CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The process of learning is not associated with inherent education but is dependent on creating a cooperative classroom environment, using cooperative learning groups and projects, and structuring cooperative instructional and recreational games as well (Fatesinh, 2013). Right to education is fundamental right and proper education to people will lead to a society that will progress leaps and bounds (Suman et al, 2016). Researchers have maintained an interest in the effective prediction of student’s academic achievement for many years. The prediction of academic achievement ability and examination of factors relating to the academic achievement ability are topics of great importance in the different educational levels (Deryakulu D., and Olkun S 2010). Children acquire skills at different rates and at different stages of their lives which enable them to be creative. Some children are fast learners and others may take a little longer to learn. There are expected norms that children should be creative by a certain age. Performance above the expected level may indicate superior creative ability, whereas significantly below the expected level may suggest low level of creative thinking. The use of computer favours the transfer of knowledge that can be codified and reduced to data (Roberts J., 2000).
Creativity can be developed through education. It is possible in any activity that engages intelligence. Computer and digital technologies have enormous potential for enhancing creativity by providing tools, processes and audiences of all ages and abilities and across the curriculum. Creativity is regarded as one of the most complex elements in psychology. Definitions of creativity differ, but they have in common their emphasis on people’s ability to produce products that are not only high but also novel.
Boden (2001) believes creativity is the ability to come up with new ideas that are surprising yet intelligible, and also valuable in some way. Five characteristics of creativity were expressed by Denning (2003) includes imagination, a fashioning process, pursuing purpose, being original and judging value. Resnick (2008) said “ success in the future- for individuals, for communities, for companies, for nation as a whole- will be based not on what we know or how much we know, but on our ability to think and act creatively”. Cordes et.al (2000) argue that instead of being creative and using computer and information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance learning opportunities in the classroom, it has been common to see students involved with mindless and passive interactions.
Creativity and imagination are considered to be requirements for innovative thinking, which will never be faded away in the workplace. Therefore, readymade computer images and programmed toys appear to enhance imaginative thinking. Teachers reveal that children in this modern age of advanced technology are becoming surprisingly deficient in generating their own images and ideas”. Encouraging a creative society, Robinson (2006) suggested changing the traditional educational system. “Our educational system has moulded our minds in the way that we have strip minded the earth for a particular commodity and for the future it would not service. We therefore need to retrace the essential principles in which we are educating our children these days.
Creativity is frequently with notions such as, talent spontaneity and coincidence, that is, factors that cannot be influenced or determined but ultimately are left to chance. The modern literature on creativity reveals that, although factors such as luck or chance certainly play a role, creativity in higher education may be enhanced by specific institutional and environmental situations as well as cultural factors. Change is a natural process. Technology changes at a rapid rate, which in turn increases the pace of change in all aspects of life. Traditionally, education system finds hard to change with technology. But now, with creative use of computer and information and communication technologies (ICT), the pace of change in education system is appreciable. Children are always keener to know about new technologies than teachers. Juke (2000) described the current generation of children as living and operating in a multimedia, online, multitask, random access, colour graphics, video, audio, visual literacy world.
It is therefore becomes the duty of educationists and parents to encourage children to be selective and creative in the way they deal with the numerous data that are at their finger tips. Guidance, education and promotion of positive aspects of information and communication technologies (ICT) are required to encourage the children. It is on this background that this study sets to investigate the impact of computer on the creativity of children.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Children today are more connected than ever. In countries with high rates of connectivity, children between the ages of 6-15 generally outnumber others in the area of total online population (International Telecommunication Union, 2016). Children have shown preferences for using the internet for gaming, chatting and social networking purposes (Durkee et al., 2012). The Pew Research Center published that 92% of teens surveyed in the United States report using computer daily, with 24% saying they use it to access the internet almost constantly (Lenhart, 2015). It is a similar story in European countries, where data suggests children are using computer to access the internet using multiple devices (Mascheroni and Cuman, 2014). Statistics from the United States suggest that children between the ages of 8 and 18 spend on average seven and a half hours per day engaging with computer and media content (Rideout et al., 2010).
This could be particularly important due to the susceptibility of developing brains for “plasticity”, or experience-dependent change. Our brains essentially change in response to our experiences, with childhood characterised as a time of high plasticity. Use of computer has been associated in the literature with changes that are both transient, i.e. changes in mood or arousal, as well as longer term effects in the brain or behaviour (Bavelier, Green and Dye, 2010).
There is an emerging body of work linking certain elements of ill-being to computer use. Furthermore, overuse of computer more generally might be linked to poorer outcomes in children including physical, behavioural, attentional and psychological issues (Rosen et al., 2014). However, there have been concerns over the quality of all these studies, and the adverse focus of much of the literature. Therefore, results must be interpreted with caution and the possibilities for positive outcomes associated with computer use taken into consideration. At this moment, this research is based on investigating the impact of computer on the creativity of children.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The general objective of this study is to investigate the impact of computer on the creativity of children. While specifically, the objectives of the study are;
- I. To identify the effects of computer on cognitive development of children
- II. To establish the effects of computer on social development and relationships of children
- III. To understand the effects of computer on the perception of reality of children
1.4 Research Questions
The following are the research questions generated for this study:
- I. What are the effects of computer on cognitive development of children?
- II. What are the effects of computer on social development and relationships of children?
- III. What are the effects of computer on the perception of reality of children?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
Based on the topic and the issues discussed above, the following statements of hypotheses were generated:
- I. There is no significant relationship between computer and cognitive development of children
- II. There is no significant relationship between computer and social development and relationships of children
- III. There is a significant correlation between computer and the perception of reality of children
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study will be useful to several groups of persons which include: children, parents, teachers and students. The study which aimed at looking at the impact of computer on the creativity of children will help parents and teachers reduce the negative impact of computer on children as they make use of it. It will also help children fully optimize the availability of computer materials in schools and at homes to enable their cognitive thinking and creative ability. It will also help in the contribution of knowledge in the area of information technology.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The study aims at studying the impact of computer on the creativity of children with particular reference to schools 5 selected primary schools in Uyo, the capital city of Akwa Ibom State.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview). Also, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
