A don at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), has stressed the need for strong synergy between modern technology and human learning to improve knowledge quality and institutional effectiveness.
Professor of Intelligent Systems and E-Learning, Catherine Agbonifo, of the Department of Information Systems, stated this while delivering the 207th inaugural lecture of the institution.
Titled “Deep Knowledge Community: Triad of Anatomy, Dynamics and Pattern of Learning Principles,” Agbonifo recommended redesign of curricula to embed personalised, adaptive and learner-centred digital pedagogies.
She said faculty training should equip educators not merely as content providers but as architects of transformative learning experiences grounded in cognitive psychology, instructional design, learning analytics and technological fluency.
She added that institutional policies should support interdisciplinary collaboration among computer scientists, educational technologists, psychologists, curriculum developers and policymakers to ensure coherent implementation of learning technologies.
According to her, learning is the foundation of human development and educational practice through which individuals acquire, organise, apply and transform knowledge, skills, attitudes and competencies.
“The future of educational technology does not lie merely in developing more sophisticated technologies, but in developing more intelligent relationships between technology and human cognition,” she said.
“The way forward is a shift from technology-centred education to learning-centred technology; from information delivery to knowledge construction; from uniform instruction to adaptive personalization; and from passive consumption to active participation.”
She urged stakeholders including software developers, instructional designers, private sector innovators, accreditation agencies and international organisations to adopt the Triad Framework as foundational model for designing, evaluating and deploying educational technologies.
She said learning systems should integrate adaptive personalization, emotional responsiveness, collaborative engagement tools and analytics-driven interventions that support diverse learner trajectories.
“For Africa specifically, continental collaboration through regional educational policies, shared digital infrastructures and indigenous innovation ecosystems is critical. African governments and institutions should prioritize locally relevant educational technologies that address contextual realities while participating competitively in global knowledge economies,” she said.
Agbonifo suggested future research should expand the Deep Knowledge Community Framework through advanced AI, emotionally intelligent adaptive systems, neuro-educational analytics, mixed/extended reality, predictive personalised learning and blockchain-based credentialing.
She said her research grounded in the framework has translated human learning principles into innovations spanning cognitive architecture, adaptive sequencing, personalised and affect-aware learning, learning modelling, AI, educational data mining, virtual reality and digital game-based learning.
In her remarks, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, who chaired the event, described the lecturer as a distinguished scholar adding value locally and internationally, and commended her for mentoring upcoming scholars.
