Disciplinary Differences in the Uptake of a Learning Management System: A Case of a South African Historically Disadvantaged Institution

The provision of a Learning Management System (LMS) for use in distributed, blended or open distance e-learning as a management tool has become a basic standard requirement in higher learning institutions globally. Many students and lecturers use an LMS in support of innovative and engaged teaching and learning, both inside and outside the classroom—whether blended or open leaning. However, many academics choose not to make use of the institutional LMS. This is the specific issue that this study addresses, with a particular focus on the role played by disciplinary differences in the uptake of an LMS. The research question guiding the study is thus: To what extent do disciplinary differences affect the uptake of an LMS? The research study drew on Legitimation Code Theory, a sociological theory that explains the knowledge principles underpinning practices, in this case, the practice of the uptake (or non-uptake) of an institutional LMS. The study made use of quantitative data collection and data analysis methods, drawing on the institutional LMS activity data. The study found that there was a significant relationship between the disciplines and LMS uptake. However, the study also found a number of unexpected exceptions, where the nature of the discipline did not seem to impact uptake or non-uptake. The contribution that the study makes is to show the significant role that the academics’ home discipline plays in LMS uptake.

Information Technology (IT) Users in Tertiary Education Institutions in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe: Case of Security Awareness

Information Technology (IT) expansion exposes organisations in developing countries to IT security risks. Zimbabwe’s tertiary education institutions (TEIs) are not spared. Every year, cyber-attacks increase and become more sophisticated, resulting in losses of personal and financial data for individuals, organisations and governments. As the world is interconnected, small and big organisations share the same internet platform. Therefore, IT security risks that affect one, affect all. When IT users are unaware of the risks and uninformed of ways to protect their IT systems, they remain vulnerable. Like other organisations in Zimbabwe, TEIs are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The study that directed this article employed a quantitative methodological approach in the collection of the data and its analysis. A sample of 261 respondents was selected from the population of IT users in TEIs in Bulawayo. The results indicated that IT security awareness of IT users in TEIs in Bulawayo is low. This is evidenced by the low IT drivers’ contribution towards building IT users’ security awareness, and inadequate implementation and utilisation of IT security awareness tools. The prevailing phenomenon exposes TEIs in Bulawayo to a high risk of cyber-attacks. The results indicated a positive and significant correlation between IT security drivers’ contribution and IT security awareness tools utilisation in TEIs in Bulawayo. The implication is that an increase in IT security drivers’ contribution and IT security awareness tools utilisation will lead to increased IT security awareness. The study recommends that IT drivers double their contribution towards building IT security awareness through adequate implementation and utilisation of IT security awareness tools. This will safeguard the information that tertiary education institutions generate.

Covid-19 Policy Implications for Blended Learning in Higher Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Universities have aspired to embrace the concepts of Schwab’s Fourth Industrial Revolution with varying degrees of success. The Covid-19 epidemic, however, has created a disruption of unprecedented proportions. Managements of universities were forced to do whatever it took to save the academic year by means of emergency remote teaching. This form of teaching required a relaxation of numerous rules and policies that were designed primarily for contact institutions. Many of these concessions will probably be irrevocable and will require intensive revisions of university policies of teaching and learning. However, since teaching and learning do not exist in a vacuum, there are policy implications for all sections of the university. This autoethnographic desk study follows a theory-building approach by integrating the lived experience of the author with the current literature, to create a framework for the development and revision of policies to accommodate blended learning in higher education in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Although the definition and implementation of blended learning lie at the heart of issues regarding teaching and learning, policy adjustments will have to be made in all aspects of the university.

Integrating e-Learning in Open and Distance Learning: The Case of Botswana Open University

The Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL), presently Botswana Open University (BOU), was founded to provide nation-wide learning opportunities for out-of-school young adults using the Open Distance Learning (ODL) mode. The BOU used a number of strategies to enable it to deliver on its mandate; one such strategy being the implementation of e-Learning, following contemporary delivery trends internationally within the ODL field. This paper reports on the findings of a study that sought to investigate the extent to which organisational efforts (means) were able to produce organisational results (ends) and associated societal impact in e-Learning implementation at BOCODOL. The diffusion of an innovation theoretical framework and Organisational Elements Model (OEM) conceptual framework was used to underpin the study. Qualitative data collection methods of inquiry (ethnography, document analysis and written interviews) were used. After providing a relevant literature review, the paper firstly reports on the Botswana e-Learning landscape, as well as the nature of inputs and processes serving as means to e-Learning implementation at BOU. Secondly, it reports on the products, successes and challenges as well as outputs and outcomes during e-Learning implementation at BOU. The methodology and findings of the study directing this paper are discussed, and lastly, the paper acknowledges the impact of organisational results (outputs and outcomes) encountered during e-Learning implementation and their implications to the ODL field.

Student-Generated Videos as a Learning Tool in Veterinary Education

In spite of reported benefits of mobile devices, educational institutions criticise the use of mobile devices for learning because they are considered a distraction in class. Furthermore, researchers claim that the apparent mechanistic use of videos in classes does not contribute to deeper learning. To explore the affordances of videos and the possibility of deeper learning, a group of veterinary science students volunteered to explore the use of videos while attending theoretical and practical lectures. In this qualitative study, the participants tried out a variety of devices to take short videos of procedures and were actively involved with the learning content as they organised and reflected on the self-made videos. In spite of the critique against the use of mobile devices and the apparent shallow learning contribution of videos, participants self-reported that watching the videos again and the processes that took place after the videos were made contributed hugely to their learning experience. Participants demonstrated that mobile devices can be used constructively, and through a process of reflection deepen their learning experience. How the participants use the videos for learning can give lecturers new ideas on how they can use videos in their classes.

A Gap Analysis of the Quality of Student Support Services in an Open Distance Learning Institution

This paper focuses on an investigation of the quality of student support services. The latter are important aspects in the development of a whole-person experience in any educational system. In the open distance learning (ODL) mode of education, student support services are even more important as they are the anchors of student success. Based on this, the main purpose of this paper is to observe the possible gaps between students’ expectations (the ideal standard) and their experiences (the perceptions formed) of student support services as provided by the University of South Africa (UNISA). The respondents of this paper were doctoral students of UNISA who live and work in Ethiopia. A multi-dimensional and “standardised” instrument was used as a tool to collect quantitative data. The theoretical framework adopted in analysing the results was the gaps model. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and dependent t-tests were the statistical tools employed. The findings show that there were gaps between the students’ expectations and experiences along the four dimensions of the instrument, namely Supervision Support, Infrastructure, Administrative Support and Academic Facilitation. It was therefore recommended that UNISA should focus on improving the relevant services it gives to its international students.

Connectivism as a Learning Theory and Its Relation to Open Distance Education

This paper focuses on connectivism as a learning theory and its relation to open distance education. Connectivism is presently challenging existing learning theories and is unlike behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism, which place learning at the centre of the cognitive development of the learner. Connectivism stresses that learning is located in different networks and the social construction of knowledge makes the learner key in the knowledge creation process. Connectivism is the thesis that knowledge is distributed across a network of connections, and therefore that learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse those networks. This is a learning environment where students simply plug into the network and create their own learning. Unlike traditional learning methods and theories like cognitivism (where learning is an active, constructive process), behaviourism (a theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviours are acquired through conditioning) or constructivism (the theory that humans construct knowledge and meaning from their experiences), with connectivism, learning is defined by connections to a network of knowledge that can include any form of interaction. Siemens’ theory of connectivism is based on Web 2.0 technologies. This raises key questions as to whether it can be seen as a learning theory in the context of open distance learning (a delivery mode and teaching and learning approach that focuses on increased access to education and training where barriers caused by time, place and pace of learning are eliminated). Web 2.0 learning in the last decade has impacted on the way we teach in traditional classroom settings and how knowledge is disseminated in an online learning environment. Siemens’ theory of connnectivism is a paradigmatic shift from traditional learning theories to new ways of learning through networks, databases, and Web learning on different virtual learning platforms. This raises questions about the radical discontinuity of traditional knowledge systems as the learner becomes part of the social creation and social construction of knowledge in a virtual learning environment.

Decolonising the Rural-Urban Dichotomy in South Africa: An Asset-Based Approach

The rural-urban migration syndrome has eaten deep into the fabric of rural development in South Africa, thereby denying rural dwellers equitable access to social and economic amenities and social empowerment. This study, therefore, seeks to emancipate rural communities through an asset-based community development approach by forming university-community synergies for the purpose of decolonising these rural communities. The study attempted to provide a solution to the question of inequalities between rural and urban communities with a focus on how university engagement can be used to enhance community development in QwaQwa/Harismith Township and its environments. The study adopted a participatory action research design and the free attitude interview technique was used to collect data. The research participants consisted of one research assistant and 10 ordinary community members, members of NGOs and community leaders in QwaQwa/Harrismith Township in the Free State province of South Africa. Data collected were analysed through Laws, Harpes and Marcus’s seven-step model. The study revealed that rural dwellers face challenges of inequitable educational facilities and resources, and a lack of security in terms of their lives, properties, and means of travelling. Likewise, the study also showed a lack of access to health facilities in their communities. It was therefore concluded that community engagement through the asset-based approach and decoloniality would enable the university to empower rural dwellers with the freedom to attain their well-being by ensuring an environment that is sufficient and adequate for social investment.

“You Can’t Solve a Problem Until You Ask the Right Question”: Positioning Afrocentric Learning Communities in the Post #FeesMustFall Context

Higher education in South Africa is in an era that demands a new lens and theoretical clarity to inform how we grow the collective identity of 21st century African students with a framework that is grounded in the following two questions, “Who am I/are we in this context and how can I/we contribute to the knowledge base in higher education?” Through this paper, we would like to position the conversation by addressing theoretical aspects of a humanising pedagogy, Afrocentricity and Ubuntu, within South African higher education learning communities. We argue in this positional paper that a Relational Centred Framework for Afrocentric Learning Communities will add to the complexity of the search for our African identity, also referred to as African ways of being, in higher education, especially for South African students in the post #FeesMustFall context.

Access and Skill in Using ICT in an Open and Distance Learning Context—Students’ ICT Sophistication

A long-standing focus of research in higher education has been on monitoring the degree of student access to information and communications technology (ICT). Recent debates have moved towards a more nuanced understanding of students’ technological experiences and behaviour. As the world changes, so does higher education and expectations regarding the role of technology within this environment. Universities, which continuously strive to improve teaching and learning, need to accommodate students’ increased use of technology and enhance their proficiency and fluency in accessing and using ICT as these skills are required to succeed in education and in life after graduation. This paper proposes that access to ICT constitutes only one dimension of a more complex and elaborate construct, namely that of ICT sophistication, which concerns students’ level of ICT use, and their experience of and engagement and fluency in ICT. As a basis to evaluate the ICT sophistication of students at the University of South Africa, the researchers drew on the findings of the said university’s surveys conducted in 2011 and 2014. This evaluation also served as a method for segmenting the student body to inform interventions. The results obtained supported findings in the literature that “access” could not be fully understood by drawing a one-dimensional distinction between access and non-access.