E - Learning during Covid-19 – Perspectives of Academics in a Crisis (original) (raw)
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Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about many critical issues in all aspects such as economy, environment, health, and lifestyle, but people always try to find some response to crisis in different conditions. E-learning is defined as an elaborate response aiming at continuing education during the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that developed countries have established and adjusted their technological infrastructures for the transition from a face-to-face education to a digital one. In contrast, developing countries were not completely prepared for this transition. Improper and deficient technological and practical fundamentals have been causing problems for all students, instructors, and other involved individuals. Therefore, we reviewed the challenges that have arisen from e-learning during the COVID-19 outbreak in different parts of tertiary education focusing on underprivileged countries.
Student Perceptions of Covid-19 Induced E-Learning in State Universities In Zimbabwe
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 2022
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the prohibition of gatherings threatened the education process. Learning institutions had to close. Instead, institutions had to opt for virtual teaching methods. This study investigates the implications of coronavirus-induced e-Learning on university education. As such, the main objective of the study was to determine the perceptions of the students about Covid-19-induced e-Learning. A survey design with 357 university students underpins the study. The students felt that the e-Learning platforms had interaction limitations and required more resources, making it more expensive. They also perceived face-to-face classes to be better than online classes, negatively affecting their performance. Students experienced challenges with e-Learning platforms, such as lack of electricity, lack of resources and information technology skills, and an unconducive home environment. The study recommends that universities adopt a blended approach, provide students with relevant devices and data, and provide prerecorded lecture audio. The study also recommends that the e-Learning platforms be made more user-friendly. Institutions should also provide adequate technical support to lecturers and students to improve the effectiveness of online teaching and learning effectiveness.
Proceedings of theInternational Conference on Open and Innovative Education (ICOIE), 2022
The traditional form of teaching in Zambian universities often involves on-site lectures being given to students, accompanied by physical tutorials. However, during the unprecedented outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities have had to urgently transition toward online instruction in an EdTech low- resource environment. Two years into the transition, it is vital to highlight challenges and examine strategies lecturers use when teaching online lessons in an EdTech low-resource environment. The study is anchored on the interpretivist worldview. The researchers adopted a qualitative approach and specifically evoked a case study design. They purposefully sampled 21 participants from three faculties of the University of Zambia: the School of Education, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School of Health Science. The study attempted to answer four questions: (a) What online instructional devices and resources are available for lecturers? (b) How do lecturers describe the level of usage of online instructional resources across the curriculum? (c) What are lecturers’ perceptions and experiences of online instructional resources? (d) How do lecturers describe strategies used to mitigate the challenges of online instructional resources? Data were collected using an interview schedule, via face-to-face interviews, phone interviews, and WhatsApp. Results are presented in tables and figures as well as verbatim statements of the respondents. The researchers used Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step recursive thematic analysis to generate codes and the themes presented in the study. The findings of the study, though focused on Zambia, do rather easily reflect the situation and experience of other countries with similar characteristics. The study has established that lecturers in an EdTech low-resource environment are fully aware of the possible challenges online instruction offers. The results also demonstrate that lecturers have devised coping strategies that enable them to teach amidst the struggles of online teaching. These strategies are lecturer- oriented, lesson-oriented, resource-oriented, and student-oriented. Further, findings are that for online instruction to be successful in an EdTech low- resource environment, the following should be considered: lecturers’ desire to learn, availability of basic ICT devices, use of open educational resources (OER), the potential of the use of devices, and availability of internet connectivity. The study recommends that higher learning institutions must equitably provide the necessary EdTech devices, software and other tools to lecturers in order to enhance the online teaching experience. Where possible, external support—such as import duty exemptions or corporate sponsorships and donations—should be sought, to enable universities and colleges to facilitate learning. For further research, the study recommends an examination of lecturers’ awareness and use of various open educational resources for effective teaching, learning, and planning. This study provides important insights and mitigation measures for higher education institutions engaged in online instruction in EdTech low-resource environments, thereby helping to create a better online teaching and learning environment. The study further contributes to ongoing scholarship on strategies that can be used to improve the online teaching and learning experiences of higher education, providing the much-needed insight from Zambia and the Global South at large.
ELearning at a Zimbabwean Rural University during the COVID19 Pandemic Challenges and Opportunities
Alternation Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa
This paper is an examination of the preparedness, mechanisms and strategies employed by Lupane State University to transition to virtual learning platforms when Zimbabwe announced its first COVID-19 lockdown. At the time Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a twenty-one-day total lockdown and decreed that all institutions of higher learning should cease all contact classes. Consequently, Lupane State University instructed its academic staff to continue teaching and supervising students on Moodle and Google Classroom. It is against this backdrop that this paper is an assessment of the e-readiness of academic staff, students and the Information, Communication and Technology Services (ICTS) department to migrate to digital remote learning. Findings reveal that poor digital infrastructure and compromised digital literacy among academics and students affected the quality of e-learning. Further, the fact that academic staff and students self-finance internet connectivity threatens the feasibility of elearning. The ailing Zimbabwean economy means data poverty is a reality for most academics and students. The foregoing are compounded by the fact that the LSU ICTS Department which should provide technical support for the e-learning rollout is located in a section of the campus that has erratic internet connectivity and power supply sits at the base of all these challenges. As a result, this paper submits that e-learning at LSU is compromised as lecturers have to resort to WhatsApp voice notes and documents to mitigate the myriad challenges that have been amplified by the Coivd-19 pandemic.
Journal for Students Affairs in Africa
This article reports the challenges of e‑learning faced by under-resourced students in a Zambian public university during the 2020 Covid‑19 lockdown. The article further examines the interventions made by the university to mitigate the challenges of e‑learning faced by under-resourced students. The article is based on empirical data derived from an online closed- and open-ended questionnaire completed by 73 under-resourced students, and an interview with two university staff. The quantitative and qualitative data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis respectively. The article provides evidence that under-resourced students encountered various challenges related to e‑learning categorised under the following interlinked themes: technical, environmental, psychological, sociocultural, financial, and material. Lack of ICT facilities/devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets and desktops), internet, electricity, and support systems were the most critical ...
E-Learning and Digital Media
This study set out to provide a descriptive yet critical exploration of teachers’ experiences while using e-learning in the context of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Using a qualitative phenomenology research paradigm, the study explored first-hand experiences of three university teachers (hence researchers as well) from two countries, that is, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. The contexts in which the researchers used e-learning showcased complex, challenging, and dynamic sites, that is, within institutions and individual classrooms. More specifically, the study identified acceptances, struggles, and negotiations at both the macro-level of policy/decision making and the micro-level of online classroom practices. Reflecting on the findings, this article concludes by offering a set of recommendations that might be applicable and useful for similar contexts beyond Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. The researchers argue for developing a context-based, inclusive, and appropriate...
Using the Pandemic to Accelerate 21st-Century Learning at a Rural University in Zimbabwe
Advances in Research, 2021
This study responds to the disruptive environment in which educational institutions globally find themselves in the COVID-19 lockdown, where remote-based teaching was adapted to ensure continuous learning. Globally, over 90% of learners are affected by the closure of learning institutions. The study evaluates the digital transformation necessitated by the COVID-19 lockdown through the perception of faculty. Despite the rapid technological developments and high adoption of technology-mediated tools in most developed countries, developing countries lag. E-learning adoption has remained low in most developing countries, and this study aims to investigate the acceptance of Moodle at a rural university in Zimbabwe. This quantitative study utilised the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to explore how the institution used the COVID-19 pandemic as a springboard to accelerate the adoption of virtual learning systems. Very few studies have been conducted to eval...
European Conference on e-Learning, 2023
COVID-19 has tested the organizational capacity of the education system in Mozambique, including the higher education level when it became mandatory to close all face-to-face teaching activities. To respond to this challenge and continue with the noble mission of teaching, the Catholic University of Mozambique implemented a hybrid model, specifically through digital platforms, even though it was aware of the various resource limitations on the part of teachers and students. This strategy would be determinant for a successful path to the purpose of "never stop teaching and learning." This paper attempts to answer questions that arose at introducing this new teaching model during the COVID-19: (i) What skills did teachers have to respond to ICT-mediated teaching? (ii) What strategies were used to circumvent the difficulties arising from COVID-19 for Teaching and Learning? (iii) What kind of skills, difficulty, and behaviour characterized the students to correspond to a 100% online teaching system? and (iv) What platforms and instruments were used to respond to this teaching model? The paper first seeks answers from exploratory interviews with teachers about the use of ICTs in teaching and learning and subsequently presents some challenges in three dimensions (institutions, teachers, and students) of which their consideration can lead to a path in the immersion of the technologization of teaching. In methodological terms, a qualitative approach was used, where interviews were conducted with a sample of teachers from this university who were part of the frontline of the process. The results show that for the case study, it was possible, to teach and learn through Moodle platforms, Google Classroom, interacting through Zoom, Google Meet, and using Skype as a communication tool with students.
Covid-19 has changed the world order and created a new normal in all facets of life, including formal access to higher education. The closure of universities disconnected students from their everyday on-campus face-to-face teaching and learning practices. The authors explored the challenges Zimbabwean university students faced due to Covid-19 induced lockdown and their implications for education. The qualitative research was based on Obanya's (1987) Panic Approach in which planning and implementation of new untested innovative approaches and strategies were hurriedly implemented. The data were collected using online focus group discussion conducted via WhatsApp group chat platform. Forty (40) Bachelor in Education pre-service (secondary) students participated in the case study of one university as they discussed their lived learning experiences during the pandemic. The study found that students experienced many learning problems during the period. For instance, lecturers posted reading materials to students, but with very little opportunity for meaningful engagement in critical in-depth discussion and individual attention. Given the emergent phenomenon, the study recommends that the university critically reflects and considers how the teaching and learning intervention strategies and encounters through the online platforms could be enhanced to benefit students. In order to make the most of online teaching-learning opportunities, the study further recommends that the university engages in robust capacity building of both lecturers and students on online teaching and learning skills.
Covid-19 and the virtual classroom conundrum in Zimbabwean universities
Journal of Education
Whilst the virtual classroom has become the most tenable alternative to address educational needs under the circumstances of the Covid-19 crisis, most universities in Zimbabwe have been found wanting-lacking responsive information communication technology (ICT) infrastructures and techno-savvy human capital. This exploratory study employed in-depth telephone interviews with five purposively sampled deans, lecturers, and disadvantaged students-one each from each of five universities (three state, and two private). Forty more students for five focus group discussions were selected through stratified random sampling. Our study adopted a qualitative approach to collect, present, and analyse data. The key finding was that Covid-19 has certainly amplified the digital divide and preexisting inequalities in institutions of higher education, particularly in developing nations like Zimbabwe. Further, the study revealed that a techno-based curriculum delivery approach becomes discriminatory an...