The role of Multimedia Learning Systems in the Nigerian higher educational landscape

One of the most widely used mediums of knowledge delivery within academic circles has been the traditional (lecture-driven) teaching style. This method is as old as the time span between Confucius and the present day and even though being time-tested and true, was mostly predicated on the assumption that learning occurs in a school classroom, mediated by a trained teacher. As a result, the focus was more on the teacher than the student. This approach led to poor material retention and depth of learning as students studied for the sake of merely taking exams and getting good grades without a proper understanding of the underlying principles or their applications within real world scenarios. Multimedia Learning Systems (MLSs) have been known from the literature to enhance the overall teaching and learning experience as it gives the learner an opportunity to be engaged in the active construction of their own meaningful learning rather than passively participating in it. The learner thus becomes an actor, taking center stage in the learning process while the teacher is seen more as a mentor or guide by the side. This helps enhance the depth of learning, increase motivation and material retention, while challenging the students to become life-long learners. In this paper, we examine the growth of this new form of learning and its widespread adoption across the Higher Education Sector in Nigeria. A related aim of this paper is to inform the design of new learning environments and technologies that will take advantage of the growing number of smartphones and tablets to cater for informal and workplace learning.