Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.4, No.16, 2013 12 Effectiveness of a Digital Oscilloscope for the Teaching of Some Radio, Television and Electronics Work Concepts at the Technical College Level in Adamawa State, Nigeria Jimritu Dunama MEDUGU 1* Abubakar Sadiq BAPPAH 2 1. Department of Electrical Technology Education, School of Technology and Science Education, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola 2. Vocational and Technology Education Programme, school of technology education, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi * jdmedugu2010@yahoo.com Abstract The study was conducted to find out the effectiveness of the Digital oscilloscope (D.O.) for the teaching of some Radio, Television and Electronics work concepts at the technical college level. There are two research questions and three null hypotheses formulated to guide the study. The population for the study consisted of 160 students from the four technical colleges that offer RTE, from which 124 students were sampled and randomly assigned to either experimental group or control group. A structured questionnaire titled; ‘Researcher made performance test’ (RMPT) was used for data collection. RMPT consists of three rating scales. There are 8 skills to be observed and assessed in each rating scale. The draft of the RMPT and table of specification were given to six experts from two universities for validation. The simple mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the data for answering the research questions. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to test H0 1 to H0 3. The findings include; students that were taught using the Digital Oscilloscope had a higher score in the performance test than those taught using traditional oscilloscope. It was recommended that; due to the numerous advantages, which include large screen using data projector for demonstration, easier to operate, portability, among others. All hands must be on deck to see that the digital oscilloscope is purchased by all concerned and used to complement the traditional oscilloscope for teaching not only RTE, but all related areas. Keywords: Digital oscilloscope, Traditional oscilloscope, performance test, Radio Television and Electronics 1. Introduction The poor conditions of instructional materials in our technical colleges have been critically examined by educationists. Awotunde (1999) reported that States and the Federal government have not been able to build workshops nor provide equipment because money was not available and the equipment was too expensive to acquire. Anaele (2000) also reported that instructional materials in technical colleges are substandard and inadequate even where there was evidence of available funding. The consequences of these conditions on performance of the graduants can be enormous. For instance, Ibe (1994) asserted that poor provision of educational facilities in vocational technical institutions lead to the production of graduates that are half-baked or unproductive. He further, maintained that, memorization and regurgitation of facts become the norm in vocational technical colleges where instructional materials are inadequate. Anaele (2000) also, observed that students in technical colleges are not well exposed to practical work, and this certainly does affect them in their examinations. Specifically, poor performance in technical and vocational subjects need not be overemphasized. Studies by Oluropo (2005) revealed that there is high decline in performance of students in technical colleges.