CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING E-

LEARNING AT WSU, Buffalo City Campus

(BCC) 2011

ABSTRACT

A small scale pilot study was conducted at WSU BCC in 2011. Interviews with selected staff members were held and focus group discussions with students,

and participant observations. Student participants were drawn from the School of People Development & Technology doing B. Tech: HR, 3rd year students in ND: HR and 1st year students doing ND: MOT and ND: Tourism 2nd year students.

The main objective was to identify challenges experienced by those already implementing e-learning at WSU and how they have overcome the challenges, and to hear from those who are not using e-learning, why they are not using the

program and coming up with solutions in both scenarios.

The main challenges cited range from IT infrastructure, lack of access to computers,management and governance of e-learning, fear of technology and resistance to change. The institution should stress the importance of building a common vision about e-learning and its role in the institution and promoting it

from top down. There is a need for formal policies institutionally that support the implementation of e-learning and these policies should be coherent with already

existing policies. .

STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION

1. Background

2. Research Methodology

3. Findings

4. Recommendations & Conclusions

INTRODUCTION

The notion of e-learning, commonly understood as ‘learning facilitated online through network technologies’ (Garrison & Anderson, 2003), has emerged across South African higher education institutions since the 1990s. As in other national contexts, e-learning practices appear together with an entirely new vocabulary, institutional policies and structures, and substantial institutional budgets (Ravjee ,2007).

Given the particular challenges faced by universities in Africa (poor and expensive Internet infrastructure, relatively high cost of computers, shortage of quality IT staff and e-learning specialists, and the need for more ‘knowledge-workers’), universities need to be very focused and strategic in their use of e-learning( Bates 2009)

From the available literature, institutions engaged in e-learning stress the importance of building a common vision about e-learning role in their institutions and promoting it from top down. A common vision provides a communication platform from which administration and instructors can build consensus and buy-in through task forces or advisory committees. This lets an institution create a set of e-learning expectations and promote cultural change as these expectations filter down throughout the institution. As Hartman from UCF would put it “it has to fit into the faculty culture and the campus environment, and finally it has to meet institutional goals (Morgan 2003).

Some institutions see information technology-related approaches as the central solution to the problems experienced by disadvantaged students. While the innovative use of technology is to be welcomed, there is a strong risk that approaches which focus only on improving delivery through information and communication technology, and which leave traditional curricular structures unchanged, will not provide a comprehensive solution. (National Plan: Section 2.3.2)

RESEARCH DESIGN

A small scale pilot study was conducted at Buffalo City Campus. Interviews with individual staff members were held and focus group discussions with students, and participant observations.

Student participants were drawn from the School of People Development & Technology doing B. Tech: HR, 3rd year students in ND: HR and 1st year students doing ND: MOT and ND: Tourism 2nd year students. Telephone and face to face interviews were done with staff members from different Schools at BCC and selected CLTD staff members.

SAMPLING STRATEGY

The researcher used targeted sampling by going straight to those who are using the programme and those who should be using the programme, both staff and students and going to CLTD staff, the custodians of the programme

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS

• STUDENTS• B Tech students range from age categories 20-50 with

most of them between 25-35. Married males about 3, and 3 married women, and the rest are single males and females

• ND HR (Full time 3rd years) ranges from 20-25 mostly, and part-timers 20-45

• ND MOT (1st years) range 18-25 mostlySTAFF • Out of the 10 interviewed, 1 is above 60(white male),• 4 between ages 45-59 2-females ( 1 white,1 black):2

males( 1 black,1 white) and • The rest is between age categories 25-45 (3 females,2

males-all black)

RESPONSES BY STUDENTS

• AWARENESS OF TERMINOLOGY

e-learning was understood by some as” distance learning through technology”, learning via internet, social networks like facebook /twitter,emails, sms’s. The commonly used media at WSU is wise-up.

• B Tech students, some lecturers allow them to use emails for submission of assignments and for communication. Half of the class is currently not on facebook/twitter and they have different perceptions regarding social networks

Terminology (continued)

• Third year ND:HR (part-time|) students are not even aware that such a program as Wise up does exist at WSU

• ND: MOT- are very much aware and are using it for some of their courses

• Tourism students- awareness levels very low, not on the programme yet

Training

• The B Tech students were trained on the use of Wiseup, but there was no follow up and therefore they have not put into practice what they have learnt

• 3rd year student ( full time) – they have received training on the use of Wiseup, and two lecturers are using it, some didn’t receive any formal training but they are learning it from others

• 1st year students – they have been trained on how to use Wiseup , and one lecturer is using it with them

• Third year (part-time) ND:HR students and full time Tourism students- have not been trained, and therefore have not started using Wiseup. Some were not even aware that such a programme with such benefits does exist at WSU.

CHALLENGES

• Accessibility of information • In East London, there are few computers, the

only access they have is library, few have laptops or phones with internet connection

• Part-time students ( B Tech ) have no time to access the internet on campus, but most of them are working and have access to internet at work

• At Potsdam, there is an e-learning computer lab, with 48 computers and all students are competing for access [ number of computers vs number of users]

CHALLENGES (contd)

• NETWORK FAILURES – Students using Wiseup have complained about

network failures and down systems, memory capacity of the available hardware.

– Both of these make the information loaded not possible to download timeously, especially urgent notices

• RESISTANCE TO CHANGE– B Tech students relayed that another challenge could

be resistance to change from both the students and staff coupled with perceptions caused by the fear of the unknown

STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME

• Raising awareness – sharing success stories on the benefits of the program

• Since most challenges are IT related- ICT services needs to beef up its capacity, more computers, more computer labs, network connectivity

• Accessibility of resources – having computers at residences, having departmental or faculty laboratories

• Visibility of support staff

• Making it institutional policy

RESPONSES BY STAFF • One respondent attended both the basic and intermediary Wiseup

training sessions. She started planning in 2009 for implementation in 2010. Since 2010 she has been consistently using the program to upload notes, self-assessments after every chapter/module. But she is doing this for one course.

• She did experience teething problems, and they are the following:– IT infrastructure is frustrating with down networks especially in

2010, but in 2011 there has been a remarkable improvement. Since she is the only one using it in the department, at first there was that reluctance from students, but through ongoing support from CLTD she passed that stage.

– Also, at the beginning she used most of her time uploading information, but now that its there, it time is saved. She hasn’t tried out the video option due to time constraints

– During strikes, for her there is no time lost. This technology has proven useful to her even in managing her time and work. However, since she is lecturing Maths, not all assessments can be done online.

Responses by staff ( contd)

• The other respondent who is also a user of e-learning said e-learning is definitely a good programme, flexible and worth using.

• Challenges experienced:– IT infrastructure – he uses his PC at home but cant

use it at work as he does not have hardware and when he finally gets access to hardware, the internet is down most of the time.

– The unavailability of success stories by those who have mastered the art of e-learning could also be another reason why others are not implementing the program.

Responses ( contd)

• E-learning should not be seen as an add-on system, but should talk to other systems. For instance, in the capturing of marks, there are still impediments as Wiseup is not tied up to ITS, you still have to download your mark list and print it, doing it the manual way.

• Also the way in which its configured, you see other students doing the program from other sites,not your group only,you have to keep on searching for those on your mark list- so configuration is the problem.

• This respondent said he spends about 5hrs/wk on Wiseup uploading materials but he thinks once all the materials are loaded, there will be less time spent

Suggested solutions by those already using it

• upgrade of hardware /IT infrastructure• Fairly decent PC s at work• Correct configurations • Training • Successful application • Increase access opportunities to IT for students • Enforcement by means of institutional policies• E-learning should be congruent with other

existing systems, policies

Other responses

• Another respondent who has been trained, said “look the program is good and even the training was useful”. However, he hasn’t implemented what he learnt due to time constraints.

• He is however using emails with his B Tech students.

• From CLTD’s side he cannot complain, there is support available even for uploading of stuff, its the time that’s not there

Responses ( contd)

• 2 respondents said they have heard about e-learning but need more awareness about its benefits

• They have seen notice boards on Wiseup and emails, but have never taken time to respond.

• They did say though that theywould like to explore the program, but at the moment don’t see how its gonna improve the way they do their work.

• Other challenges cited are slow networks which also create a negative attitude towards e-learning at WSU at the moment

Responses ( contd)

• Another respondent has been to training, which was very useful, but she is not using it yet. The challenge for her is access to IT, both hardware and connection problems, and this is what her students have also said, but she would like to use the program once the IT challenges are addressed.

Responses (contd)

• The other respondent has attended the Wise up training, however she has not used Wiseup, what she has experimented using facebook with the assistance of CLTD staff

• She did mention however caution that because students use these social networks mainly for personal stuff, one needs to exercise discretion and protect ones’ dignity as it is very easy to be caught in between the two.

• She was also quick to say, the challenge is not with CLTD support but with the response by individual lecturer s with an effect on students.

Responses (contd)

• From the School of Tourism the key respondents interviewed were in agreement that e-learning is definitely the way to go, however only two staff members have been sent for training thus far.

• The major challenges are availability of computer labs for students and problems with IT infrastructure, both hardware and internet which are very critical for the roll up of such a programme. At IBK Tourism School , e-learning is up and running.

• Reasons cited range from apathy and the fact that there is no policy at the institution that is enforcing the use of e-learning coupled with challenges with IT access and slow networks

Participant observations

• The researcher has also attended e-learning training and has in fact taken her BTech students for training, however because of not being in possession of a laptop, the programme could not kick-start in 2011 as was planned. Also with the Tourism group, the researcher wanted to experiment on the programme, but problems with IT access were relayed as the main challenge, and then to enforce the use of a program without the necessary infrastructure would not be beneficial to the students. With B Tech students the majority has access to internet from work, and this could be explored with that group. Facebook as another method was suggested, but there are different perceptions about facebook especially as a social network and therefore issues of privacy are raised all the time.

Responses from CLTD selected staff members

• The main challenge according to one respondent is “fear of technology by most academics”. He said “its like they are being forced into something they don’t want to do, and its like their right to privacy is being infringed upon.

• He said they have a newsletter called “Grassroots “which showcases success stories by users of the programme and the support systems available at CLTD,circulated through helpdesk,at libraries, departments, general laboratories and at the reading &writing centre

Responses by CLTD contd

• He said workshops are generally well attended by academics with interest and those that have been referred.

• The main challenges reported to them are slow networks, and lack of access to computers. With regards to students attitudes towards the programme, he said the lecturer plays a big role in influencing the attitudes of students towards the programme

Responses by CLTD (contd)

• One respondent from CLTD viewed the main challenge as apathy on the side of academics and stated that with 48 computers in the e-learning laboratory available for students and the CLTD staff computer laboratory at Chiselhurst, that’s a good start, and that staff at CLTD are always ready and available to give assistance.

Suggested solutions

• He said to address the fear of technology- academics should receive basic computer skills which are a standard requirement

• A thorough needs analysis of all staff members should be done so as the assess what programs CLTD can design to address the challenges

• Also, having CLTD staff members in faculties/school boards /departmental meetings can assist staff to get to know what CLTD is offering for both staff and students

• Most communication flows from managers to HODs’ who should then communicate with their staff about CLTD programmes

INTERPRETATION OF THE FINDINGS

• Although most respondents are aware of e-learning at WSU, there are still those who don’t know what e-learning is about.

• It was several times asserted that Internet infrastructure needs improving at WSU, and that the institution needs to expand its IT capacity and try mobile phone access to support the growth of e-learning.

• The other challenge relates primarily to management and governance of e-learning from top to bottom

• The institution should stress the importance of building a common vision about e-learning and its role in the institution and promoting it from top down.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

• From the above findings one deduces that e-learning implementation its still at its infancy stages at WSU. However, those who have pioneered the use of e-learning are already reaping its benefits, whilst some have not even taken a step towards acquainting themselves with the concept

• There is a need for formal policies institutionally that support the implementation of e-learning and these policies should be coherent with already existing policies.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

• As the number of e-learning courses grows at institutions, the academic experience changes for an increasing number of lecturers and students. Both groups must adapt as the institutional support processes evolve.

• A common vision that will let an institution create a set of e-learning expectations and promote cultural change as these expectations filter down throughout the institution is urgently needed, which will provide a communication platform from which administrators and academics can build consensus and buy-in through task forces or advisory committees.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

• Given the lack of resources, a strategic approach and planning is critical at WSU for e-learning to succeed. A shot-gun approach of trying to develop e-learning across the institution should be avoided, with e-learning focussed on those students and programs where it will provide the greatest benefit. In this way, quality is likely to be achieved and maintained, until more resources and better infrastructure becomes available.

THANK YOU !!!!