Mobile Applications in Supporting Open and Distance Learning Students’ Research

Honours students, who are mostly new to research, require support in finding, selecting and sharing information resources to conduct research. Providing students with access to information resources becomes problematic in Open and Distance Learning (ODL), especially in developing countries due to constraints that are introduced by distance among the students, and between students and the supervisors. The constraints include isolation, lack of peer collaboration, the cost of Internet facilities, and time management for working students. Mobile applications could offer solutions, but the extant literature offers little guidance on the functional design of such applications. This design science research study presents a mobile tool with an interface for information access, information sharing and collaboration. The evaluation results show that the tool supports collaboration effectively by allowing students to access and share information. Besides the proof of concept, the theoretical contribution also lies in sharing the recommendations for improving the functionality of similar applications

Open Educational Resources and the Opportunities for Expanding Open and Distance Learning (OERS-ODL)

Distance learning (DL) was a teaching modality which utilized technology to deliver teaching to students who were not physically present such as in a traditional classroom setting. DL was not constrained by geographic considerations and therefore offered unique opportunities to expand educational access. The University of Namibia (UNAM) and International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) partnered to examine DL at UNAM, to assess strengths and weaknesses, and to make recommendations for improvement. The primary method used in this assessment was interviews with staff at centers and units engaged in Distance Learning at UNAM. It was analyzed how interactions vary between instructor and learner, among learners, and between learners and learning resources. DL at UNAM was categorized into five approaches including: 1) Outreach, 2) Print-based, 3) Computer based, 4) Internet-based, and 5) Digital Video Conferencing (DVC). All-in-all, a strategy of “starting small” was envisaged to allow individual instructors to voluntarily use collaborative software such as Google Groups to enhance print-based instruction and progressively expand DL at UNAM

Screencast as a technology enhanced teaching tool at an open distance learning university in South Africa

The incorporation of information and communications technology into every sphere of life can neither be denied nor remain unnoticed. Be it for education, government, corporate or social purposes, information and communications technology usage has become a norm in the twenty-first century. In academia, which is the focus of this study, the University of South Africa offers screencasts as a technology-enhanced teaching tool in the College of Accounting Sciences. These screencasts form part of an e-learning initiative to improve the success rate among their students in the Certificate in the Theory of Accounting programme. This phenomenological, qualitative research study employs a case study as a research design tool, employing the community of inquiry framework. Ten lecturer-participants were interviewed in this study. The aim was to determine how screencasts can be used as a technology-enhanced teaching tool at an open distance-learning university in South Africa. Accordingly, this study used semi-structured interviews and document analysis to collect the data. The research data were studied, analysed, explored and validated. The study’s findings proved the validity and the practicability of this research. The findings indicate that screencasting at the university is in its beginning phase and that lecturers make use of the learning management system (myUnisa) to upload screencasts. Although making the screencasts is time consuming, lecturers report on the positive feedback received from students concerning the screencasts, but there is no way to track how many students use them. It is important to note that the lecturers experience challenges, as the MyUnisa system is often ineffective. Furthermore, some lecturers are techno-phobes, resulting in those that are technologically informed being overloaded. This study recommends the use of other effective software, screencast training, proper investment in information and communications technology infrastructure and affordable data access for students to stakeholders such as UNISA.Curriculum and Instructional StudiesM. Ed. (Curriculum Studies