancellor in charge of Research, Innovation and Development, Professor Francis Dodoo has said.
He said the “Augmented Virtual Reality Interactive Digital Centre” would come in handy particularly for distance learning, engineering, computer science and, medical and nursing students.
Speaking at a workshop in Accra yesterday, he said it was one of the avenues the university was using to leverage Information Communication Technology (ICT) in education.
The workshop, organised by the College of Education of the university was to discuss policies, strategies and processes to aid the college intensify the use of ICT in the delivery of courses and services.
The goal is to create the digital environment for effective academic work and make the college more relevant to national and global development through cutting-edge research.
Dubbed “The future of technology in education” it was attended by academics from the ICT and education sector, representatives of various faculties and department under the college, and other stakeholders.
According to Prof. Dodoo there had been massive growth in ICT reach in Ghana especially through the mobile devices but on the contrary, the pace of ICT adoption in higher education was slow.
“As we look at the future of technology in education, we cannot fail to see the gaps that confront our students and the possible challenges they may face as they enter the world of work”, he said.
He said the university, would continue to promote and support the use of cutting-edge digital technologies that would help broaden the frontiers of education and its impact on national development.
Prof. Michael Tagoe, Provost of College of Education in a presentation mentioned mobile technology as a cheaper tool that could be used to expand education, citing its benefits to include its ability to overcome geographical barriers.
He however noted that this type of technology came with challenges including upgrade of teaching skills which would require dedication by institutions to overcome.
He appealed to stakeholders, including the government to help make the use of technology less expensive to encourage many institutions to adopt digital technology in their academic work.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
