CHAPTER TWO Review of Literature
2.18 Research Evidence of e-Learning initiatives in Africa
With reference to Google Scholar, Emerald Insight, Science Direct, South African Journal of Information Management, University of KwaZulu-Natal Libraries and other local academic libraries (Accessed: 13/05/2013), there is paucity of research of KM and e-Learning in HE in Africa. However, the following studies indicate that some activity is taking place relating to e-Learning in Africa.
The relationship between institutional policy, organisational culture and e-Learning use in four South African universities was examined by Czerniewicz and Brown (2009). Data was used from an existing survey done in 2007 that examined ICT access and use which was conducted in six South African universities. It was shown that there is a strong relationship between policy and the use of ICT for teaching and learning (Czerniewicz and Brown, 2009).
Furthermore, supportive and non-restrictive institutional policies could promote staff innovation when it comes to effective e-Learning in the classroom to enhance pedagogical practices. It was also asserted that unstructured collegium institutions are more favourable in promoting innovation in e-Learning as opposed to unstructured bureaucratic institutions.
Organisational culture was also found to play a critical role in the way that e-Learning
61 strategy was embedded within the organisations (Czerniewicz and Brown, 2009) and this concurs with other studies such as Alavi, Kayworth and Leidner (2006), Ranjan (2008), Omerzel, Biloslavo and Trnavčevič (2011) and Shao, Feng and Liu (2012).
In a Kenyan HE setting, Nyerere, Gravenir and Mse (2012) highlighted the challenges around the delivery of Open, Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) in Kenya. The system of ODeL was regarded as a viable and cost-effective means of increasing the provision of education without costly outlay in infrastructure (Pityana, 2009 cited in Nyerere, Gravenir and Mse, 2012). This was much needed in Kenya to cater for the increase in demand for continuous learning. Two of the top ranking universities in Kenya were examined and data was collected from students, lecturers and administrators. It was shown that the major challenges included economic and infrastructural challenges that hindered the optimum delivery of ODeL in Kenya. Another main challenge was non-guidance by national policies to the efforts made by the ODeL providers (Nyerere, Gravenir and Mse, 2012). Other challenges included infrastructural constraints, funding constraints, low teaching staff level as well as the ineffective use of ODeL programme facilities. These challenges need to be addressed to allow ODeL to be successful in Kenya Higher Education (Nyerere, Gravenir and Mse, 2012).
Similarly as shown by Thiaw (2007) and Mwapachu (2010), universities in Africa face various challenges both from a student and institutional perspective. These challenges included financial, geographical, economic, infrastructural, political and governmental challenges as well as poverty related constraints. Challenges such as these can indirectly, if not directly hinder the effective creation and dissemination of knowledge and thereby hinder the learning process for African students. It is therefore added motivation to examine the influence of KM on HE institutional strategy that can also possibly assist in combatting these challenges.
El-Deghaidy and Nouby (2008) underlined how the Blended e-Learning approach (BeLca) was showing promise in HE in an Egyptian context. Participants in the study that utilised Blended Learning was shown to have higher achievement levels in their post-overall-course tests as well as positive attitudes and motivation towards e-Learning as compared to those not using Blended Learning. The full details of the benefits yielded were listed in El-Deghaidy and Nouby (2008). Other studies on Blended Learning that relate to this include Garrison and Kanuka (2004) and Graham, Woodfield and Harrison (2012). Furthermore, the preceding study related closely to another study in Egypt by Abdelaziz, et al. (2011) who assessed the
62 effect of e-Learning utilisation versus traditional face-to-face lectures among nursing students at the Ain Shams University (Egypt).
It was shown that students found the e-Learning to be effective and had significantly expanded their understanding of the various subjects. The students also relayed that their technology and computer skills had significantly increased toward the completion of the e- Learning programme (Abdelaziz, et al., 2011). However, it was also noted that the students were not willing to participate in another e-learning programme unless they had the essential resources to promote e-Learning such as computers and Internet at home, relevant training and other resources applicable to e-Learning adoption. Hence, due to limited resources and skills in the country, the Blended Learning approach is considered as the best strategy to integrate both e-Learning and face-to-face lectures to be able to provide the most efficient and effective pedagogy in nursing education (Abdelaziz, et al,. 2011).
The authors Nagel and Kotzé (2010) examined the role and usage of e-Learning for large online classes and highlighted factors that could maintain ‘quality’ (Ozkan and Koseler, 2009; Casanova, Moreira and Costa, 2011; Das, et al., 2011) of e-Learning education despite supersized online classes. It was argued that the quality of learning need not be inferior in supersized classes if students and instructors engage in quality interaction (Nagel and Kotzé, 2010). They used the Community of Inquiry framework as an instrument to assess the quality of teaching in a specific online course in a South African University. Factors such as teaching, social and cognitive presences are shown to be important to promote successful learning. Furthermore, techniques such as double-blind electronic peer review presents a deeper dimension of learning to large online classes and this further promotes teaching, cognitive and social presences (Nagel and Kotzé, 2010).
The above studies seem to be the only studies done on e-Learning in Higher Education in the entire continent of Africa. This gives added motivation to examine Knowledge Management towards institutional strategy development and e-Learning across the various universities in Africa.
63 2.19 Web 2.0
Since the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW), web technologies have been evolving to increase efficiency, ease of use, and effectiveness of the Internet (Ebner, et al., 2010; Bennett, et al., 2012; Brown, 2012). This has led to innovation and modernisation of the Internet as we know it and the advent of Web 2.0 (Nugultham, 2012).
There are various definitions and explanations of what Web 2.0 is. Web 2.0 is regarded as
‘the social web’, which incorporated software that enables group interaction (Shirky, 2003).
For Nugultham (2012), Web 2.0 is the second generation of the WWW and promotes interactivity, collaboration, sharing and facilitation. Kose (2010) concurs that Web 2.0 promotes interactive applications and systems that can be used to build, share and adjust information content according to their needs. Furthermore, the surfeit of digital networking tools on the Internet that facilitate interaction, collaboration and sharing of information is referred to as Web 2.0 or social software technology, Birdsall (2007) and Kesim and Agaoglu (2007). Nugultham (2012) expressed that in this new and advanced age of technology and Internet, Web 2.0 has sprung up to deliver interactive features such as social networking, blogs and wikis which in proving to be the most effective method of people connecting and knowledge sharing among a global community. In context, Web 2.0 simply points to web-based technology that incorporates ‘interaction’ and ‘sociality’.
Due to factors such as continuous globalisation of information, rising costs, poverty and the need for life-long learning, other forms of pedagogy and education such as e-Learning and distance learning need to be considered (Usluel and Mazman, 2009). This applies to various fields and levels of education. Hence, Web 2.0 facilitates this process as it brings with it a variety of interactive software applications and services that can be used for personal, social, business and educational purposes, Grosseck (2009). These software applications and services include social media/networking, wikis, blogs, RSS, video and slide sharing, podcasts and many more which are proving to be powerful and strategic interactive tools providing user interface and flexible web design (Murugesan, 2007; Grosseck, 2009).
64 2.20 Brief description of some of the main Web 2.0 technologies used
As highlighted above (Murugesan, 2007; Grosseck, 2009), there are a variety of Web 2.0 technologies and applications. Pettenati and Ranier (2006) and Brandtzaeg and Heim (2007) asserted that social networks are an interactive software platform that promote knowledge sharing, communicative interaction and collaboration, among users irrespective of place and background. Hence, users can use these platforms as a means of coming together to share and build knowledge regarding a common interest, need or goal. It was argued by Bartlett-Bragg (2006) that social networks are part of a range of software applications that creates cyber spaces for relationship building and collaboration and encourages group interactions. This in turn facilitates the aggregation of knowledge and information exchange. For McLoughlin and Lee (2007), social networks are pedagogical tools that promote knowledge discovery, sharing, and dissemination of knowledge which support a vast network of people. This in turn connects people and facilitates informal learning and creative exercises.
Other applications such as blogs are interactive web based applications that enables users to create, edit, post and organise or systemise their own web pages that could contain various content made up of entries, views, comments and discussions (Alexander, 2006). Blogs also allows one to publish information collected from various sources and establishes a relation between them which makes blogs a social-interactive and collaborative software tool (Petter, Reich and Scheuermann, 2005). Wiki’s were similar to blogs in terms of posting information and interactivity. Schwartz, et al. (2004) emphasised how the creators of the wiki concept, Leuf and Cunningham, developed wikis as an expandable and flexible collection of interlinked web pages that can be used for creating, storing and modifying information. Any user can visit a wiki website and read, add or even update the respective content on the wiki and this content could include text, images, videos or any other data structure (Augar, Raitman and Zhou, 2004; Schwartz, et al., 2004).
Podcasting is also a powerful Web 2.0 technology. Meng (2005) defines podcasting as the process of capturing an auditory event and then uploading that audio file which becomes a digital format onto a website or blog. These files could then be downloaded from the relevant webpage on their computers or storage devices. Petter, Reich and Scheuermann (2005) concurs that podcasts are information content such as recordings of lectures, seminars and presentations that are made into a digital audio format and then uploaded at real-time. This
65 can be then be downloaded and listened to by users in their own time on either a computer and/or a variety of digital devices. Podcasts therefore allow users to catch up on audio content even if they are in different vicinities or while completing other tasks, Usluel and Mazman (2009). Slide and Video Sharing are also a growing trend in Web 2.0 and e-Learning technologies whereby instructors can create video’s or slides on specific subjects and then share and disseminate them via a specific web or video sharing site i.e. YouTube (Grosseck, 2009). In relation to education, Dale (2007) asserts that podcasting promotes both innovative and creative avenues to support effective learning.
2.21 Literature supporting the role of Web 2.0 as an e-Learning / Knowledge