Many higher education institutions moved from in-person to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, but these shifts have a longer history and potential. They require challenging individual and collective decision making by staff,... more
Many higher education institutions moved from in-person to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, but these shifts have a longer history and potential. They require challenging individual and collective decision making by staff, beyond their usual repertoire of practice. This paper, therefore, aims to understand the nature of decisions that staff made as they moved to online teaching, the reasons, processes, and reflections on the perceived impacts. Eighty-four participants with diverse roles connected to moving online from four institutions across Africa were purposively sampled. Using a constructivist paradigm and qualitative approach, participants were invited to describe decision-making experiences through short narratives with prompts around their context, decisions, and impacts. Twenty-two of these participants attended a workshop to augment the narrative data and identify good practices. Qualitative analysis directed by Activity Theory concepts revealed that decisions ...
Research Interests: Psychology and Narrative
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Leading change in higher education has been a major challenge in countries of limited resources, such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most African universities have struggled with this transition mainly due to lack of the requisite... more
Leading change in higher education has been a major challenge in countries of limited resources, such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most African universities have struggled with this transition mainly due to lack of the requisite information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, inadequate expertise for online pedagogies and inability to provide computers to their students and staff. When faced with the recent changes, caused mainly by the COVID-19 pandemic that forced every person to work and learn remotely, many academic leaders were completely ill-prepared to deal with changes of this magnitude. The aim of this paper is to provide recommendations for shaping the future of higher education in Africa going forward. This will be done by analysing trends and opportunities created by these changes with the aim of accentuating the need for a renewed Pan-African Ubuntu that embraces the future, respects the unique dignity, cultures, languages and heritage of nations pre- ...
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During the past twenty years Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) have increased educational access and affordability worldwide. The OER-OEP synergy reflects one of the most promising strategies for... more
During the past twenty years Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) have increased educational access and affordability worldwide. The OER-OEP synergy reflects one of the most promising strategies for increasing access to education globally. Despite significant progress, emerging research suggests the need for a more concerted focus on moving from awareness raising to implementation. This article analyses the current status of OER and OEP in concert with the recent educational response to COVID-19 by educational providers with complimentary mini-case studies from Africa, Brazil, Canada, China, Sweden, and Turkey. The ICDE Ambassadors for the global advocacy of OER, and members of ICDE OER Advocacy Committee (authors) argue that in the six countries studied, there is a greater need and greater receptivity to expand access to education through OER and OEP. To better address the immediate needs of the COVID-19 educational crisis, and to make longer term educational improvements, countries should harness the policy supports and actionable steps offered by the UNESCO OER Recommendation. Currently, we see an opportunity to move OER-OEP to resilient sustainable education and the international policy framework to support such work. The article concludes with some general observations for the way forward.
Research Interests: Distance Education, Political Science, Online Learning, Distance Learning, Open Education, and 15 moreOpen Educational Resources, Open and Distance Education, Oer, Open Educational Practices, ODS, OEP, Rel, Open and Distance Learning, ODD, REA, Open Distance Learning, Pea, Pel, EDUCACIÓN ABIERTA, and CoVid
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Many African countries have developed policies to reform their education system in order to widen participation in higher education. To achieve this, open, online and distance education based models have been advocated as the most viable... more
Many African countries have developed policies to reform their education system in order to widen participation in higher education. To achieve this, open, online and distance education based models have been advocated as the most viable delivery tools in expanding access to higher education. However, the policy analysis of Kenya, Rwanda and Zambia revealed that the integration of open, online and distance education in these countries’ education systems is inadequate. The purpose of this study is to analyse policies in order to determine why policy goals are not achieved and how the present reality and the past knowledge impacts on the desired outcome. The future research methods of forecasting is used because it looks at policy interventions with the aim of assisting us to understand probable development in education that may have led to the weak implementation of the policies.
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Academic success depends on the comprehension of a language, which is linked to vocabulary learning. Many distance students in South Africa find it difficult to comprehend learning in a language other than their mother tongue. Finding... more
Academic success depends on the comprehension of a language, which is linked to vocabulary learning. Many distance students in South Africa find it difficult to comprehend learning in a language other than their mother tongue. Finding effective strategies for enhancing English vocabulary of university students amidst the spatial, temporal, and pedagogic distance associated with Open Distance Learning (ODL) practices remains a challenge. To address the need for enhancing vocabulary development, mobile application systems (apps) were explored as the best vehicle for the delivery of the vocabulary learning. Mobile learning technologies are ideal in the ODL context because they are flexible, accessible, available, and cater for a myriad of interaction activities. The purpose of the study is to design and implement a mobile-based application aimed at enhancing English vocabulary teaching and learning. Using the Design-Based Research methodology, this study maps the steps taken to develo...
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The use of cell phones for teaching and learning cannot be sustained if academics are not trained on how to use the tool and how to integrate the technology into their own practice. Therefore, more attention needs to be given to the... more
The use of cell phones for teaching and learning cannot be sustained if academics are not trained on how to use the tool and how to integrate the technology into their own practice. Therefore, more attention needs to be given to the capacity building of distance education academics and practitioners. Open distance learning (ODL) institutions have a critical role of providing the necessary knowledge and skills to teachers who will be using mobile technologies in distance education. The aim of this article is to explore pedagogic principles that best support the effective use of mobile learning in a distance education context. In developing a training programme for distance education practitioners, we should take cognisance of the fact that mobile technologies will not transform education on their own; they require academics who can use them to improve student learning. The aim is to ensure that technology is not perceived as an add-on but as an integral part of the curriculum. This article will therefore attempt to answer the following questions: . What are the implications of mobile technologies for distance education practitioners? . What pedagogic model best supports the effective use of mobile learning devices?
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The aim of this paper is to investigate the pedagogic approach that best support effective use of cell phones in the distance education context. Many distance education scholars agreed that students need to be supported both cognitively... more
The aim of this paper is to investigate the pedagogic approach that best support effective use of cell phones in the distance education context. Many distance education scholars agreed that students need to be supported both cognitively and affectively through mediated forms of interaction. Distance education institutions have used a variety of technologies to enhance interaction but none has been so readily available and accessible as cell phones. The usage of cell phones in supporting students is most suitable in Africa because it is affordable and has the ability to connect less privileged people to information. Despite evidence that show that cell phones can be used successfully as a cognitive delivery tool, the pedagogical affordances of cell phones have not yet been fully explored in most developing countries. To understand the pedagogy for mobile learning, it is important to look at distance education theories to determine the importance of interaction on the efficacy of dist...
Research Interests: Psychology and Reference
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The use of mobile technologies in education has had a major impact on the pedagogy as known and understood by many academics in Open Distance Learning (ODL) institutions. The aim of this chapteer is to investigate the pedagogic approaches... more
The use of mobile technologies in education has had a major impact on the pedagogy as known and understood by many academics in Open Distance Learning (ODL) institutions. The aim of this chapteer is to investigate the pedagogic approaches that best support effective use of cell phones in the distance education context. This is done through highlighting some of the theories of learning and analysing how they can be used to enhance social interaction to support distance learners. Social interaction is used as a conceptual framework to explore the pedagogy that can be supported by ‘MXit’—a cell phone instant messaging system. The idea is to utilise devices that students already use in their informal learning social context to develop formal learning opportunities and support mechanisms for distance education students.
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Open Distance Learning (ODL) takes place within different environments that are influenced by the social, cultural and political fields in which a student lives. This is particularly significant in South Africa where distance learning has... more
Open Distance Learning (ODL) takes place within different environments that are influenced by the social, cultural and political fields in which a student lives. This is particularly significant in South Africa where distance learning has been identified as the ...
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Research Interests: Discourse Analysis, Psychology, Educational Technology, Social Networks, Distance Education, and 12 moreSocial Interaction, Interaction, Computer Mediated Communication, Interpersonal Relationship, Collaborative Learning, Cooperative Learning, Education Systems, Conceptual Framework, Synchronous Communication, Phone, Handheld Devices, and Social Network
Abstract A 60-item questionnaire on conceptions of learning was mailed to students taking preparatory courses by distance learning with The Open University in the United Kingdom. Complete data were provided by 372 respondents. Their... more
Abstract A 60-item questionnaire on conceptions of learning was mailed to students taking preparatory courses by distance learning with The Open University in the United Kingdom. Complete data were provided by 372 respondents. Their scores on six factor-based ...
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Studies on learning have tended to endorse the importance of knowledge rather than the significance of the cultural contexts embedded in the different histories and biographies of learners. In order to investigate the relationship between... more
Studies on learning have tended to endorse the importance of knowledge rather than the significance of the cultural contexts embedded in the different histories and biographies of learners. In order to investigate the relationship between these contexts and students' conceptions of learning, this study focuses on South African distance students' accounts of their personal experience and understanding of learning, using Giorgi's phenomenological psychology method to explore the learners' histories and aspirations as they construct and negotiate the meaning they attach to learning. The findings indicate that the social environment, the culture, the political milieu and economic conditions are the most important determinants of conceptions of learning, with all these multiple contexts interacting to influence students' beliefs about learning, which in turn affect their approach to learning and hence their learning outcomes. It is thus argued that, in order to facili...
Applying the benefits of the multi-dimensionality of empowerment, using transformative paradigms to boost capacity building, within academics in Distance Higher Education (DHE), is a vital part of the re-focusing of research perspectives... more
Applying the benefits of the multi-dimensionality of empowerment, using transformative paradigms to boost capacity building, within academics in Distance Higher Education (DHE), is a vital part of the re-focusing of research perspectives in African Tertiary Institutions (ATIs). How and when the transformative package is utilized for a sustainable research dividend, among the stakeholders in DHE, and within acceptable norms, calls for regular investigation. The study, therefore, using the transformative paradigms, examined how mentees and mentors' relationship, curtails possible academic frustration, indolence, career stagnation, spiral of academic victimization and other challenges, through a symbiotism of interconnectivity employed to facilitate adequate skills acquisition. The acquisition of relevant skills was therefore, instrumental to appropriate research breakthrough, personal development (i.e. increased self-awareness, openness, positive self-image, interdependence, etc) ...