PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ PERCEIVED USABILITY OF ONLINE PLATFORMS FOR LEARNING EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA

Abstract

The usability of online platforms such as google classroom, Edmodo and Educate for learning Educational Technology in the Colleges of Education is a function of ease of use, usefulness, ease of learning, accessibility and satisfaction, all which play crucial roles in determining how effectively these platforms are adopted and utilized by pre-service teachers. This study investigated pre-service teachers’ perceived usability of online platforms for learning educational technology in colleges of education in South-West, Nigeria. Data were collected through structured questionnaire from pre-service teachers selected through multistage sampling techniques. Mean, and standard deviation were used for data analysis. Findings revealed that pre-service teachers perceived online platforms useful for learning, easy to learn, satisfactory for learning educational technology but perceived not easy to use. The study concluded that pre-service teachers had positive perception of online platforms for learning Educational Technology in the Colleges of Education in South-West, Nigeria.  This study therefore recommended among others that; National Commission for Colleges of Education should review the curriculum of Colleges of Education with a view to incorporating the use of online platform for teaching. Initial training and orientation classes about online learning platforms should be provided for new students entering Colleges of Education. Lecturers in the Colleges of Education should use content lesson plans that include the integration of online learning platforms for teaching. Administrators of Colleges of Education should continuously organize seminars and conferences for the pre-service teachers and lecturers on the pedagogical uses of online learning platforms