DIGITAL LEARNING PLATFORMS AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AKOKO SOUTH WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ONDO STATE

Despite the growing interest in digital learning tools, the effectiveness of these platforms in improving student performance in public schools, particularly in Akoko South West LGA of Ondo State, remains unclear. These platforms, such as Google Classroom, Zoom, and Moodle, have been recognized for their potential to improve student engagement, foster personalized learning, and support academic success. Descriptive research design of the survey type was used in the study. The population of the study consisted of all students and teachers in public secondary schools in Ondo State. The sample of the study consisted of 18 public secondary schools in Akoko South West Local Government Area, Ondo State, ten (10) teachers and ten (10) students was selected secondary schools in Ondo State, five (5) schools was selected through simple random sampling technique. Five schools were randomly each of the five public secondary schools in selected study area. Three research questions were raised and answered using descriptive statistics while two research hypotheses were formulated and tested using inferential statistics of PPMC at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that the mean score (2.93) for digital learning platform usage in Akoko South West LGA exceeded the standard benchmark (2.50), indicating moderate utilization. Students across selected public secondary schools in Akoko South West LGA generally performed above average, with many achieving 5 credit passes including English and Mathematics. Another analysis showed a grand mean score of 2.89 for digital learning platform usage, also surpassing the standard mean of 2.50. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship between the use of digital learning platforms and students’ academic performance in secondary schools [r(98) = .412, p < .05]. There was also a significant relationship between using digital platforms to support teaching and students’ academic performance [rcal(98) = .320, p < .05] and the study found that challenges, especially those related to teachers, significantly affect academic performance, with teacher-related issues showing a positive effect (β = 0.231, p = 0.011). The model explained 58.5% of performance variance, while student-related challenges were not statistically significant. The study concluded that digital learning platforms, when utilized even moderately positively influence academic performance. However, their full potential is often hampered by teacher related challenges, which need targeted interventions. Based on the findings, it was recommended that intensive and ongoing ICT training should be provided for teachers to improve their competence in using digital learning platforms effectively.