MAKING NIGERIAN CHILDREN BETTER CITIZENS THROUGH THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Peniel Chukwuanyim

            Nigeria is a country with growing population of children who are future leaders of the nation. Therefore, it is important to prepare them to become better citizens, with an understanding of the roles and responsibilities towards the nation. One way to achieve this is through the use of technology. Our future tends towards technology as it has become an essential part of our lives.

            One of the ways through which technology can be used to make Nigerian children better citizens is E - learning. With the increasing availability of laptops, Smartphones and tablets,      e-learning provides children with access to educational resources such as online learning tutorials, e-books, educational videos, apps and games. These resources are used to teach them their history, culture and values which are important for building their history, culture and values which are important for building their sense of identity and belonging to the nation, thus making them better citizens. The use of technology also makes it easier to teach children English, which is the official language of Nigeria and an important tool for communication and economic development. With the use of language learning apps and online resources, children can improve their English skills which will help them to communicate better with people from different regions of the country and even globally.

            Secondly, the use of technologically oriented teaching methods in schools which integrates technology into the teaching and learning process has contributed into making Nigerian children better citizens. An example of such is blended learning which combines traditional classroom teaching with online resources and digital tools, just like taking children from their classroom to the computer lab to practice what they have just learnt in their computer lesson. Here, they have access to a variety of learning materials and this enables them to apply their learning in a meaningful way by incorporating technology into the classroom, Nigerian children are allowed to explore the digital environment and have more engaging, exciting and effective learning experience which will in turn make them better citizens.

Thirdly, the use of technology through the social media has given Nigerian children a platform to express their opinions and share their ideas with a wider audience. This has empowered them to become active citizens and take part in discussions and debates about issues that affect them and their communities. Also, with social media platforms and news websites, they can stay up-to-date with current events and learn about issues affecting the world around them. Also, the use of technology has made Nigerian children better citizens by creating new economic opportunities for them; with the extension of e-commerce and digital entrepreneurship, children can now brand themselves in a great way, start their businesses and sell their products to a global audience. They can simply use digital platforms to learn new and innovative skills which they can develop and exploit in order to earn online, thus empowering themselves and becoming assets to the nation.

            In summary, the use of technology has made Nigerian children better citizens by providing them with quality education, learning competence, increased awareness of the world around them, empowerment to voice their opinions and creation of economic opportunities, thus creating a better future for Nigeria.

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