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Abstract

Information communications technology (ICT) is currently a highly sought component of every higher learning institutions, especially universities and colleges gravitate towards eLearning mode of instruction and knowledge acquisition. eLearning encompass multiple technology and Internet-based learning platforms that requires computer literacy from both learners and instructors. eLearning has been upgraded such that it offers more flexibility and comfort as instruction and learning occurs any time and at the users’ preferred environment. However, for most African Universities, the challenge in the use of eLearning is expedited by excess number of students, poor infrastructural development and poor access to the Internet off campus. At the University of Botswana, the need and urgency to address aforementioned difficulties was exposed in the era of COVID-19 pandemic where the use of eLearning was a dare situation for both instructors and learners. In this article, the authors discuss the background of eLearning tools at the University of Botswana, types of eLearning tools, their relevance, use, advantages and the challenges encountered. Prospects are also discussed. The article is based on the experiences of the authors, their observations, as well as the literature review and the use of the social constructionism or social constructivism theory.

Keywords

eLearning student retention Moodle social constructivism COVID-19

Introduction

The development of information communications technology (ICT) has made eLearning a highly sought mode of learning across colleges and universities around the globe. eLearning is a variety of technological communication information tools that are supported by the World Wide Web—WWW (Berge, 2002; Nichols, 2003). In order to implement and use eLearning, institutions need to have electronic devices such as computers and laptops, as well as access to the WWW or the Internet (Guragain, 2016). Since the use of eLearning tools requires one to have an electronic device to become accessible, Bhandari (1997) describes it as a computer-based educational tool or system that permits distribution of information through videos and other techniques. eLearning can be used with face-to-face learning strategies to strengthen the learning experiences of learners.

eLearning gives learners and other academic personnel, other than the instructors, opportunities to analyse and critique course content materials from an objective standpoint (McShane, 2004) as the assessment can be carried out remotely away from the classroom settings. eLearning tools have several online techniques that are online based such as social media platforms, chats, reading blogs and threaded email discussions (Guragain, 2016). eLearning motivates reflective thinking because it is not constrained by course content, as learners and instructors have a chance to access other avenues to learn about the subject of discussion (Jonassen et al., 2002; Losike–Sedimo & Ngwako, 2016; Woods et al., 2004).

eLearning tools are also known as virtual learning environments (VLE) because they provide online interaction through video conferencing or teaching. eLearning tools are very critical in the day-to-day educational and administrative activities because they enhance the quality of learning, allow flexibility in learning, support student attendance and retention, as well as reduce the workload for instructors associated with traditional teaching methods (Masalela, 2009). eLearning tools offer instructors and learners opportunities to undertake their course lessons in their suitable environment and times, as it has minimized physical interaction of teachers and students (Kattoua et al., 2016). Therefore, a high demand and use of eLearning tools in different universities are not surprising (Sugar et al., 2007) because its advantages surpass the disadvantages. However, it is important to highlight that eLearning is associated with limited mechanisms to motivate learners to focus on their education, as well as its demand for high self-discipline or self-directed learning (Kattoua et al., 2016).

Background of eLearning Tools in the University of Botswana

Web-based learning mechanisms like eLearning tools are critical and urgently needed for educational purposes. The eLearning segment of the University of Botswana (UB) was launched 18 years back in 2002 after the Education, Democracy and Development Initiative (EDDI), which was a project inaugurated by the former President of the USA, Mr Bill Clinton, in 1999 (Mutula, 2002). Therefore, the implementation of eLearning was to train students to fit into the global ICT world and give them avenues to reach out to the international community for both educational and employment opportunities. The establishment of eLearning tools was to advance student-centred educational approach, as well as teaching and learning strategies through instructional technology. eLearning tools give learners opportunities to decide on when, how and at what times to do their studying (Bose, 2010). When the University first introduced eLearning, it adopted Web Course Tool (WebCT) and Blackboard in addition to the general-purpose eLearning tools like word processors and spreadsheets (Masalela, 2009). WebCT is a web-based management system that regulates the management of online courses, including their design, handling and delivery (Firdyiwek, 1999).

In the context of UB, eLearning is perceived as the relevant tool ‘[for advancing ICTs, student-oriented, active, open, collaborative and life-long teaching-learning processes’ (Educational Technology Unit, n.d.a in Gachago et al., 2007, p. 74). UB adopted a blended learning approach where both traditional and technologically based mechanisms are used. Thus, eLearning is perceived as a subset of the blended learning, that introduced a technologically based form of educational social interaction, driven by the WWW (Masalela, 2009). As per UB’s teaching and learning policy, the use of eLearning tools blends well with face-to-face teaching, as it supports opportunities to cultivate independent and lifelong learning. The Educational Technology unit in the Centre for Academic Development (CAD) spearheads the implementation of eLearning activities like training of instructors on the initiatives and to provide them the support they need to infuse eLearning tools in the curriculum (Gachago et al., 2007). Therefore, technology-enhanced laboratories (SMART classrooms) were built to allow learners and instructors to use video conferencing, WebCT and other eLearning tools (Nfila, 2010). Despite their attendance of the training, an evaluation conducted at UB in 2004 indicated that few instructors and students were using eLearning tools (Gachago et al., 2007). One complaint that has been advanced by the academic staff about why they do not use innovative techniques is time constraint (Gachago et al., 2007).

Despite the above-mentioned challenges, UB highly ranks the use of eLearning tools and continues to enforce structural changes and curriculum reviews such as the development of General Education Courses, Electives and WebCT eLearning platform to accommodate remote learning (University of Botswana Learning and Teaching Policy, 2009). The UB developed Learning and Teaching Policy (2009), as well as a University Research Strategy to 2028 and Beyond (2020) to guide the eLearning implementation (Gachago et al., 2007). The eLearning tools fulfil the University’s Learning and Teaching Policy’s efforts to promote flexibility in education through enhanced use of ICT (University of Botswana Learning and Teaching Policy, 2009). Around 2000, UB Library and the CAD integrated communication technologies in learning and teaching in order to achieve the University’s vision to Africa and the world in academic excellence (Gachago et al., 2007). As a result the UB Library acquired technological equipment for the needed digital scholarship required to facilitate eLearning efforts (Nfila, 2010). Digital scholarship ensures that learners engage in distance and independent learning, and access information and other educational materials across the globe at their convenience to empower them for employment, civic duties and life-long learning (Nfila, 2010). To date, eLearning has been integrated in both the managerial, administrative and educational sectors within the University to expedite an ICT-informed environment.

A research study undertaken at UB by Umunnakwe and Sello (2014) indicated that eLearning tools motivated students’ learning because they enhanced participation, creativity and greater collaboration. Bose (2010) indicated that eLearning tools are beneficial to the different learner groups within the University such as those with disabilities, parenting students and working students just to name a few as they facilitate access to course content and study materials at times and places convenient to them. The University has many students who cannot be contained by face-to-face classroom teaching; eLearning tools reduce crowding in the classrooms and accommodate the different learning styles of students because instructors have the opportunity to upgrade the quality of study materials presented (Tella, 2007). For example, Moodle has user-friendly tools like colour adjustment features used in the content according to what their site could handle; hence, it is a palatable and motivating item for people with sight disabilities.

As UB continues to grapple with the eLearning platform, the advent of COVID-19 pandemic could not make it more relevant and timely. The pandemic caused interruption of teaching and learning across the education sector in general, and UB in particular. There was a need for adopting a proactive approach to ensure continuity of learning during the period of necessary social distancing (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020). Institutions of learning are urged to prioritize curricular goals to define what should be taught during social distancing (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020). The University of Botswana realized the urgency and need to continue teaching and learning. As a result, the academic staff were exerted with pressure to use eLearning tools.

Methodology

The article engages a qualitative method based on the information from the literature review, authors’ experiences and observations, especially during the era of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of eLearning tools to describe the e-tools used, processes, their relevance, advantages, challenges and prospects within the UB perspective. The authors adopt a social constructionism or social constructivism theory standpoint. Learning theories are important in directing and clarifying, curriculum development and delivery, as well as instructional design. The social constructivist standpoint emphasizes that knowledge and new ideas are constructed through social interactions (Swan & Shih, 2005). The theory perceives learners as active individuals in knowledge development, as they have the capacity to interrogate information availed to them and relate it to existing knowledge to generate new meanings (Yilmaz, 2008). Social constructivism approach is in tangent to the traditional way of learning, where the instructor is perceived to be an expert in the topic discussed and a learner expected to appreciate the information shared without critique because past knowledge is critical in how knowledge is actively reconstructed upon exposure to new information (Liu & Chen, 2010). Thus, it is the environment that triggers how learners mentally construct knowledge and meaning, as well as their observations of reality, irrespective of the mechanisms used to impart knowledge. Knowledge acquisition and imparting the same is an active personal process that one appreciates through experience and the connection with the learning background (Swan & Shih, 2005).

As a theory of learning and meaning-making, constructivism assumes that people develop renewed personal understanding of a subject matter as their old world views, beliefs and knowledge are exposed to new information at their disposal (Richardson, 2003). The theory emphasizes the social environment as a key factor that impacts learners and instructors’ construction of knowledge and world views (Yilmaz, 2008). Therefore, social constructivism highlights that learning and knowledge creation are influenced by environmental factors such as economic and social power, politics, ideologies, religious beliefs, values and other sociocultural factors, as well as the structural systems and epistemological perspectives that produce them, just to name a few (Richardson, 2003). Therefore, it is expected that availing access to eLearning tools give both instructors and learners an opportunity to learn and acquire knowledge from both interactive techniques like video conferencing and noninteractive media like movies. A study conducted at UB on telepresence teaching, which involved video conferencing, revealed that video conferencing motivates learners (Losike–Sedimo, 2003).

Different Types of eLearning and Benefits at the University of Botswana

Universities and colleges with a large number of student bodies like UB benefit a lot from eLearning tools because eLearning is cheaper than face-to-face learning methods, as such the institutions save money that could be used to build large infrastructure and travelling expenses. The most evident benefit is that both instructors and learners have access to educational materials anywhere at their convenience (Kattoua et al., 2016). eLearning tools are diverse. Those that are commonly used by UB for teaching and learning are Moodle and Blackboard Learn (BBL), each with different advantages and disadvantages.

Moodle uses a business model and a social constructivist approach to learning, which makes its cost standard globally (Costello, 2013). A social constructivist learning theory emphasizes a collaborative practice, as it emphasizes knowledge creation from the interaction of individuals with the society (Richardson, 2003; Swan & Shih, 2005; Yilmaz, 2008). On the one hand, Moodle is enticing, as it can be installed at different levels of the institutions at no costs (Costello, 2013). On the other hand, BBL has similar best practice features that enhance interactive learning such as blogs, group discussion forums and emails (Carlin & Winegar, 2002), but it is more expensive to use BBL than Moodle. As a result of the high expenses incurred in the use of BBL, the several higher institutions of learning has transitioned to Moodle across all the faculties and departments.

The relevance, use and advantage of eLearning at UB were demonstrated during the COVID-19 lockdown period where the University and schools were closed. As a result, there was an urgent need for UB to conduct both educational and administrative activities remotely. All the daily duties were carried out through the relevant tools. Since the introduction of eLearning tools, UB has become one of the higher institutions that embrace eLearning tools, but these has not yet been used by most of the employees, especially instructors, who have used traditional methods of teaching for a long time.

Although eLearning might seem to be an easy way to facilitate learning, Kattoua et al. (2016) argue that its effectiveness and efficiency lie on the ability of the institution to accommodate various factors such as the sociocultural issues, learners and instructors’ personal characteristics, technological capacity, organizational and environmental issues. These various factors call for prior need assessment as a critical activity before an institution adopts or uses eLearning, as well as for continuous update of eLearning tools. The needs analysis also gauges the best fitment of tools to the University setting.

Despite the increasing update of eLearning tools in higher education, teaching platforms continue to pose problems to instructors and learners. Therefore, it is important to describe learning and teaching with e-tools within the UB context. This article specifically itemizes challenges and prospects of using e-tools by examining the nature of engagement and analysis of use of eLearning tools by learners and instructors, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. There comes a time where challenges and prospects of an institution are analysed to identify gaps and provide recommendations on how educational needs could be addressed. Therefore, based on the foregoing discussion, the article discusses teaching and learning challenges that come with the use of eLearning tools at UB. It explores learners and instructors’ experiences of the use of eLearning tools. There are increasing calls from the University of Botswana to engage tools that match the learners and lecturers’ needs and wider issues connected to teaching using web-based learning tools.

Challenges with Regard to eLearning

The COVID-19 pandemic caused UB to close institution-based activities twice in the year 2020 between March and August to mitigate the spread of the virus. As such, the University like other institutions had to reconnoitre transformative change and adopt virtual learning opportunities to continue teaching and learning (Ali, 2020). This therefore called for adopting and adapting technology utilization through engaging on eLearning platforms (Ali, 2020). Even though eLearning platforms were being proposed as a solution, the institution faced some challenges. Some challenges related to the availability and accessibility of infrastructure to both the students and academic staff. The challenges were not immune to UB as indicated by the authors’ reflections. The challenges faced at UB related to infrastructure, training of academics, and poor Internet access off campus.

Availability of Infrastructure

UB’s Strategy to 2028 and Beyond indicates that the University is a comprehensive teaching and learning institution that offers students quality holistic education by using ICT at the core of teaching and learning. Even though that is the case, the University had the challenge of accessibility to infrastructure and Internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Internet provides learners and instructors with the opportunity to access learning materials anywhere and anytime as it creates, fosters, delivers and facilitates access to materials that are often not available in hard prints like journal articles and illustration videos (Bose, 2010). Additionally, the Internet facilitates collaboration beyond physical boundaries and borders, as learners and instructors have the opportunity to exchange personalized educational materials as well as platforms to liaise with practitioners and experts in their areas of interests (Bose, 2010). During the COVID-19 pandemic’s first lockdown, there was a need to continue educational activities and to adhere to social distancing measures, but the University of Botswana was in a dilemma as to how it will ensure continuity of teaching and learning as the majority of the University community did not have access to Internet services off campus.

In an attempt to address this issue, the University of Botswana entered into a contract with Botswana Telecommunications Corporation to provide students with SIM card with loaded Internet data to access and download learning materials (University of Botswana, 2020) and hence the opportunity for blending learning, while also adhering to COVID-19 practices to avert and curb the spread on the campus. However, there was no prior assessment of whether the students had smartphones or tablets to be used with issued SIM cards. Without proper technology and tools to access eLearning materials, learners faced difficulties to access learning materials.

Another challenge faced is limited use of eLearning tools at UB, especially due to the inadequacy of eLearning laboratories or SMART classrooms as they are commonly called. That often makes instructors reluctant to familiarize themselves with eLearning platforms. Infrastructure and connectivity to the Internet are critical for transitioning to eLearning (World Bank, 2020b). Furthermore, instructors also lack access to equipment because some do not have proper electronic equipment like laptops and tablets to support the eLearning platforms to continue their teaching and research responsibilities outside the University setting. This inadequacy of equipment and infrastructure to offer eLearning is common in many African countries where the expertise in ICT is minimal (Ifinedo, 2007).

Staff Preparedness to Use eLearning Platforms

In addition to the availability of Internet services and infrastructure to implement online teaching and learning, another impediment is to do with the use of eLearning platforms. Online teaching and learning can be facilitated by training learners and instructors to equip them with the skills to use eLearning tools. World Bank (2020b) argues that staff offering classes online should use a curriculum that is relevant to digital appraisal tools and learning content. Hence, the institution must ensure that its staff is trained for online course creation (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020). Since the establishment of eLearning at UB, staff had been encouraged to attend training workshops to equip them with relevant skills. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, some of UB’s academic staff was still undergoing training to learn the different platforms and tools associated with eLearning. Transitioning has been a challenge because some of the instructors do not have any background training in ICT, and there is less motivation to forego the traditional methods of -teaching. However, there is pressure on both learners and instructors to learn eLearning to manage the spread of COVID-19.

Attitude Towards eLearning

While technological equipment is important in the use of eLearning, the attitude of learners and instructors towards eLearning tools is also important. Users’ perceptions and ability to accommodate new methods of learning is critical in the extent of the use of eLearning tools (Tella, 2007). As for students, though it is assumed that they have a bond with ICT as they are considered the digital generation because of their access to smartphones and use for various applications (Ali, 2018), there should be an assessment of their readiness and accessibility to online learning platforms (Ali, 2020). There are some concerns that point towards students’ learning online without proper training and guidance (O’Sullivan, 2018; World Bank, 2020a, 2020c). However, since students are adventurous, in most cases, they have an upper hand in terms of the use of eLearning tools because they are motivated to learn new ways of learning (Tella, 2007). The learners’ eagerness to learn the eLearning tools is associated with them being born in the era where technology is used excessively. However, this motivation could be easily lost in an environment where coordination and availability of resources are limited like in the case of UB, hence, consequently, hampering knowledge acquisition and development.

Tella (2007) observed that lecturers at UB used eLearning tools on an average level because of lack of training. Since the establishment of eLearning at the University of Botswana, most of the instructors have not attended the eLearning training offered on a weekly basis, and they used the traditional methods of teaching. The instructors’ low motivation is associated with several factors such as lack of ownership as they were not part of the initiative, substantial workload and inadequate skills for effective use of eLearning. Instructors were also overwhelmed with the heavy workload where they had to strike a balance between instruction, management and research activities (Gachago et al., 2007).

Although the University of Botswana continued to offer face-to-face contact learning during the pandemic, the arrangement was not accommodative of learners who might have preferred to take courses only on remote basis, and escalated poor attendance as well as swelling the number of students who dropped out of school (usually given a fail and discontinue mark). Such incidences had negative implications for student retention and continuity of learning, as some students might not be able to return back to school after staying away from the University setting for a long time.

Prospects of eLearning

In an attempt to ensure that the University of Botswana fulfils the vision and mission of developing a learner-centred, intellectually stimulating and technologically advanced teaching, learning and research environment (UB website, n.d.b.), there is need for students and instructors to commit themselves to the use of eLearning tools. Staff and student training in using the Moodle online platform is needed. The University management should further ensure that there is up-to-date infrastructure for easy implementation of eLearning.

As much as the University of Botswana has availed the infrastructure, it should also consider issues of distributive justice, to facilitate students’ access to gadgets for Internet connectivity for remote learning and other Internet activities that could enrich learning. The University should be considerate and not create inequalities among students who come from various backgrounds (World Bank, 2020b). Furthermore, academic staff should also avail the right equipment to support eLearning. Besides the equipment and infrastructure, class sizes should be considered, as studies conducted elsewhere have indicated that online class discussions are easy to manage in smaller classes (Conceição, 2006) as opposed to larger classes (Arbaugh & Duray, 2002). UB has big classes; hence, it can be a challenge to manage eLearning activities.

A specific institutional policy to support online teaching is needed to ensure that there is a standardized use of eLearning tools (Dadzie, 2009). This would provide guidelines and rules of conducting online teaching. Institutional support should also include providing information resources, software products and informational content (Vershitskaya et al., 2020). They also argue that institutions should have a budget to support eLearning.

Finally, the prospects of online learning that need to be addressed are the barriers to personal problems, relationship inhibitors and contextual inhibitors that Zamani and Esfijani (2016) pointed out. Personal problems are intrapersonal characteristics and behaviour, while relationship inhibitor is internal variables like attitudes and opinions of users concerning eLearning (Zamani & Esfijani, 2016). Instructors’ attitude in adopting eLearning should be addressed as it is critical to its success (McNeil, 1990). The authorities or institutional management need to ensure that instructors understand eLearning and can easily interact with their students (McNeil, 1990) and appreciate the ICT learning tools. Contextual inhibitors are the external factors like lacking ICT skills and institutional support (Zamani & Esfijani, 2016). As such, there is need for the University to ensure that infrastructure is in place, and that maintenance is carried out frequently. The consistency in maintenance and improvement of the equipment that facilitates eLearning is likely to ensure its successful implementation.

Conclusion

The article discussed the relevance, use and advantage of eLearning tools used at UB. In addition, the challenges and prospects with regard to using the eLearning tools were highlighted. Some of the challenges discussed relate to infrastructural development, institutional problems, technological resource availability and limited human resources. The discussion emphasized the importance of eLearning in the context of university setting, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic where remote teaching and learning supersede the traditional instructional methods.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interest

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Poloko N. Ntshwarang

Author’s Biosketch

Poloko N. Ntshwarang is a senior lecturer in the department of Social Work at the University of Botswana. She acquired her PhD in Social Work at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She has a Masters of Social Work degree (measuring in health) from the University of Utah, U. S.A. Her research areas include parenting, child protection, family and children’s wellbeing, health and gender issues. She is currently focusing on factors that influence parenting practices and their effects on children with the ultimate goal to develop effective support systems for families to prevent child abuse. She has published in some of her areas of interest.

Tumani Malinga is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social work, University of Botswana. She holds a PhD in Social Work and a Minor in Gender Relations in International Development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, IL. USA. Dr.Malinga’s research interest is exploring lived experiences of low-income women to see how these experiences have had an effect on their life course. She is also interested in gender issues, HIV and AIDS, mental health issues, and social work and social welfare issues. She has published in the area of Adolescents and HIV and AIDS, among others.

Nonofo Losike-Sedimo has a PhD from FSU Tallahassee Florida. She has taught in several institutions of higher education in Botswna and other Countries in Southern Africa. She is an uncolonised, uncultural researcher with an output of 47 papers. Her areas of interest include Teaching with technology, child development, HIV and AIDS, culture and education psychology.

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eLearning Tools at the University of Botswana: Relevance and Use Under COVID-19 Crisis