Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS) Application in the Teaching of Agricultural Sciences Based Courses: A Case Study of Lecturers in the College of Agricultural Sciences, (OOU), Nigeria

Agriculture is the major occupation of Nigerians and remains the largest contributor to the Nigerian economy. Access to agricultural information and knowledge have long been recognized as a key element for agricultural development but unfortunately access to quality agricultural information at the right time and in the appropriate manner has been a major hindrance to agricultural user population and agricultural development in Nigeria. The adoption of ICTs in agriculture have been found to improve agricultural production. This study there-fore seek to examine lecturers’ confidence to integrate ICTs in the teaching of agricultural sciences based courses in the College of Agricultural Sciences, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State. A questionnaire designed by the researchers which has a reliability coefficient of 0.90 was used to collect data for the study. A response rate of 80.00% was obtained while all the returned questionnaires were found useable. The study revealed that the respondents were able to use ICTs and its facilities in teaching and research activities but were not confident to integrate ICTs and its facilities into their teaching, learning, research and community development activities. It further revealed that there existed significant differences (at P<0.05) among the respondents (in terms of their sex, age and job status) in their level of confidence to integrate ICTs into teaching and learning process although, no significant difference existed in terms of their academic qualifications. Suggestions and recommendations were proffered based on the results obtained.