From Ahmad SAKA, Bauchi
The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University ATBU Bauchi has developed a mobile application for the teaching of Science and Technology as well Engineering and Mathematics at Upper Basic and Senior Secondary School levels.
The Digital Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics iSTEM application for mobile devices was developed by the Faculty of Technology Education of the University.
Vice Chancellor of ATBU Professor Muhammadu Ahmad Abdulazeez stated this when he declares open a workshop with end users on the utilisation of iSTEM app and contents held at the institution’s College of Medical Sciences in Bauchi.
Represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academics and Principal Researcher of the project Professor Ibrahim Danjuma, Abdulazeez said the aim of developing the app was to increase students performance on iSTEM, enhance the systems literacy among Nigerians and boost indigenous technology and innovation among others.
“STEM means Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics and the purpose of the training workshop is that the application software has been developed and you as teachers are the major stakeholders that teach these STEM subjects at the basic education level.
"We want to see the workability of this as we were envisaging and we also want to see how you react to the app, your observations so that you can help us improve the application before we finally deploy it for it to be used the world over," he disclosed.
He said the application can be used by teachers, students and adult learners to enhance learning of the four areas of study fused in an integrated form.
In their separate goodwill messages, the Dean Faculty of Technology Education Professor Hassan Bello and Director Research and Innovation Professor Fatima Sawa represented by her Deputy Professor Balarabe Yusha’u charged the participants to be abreast with global trends in the field and critically study the app to enable the researchers make necessary amendments for improved teaching and learning.
“You should be ready and be putting one thing or the other, prepare your questions, explanations, observations so that you’ll learn and look from this interactions," Professor Hassan Bello advised.
Professor Yusha’u added that, "What is more critical, what can you do hands on with this training, this is now the trend. If I now call you for an interview, what I’m interested is what you can offer to my establishment not what you have in your certificate and that is what is now popularly known as ‘life long education’, so this is talking about the skills and ability to communicate.”
The Executive Chairman State Universal Basic Education Board SUBEB Dr Surunbai Sheikh Dahiru represented by the Director School Services Alhaji Korijo Buba who said the participants were selected based on merit, stressed the need to expand the training for teachers at the rural areas to benefit.
“We will track you and see whether you’ve really learned something from here and its not because of the allowances. Secondly, I will love the organisers to go and browse and bring people from the rural area so that this training can be expanded because Bauchi now we 15,723 teachers."
"Those for Sciences are there, they’re not up to that number but if you had this training and replicate the same thing back to your schools, then others too would emulate you and come back to encourage even their students to read sciences”, he challenged.
The fifty teachers participating at the testing of the app were selected from the fields of Agriculture, Basic Science and Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
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