An Imperative for the National Public Health School in Burkina Faso to Promote the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Critical Analysis (Preprint)

Abstract

UNSTRUCTURED Several studies have reported the positive impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on academic performance and outcomes. Despite some equipment, ICTs in education have many shortcomings at the National Public Health School (NPHS). These shortcomings were specially revealed during the search for responses to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, to curb the spread of coronavirus disease, some measures were taken, such as the closure of educational institutions. This resulted in a two-and-a-half-month suspension of educational activities. The NPHS, despite its willingness, was unable to use ICTs to continue teaching during the closure period of educational institutions. Based on an analysis of the weaknesses and challenges, this article aims to provide practical solutions to promote ICT use in teaching at the NPHS. It is a critical analysis based on the literature review of the responses to the Covid-19 crisis in the field of education and the use of ICT, the authors experience and comments of the use of ICT in teaching at NPHS. Raby's (2004) ICT integration model and Gueye's (2017) ICT integration factors guided the analysis. The weaknesses and challenges identified relate to the infrastructure and equipment for the use of ICT in pedagogical situations in a face to face and distance learning, the training of actors, the availability of qualified resource persons and adequate and specific financial resources, teachers motivation and the stage of use of ICT. Promoting the use of ICT in teaching at the NPHS, actions must be carried out to strengthen the infrastructure and equipment, human resources, the actors' skills and the teachers' motivation in the pedagogical use of ICT.