A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AI TOOL ADOPTION AND PERCEIVED IMPACT ON LEARNING AMONG STUDENTS AT CONVENTIONAL AND OPEN DISTANCE LEARNING UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study presents a comparison on the adoption of GenAI tools and learning impact between students in a conventional university and open distance learning university in Nigeria; Obafemi Awolowo University and National Open University of Nigeria. The study adopts a quantitative and cross-sectional survey design, 400 respondent data were collected via digital survey and analyzed using chi-square test, independent sample t-test and descriptive statics. The result reveal significant similarity across 29 of 31 items from the analyzed data; frequency of use, purpose of use, perceived benefits and ethical concerns were broadly equivalent between the students of the two institutions. While students of both institutions reported neutral perceptions of AI benefits and wide variation in ethical views. OAU students perceived AI tools as more engaging and demonstrated different usage patterns for presentations and visual content. The findings suggest that adoption of AI tool is normalizing across Nigerian university and underscores the need for a unified institutional framework and structured AI literacy education.

Keywords: AI Literacy, Higher Education, Generative AI, Technology Adoption, Digital Learning