Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the Role of online platform in the teaching and learning in public secondary schools in University of Benin A descriptive survey research design was employed in this study. five(5) research questions were raised to guide the study. The target population of the study in forty thousand students (40,000) and eight thousand staffs (8,000) in University of Benin,with sample size of one hundred (100) respondents which is fifty (50) lecturers and fifty (50) students from faculty of education were purposely sampled from the population.A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire was validated by content and face by my project supervisor and two other experts in the Department of Adult and Non formal Education ; while the test- re test reliability method was adopted to ascertain the reliability of the instrument. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The study reveals that online platforms such as Facebook, and Twitter were not used to receive lectures , the most preferred online platforms to receive lectures by the students are WhatsApp,Zoom and Telegram, and learning was at their comfort zone . The benefits of using online platforms in learning is that whatsapp offers students the opportunity to access the information, research and chat , shy students have the opportunity to interact with teachers and peers, direct communication tool.The challenges students encountered in the e-learning include lack of electricity affected , no internet connection in learning, mobile phone used in learning sometimes cause distraction , some platforms do not store information for new comers and that lack of fund.The factors that triggered online platforms adoption by the students is that uncover outline,academic calendar, students retention, time management, achievement of academic goals are a factors that triggered online platforms. Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made for the study: Lecturers should make use of other online platforms such as Twitter and Facebook , in other not to depend only on WhatsApp.Lecturers should give detailed notes when using online platforms like WhatsApp, Zoom and Telegram.Government should acknowledge the benefits and importance of online platforms and make means of improving the learning process. Government should provide free WiFi for students and teachers to engage in online platforms such as WhatsApp, Zoom, and telegram. The needs of students should also be considered as a factor that triggered online platforms.
