The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi has developed a mobile application for the teaching of Science and Technology as well as 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.
The Vice Chancellor of ATBU Professor Muhammadu Ahmad Abdulazeez stated this when he declared 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.
Professor Yusha’u adds, 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 Sirrinbai Sheikh Dahiru, represented by the Director School Services Alhaji Korijo Buba, said the participants were selected based on merit. He stressed the need to expand the training for teachers at the rural areas to benefit.
The 50 teachers participating at the testing of the app were selected from the fields of Agriculture, Basic Science and Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
