This document discusses modern instructional materials and their importance in teaching and learning. It defines modern instructional materials as any device with instructional content that is used for teaching, including audiovisual materials, scripts, computer programs, and more. The document outlines several types of modern materials, including radio, tape recorders, computers/internet, projectors, and their advantages and disadvantages. Some problems with modern materials are that they require teacher retraining, intellectual property is difficult to protect, and they are not always available or in good condition in schools due to issues like lack of funds, proper storage, and time constraints.

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INTRODUCTION
The ultimate goal of modern instructional material is to facilitate effective
teaching, improvement of students knowledge, abilities and skills to monitor their
level of assimilation of information and to contribute to the student overall
development and upbringing. The important of modern instructional materials in
teaching-learning environment cannot be over emphasizing. The fact is that, such
materials would facilitate and make leaning easily and lively.
The essence of modern instructional materials in teaching and learning is to
make teachers effort of imparting knowledge easier. The learner is also aided to
grasp the knowledge easily, with a view of promoting effective teaching and
learning. Modern instructional media or technologies were introduced to Nigeria
education system with the aim of enhancing effective teaching in our nation
schools. Therefore, the teacher needs to select or improvise suitable modern
instructional materials or aids in order to facilitate effective teaching and learning
and motivate the learners.
DEFINITION
Modern instructional material are to be defined as items that are designed
to serve as a major tool for assisting in the instruction a subject occurs. these
items may be available in bound, kit or package form and may consist of soft
packed, consumables, learning laboratories, slides, films and films strips,

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recordings, manipulative, electronics media(instructional computer programs,
online services).
Good (1973) in Awotua-Efebo (1999:212) defined modern instructional
material as “any device with instructional content or function that is used for
teaching purpose, including supplementary reading material, audiovisual, sensory
materials, scripts for radio and television instrumentation, programs for computer
managed packaged sets of materials for construction or manipulation.” From this
perceptive, we can reaffirm that the term instructional media will include any
material or equipment that a teacher can profitably use to facilitate teaching and
learning by a students. The design, development, and art reproducing such
material are major concern of educational technology (Vikoo, 2003). Thus
education technologies are viewed by Dike (1999:10)as “a systemic application of
scientific or organized knowledge to identify and analyzing educational problems,
evolving and managing programs for solving these educational problems”.
Notable criteria are bound in literature on the taxonomical basis of instructional
media. As in Vikoo (2003:39), such criteria for classifying instructional material
include the degree of expertise/technical skills needed for production, nature of
materials, physiologicalparameter or sensory modality, whether or not projection
is involved, place the material is produced, and miscellaneous characteristics. In
terms of degree expertise, we have high technology materials such as computers,

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televisions, internet, etc. On the basis of physiological parameters, we talk of the
particular sensory modality of the learner, and thus classify instructional material
into auditory-visual, audio-visual, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, and kinesthetic
material (Romiszowski, 1995).
 Visual material: these are appeal to the sense of vision (the eye), such as
still pictures.
 Auditory materials: these appeal to the sense of hearing (the ears), such as
radio.
 Audio-visual materials appeal to the both sense of hearing and vision, such
as the television.
 Tactile materials appeal to the sense of touching (the skin) such as Braille.
 Olfactory materials appeal to the sense of smell.
Different types of modern instructional material
 Radio
 Tape recorder
 Computers and internet facilities
 Telecommunication equipment
 Projectors
Radio

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This is perhaps the most prominent teaching aid that is used in social and
business studies. The widespread use of radio set is not unconnected with the
fact that many families on radio set since readily affordable. Its use is all most
universal as it can be used in offices market places and schools. Through radio
broadcast, educational, cultural and social knowledge can readily be
communicated. Social re-orientation, political conviction and education, and
social change have all been accomplished using this medium. The effectiveness of
radio towards attaining these ends has been confirmed in its ability to cover
events appropriately and enable information communicated to a wide audience
at the same time and where necessarily repeatedly. Seminars, lecture, workshops
can be disseminated through the radio channel effectively. Nwnn-Nzewnwa
(2003) enumerated a number of merits and demerit of radio as modern
instructional material which includes:
a. It is far less expensive than TV (many school can afford to buy radio sets.
b. A very wide coverage of audience is possible through radio lectures
preferred by experts and can be relayed to a vast number of people at the
same time.
c. It can be broadcast events immediately as they happened (unlike TV).
The tape recorded

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This is an audio teaching aid. It uses cassette tapes to record learning
experiences in class or from radio or television documentaries, which can be
replayed in class or home. With the cassette tape record is a very popular
instruction aid. Aguokogbuo (2000:237) also gave the advantages and
disadvantages of tape recorder as follows:
Advantages
a. The tape recorded is simple to operate.
b. It is cheaper than most other projected and/or electronic equipment.
c. It is usually potable and can be transferred from one place to another.
Disadvantages
a. It is an audio medium and appeals to the sense of hearing only, therefore
limiting student’s comprehension of information. Compared with
television, which appeal to the sense of sight and sound, this is a huge
disadvantage.
b. A recorded tape becomes bad when not used often and could damage the
play head of the player as a result.
Computer and internet facilities
Computers are very efficient equipment used as modern instructional
material in social and business studies. Several software and program have been

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developed over time for this. Notable among these are statistical, processing and
spread sheet packages for social sciences. With these and more, social knowledge
leading to behavioral changes is communicated to the learner. The computer
technology has made it possible for teachers and student to avail themselves of
internet facilities. Websites abound were instructors and learners can visit in
order to obtain needed information. Efficient teacher of social and business
studies in institutions of higher learning have effectively impacted their student
by referring them the designated websites where they received instructions.
Many libraries are now going on-line with the effect that learners and researcher
can visit them electronically by mean of computers instead of having to go
physically to such centers. This is highly innovative.
Telecommunication equipment
This is equipment that utilizes the auditory mechanism to convey
information and to the hearers. Some in this category now possess visual
properties such as GSM cell phones the teacher can effectively utilized telephones
to communicate short massage, guidance counseling, and other related issues. In
the use of telecommunication gadgets as instructional material is not wide spread
in less developed countries (LDCs) or rural areas; they are relatively expensive to
maintain.
Projectors

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Projectors are hardware equipments that enables learner to vividly grasp
the content of software materials such as slides, filmstrips transparences, papers
and pictures (in the form of still pictures or motion pictures). There are over-head
projectors, slide projector, and computer driving projectors. These are veritable
learning or teaching aids. The advantages of projectors lie in the powerful visual
and audio content of devices. They have both high and low technology content.
Advantages of modern instructional material
a. Modern instructional materials are supplement to the material composed
by a teacher. Advantages of these materials are that they add different
perspectives to the teacher’s knowledge, and provide additional activities
for the student to perform.
b. The advantage of modern instructional material in teaching is that it can be
used with groups of all sizes.
c. It also gives the students an opportunity to hear and see the same
information.
d. In addition, modern instructional material increases a student
understanding and helping to increase the student’s interest.
e. They also increase main acceptance influences the user’s attitude to
teachers and student towards learning.
Disadvantages of modern instructional materials

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a. Modern instructional materials require re-training in how to apply
technology (to use them).
b. Intellectual property ownership is difficult to protect, piracy is inevitable.
c. Modern instructional material has the potential to decreases the revenues
bricks and mortar institution generate.
d. Difficult to regulate (maintenance), and therefore potentials for corruption
is high.
e. Potential diminish the overall value and experience of an in-person
education.
Problems associated with modern instructional materials
1. Since educational communication and technology is a fairly new area of
importance in education, it is a lightly technical field, and to understand
how it can affect the instructional delivery, one first has to understand the
operational functionality of the resource kits.
2. Part of the application of teaching aids or modern instructional materials
process is the target population for whom the materials are to be used and
the setting or vicinity where the learning should take place.
3. Time, is also a serious problem or factor that delay the effective use of
modern instructional materials ineffective instructional delivery in the class,
because in most cases the time that is allotted for a subjection the

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timetable might not be enough for the teachers to present his contents
alongside with effective use of the materials which will affect the
wholesome delivery of the content.
4. This factor seems to be the handicap why most educational institutions are
unable to acquire relevant teaching equipments and materials. In line with
this, students and teachers will lack on the opportunity to learn and use
new techniques in the field.
5. There are sophisticated teaching aids or modern instructional materials
that can make learning easier and faster such as computer-aided program
but lack of funds has effects on its importation and use in schools.
6. Materials available for the effective instructional delivery are poorly
manhandled by both the teachers and some school authority.
7. Schools are affected by non availability of resource room for the proper
keeping of both the locally manufactured and the commercially purchased
teaching aids thereby limiting its use as at the time needed.
8. Another pressed issue about teaching aids or modern instructional
materials for use is that, the materials are grossly lacking in the schools.
There was scarcity of both printed and audio-visual materials in most of the
instructional neither printed nor audio-visual materials were available in
sufficient quantity or quality.

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9. The few institutions indicates the availability of these materials but were
rather in poor condition.

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