Online Learning Challenges in Academia: The Case of Uganda

Felix Bwire

, Emily Bagarukayo

and Paul Birevu Muyinda

Busitema University, Tororo, Uganda

Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

Keywords: Online Learning, Learning Design.

Abstract: Online learning is the access of learning experiences by the use of technology and internet, making the

learning experience more convenient and accessible. Despite the wide adoption of Information and

Communication technologies (ICT) in teaching and learning, ICT integration in teaching is still ad hoc and a

lot more work has to be done to realize the full potential of online learning. This study was carried to establish

the challenges that were hindering the wide adoption of online learning in universities in Uganda. It was

discovered that internet connectivity and power supply were not reliable most especially in universities

situated in rural areas. Teachers also lacked the required skills for designing online courses even in universities

where infrastructure was not a problem. Therefore, we argue that for online learning to be widely adopted,

teachers need to be adequately trained in online course design and mechanisms put in place to motivate the

teachers to teach online.

1 INTRODUCTION

There has been a rapid advancement of wireless

communication networks and use of mobile devices

that has enabled people to access digital resources

without limitations of time and location (Hwang,

2014). Universities and institutions of higher learning

are exploiting these communication networks for

online learning purposes. Online learning is the

access of learning experiences by the use of

technology and internet (Moore, Dickson-Deane, &

Galyen, 2011), making the learning experience more

convenient and accessible. Students in online learning

normally learn independently at anytime from

anywhere with teachers and facilitators providing

little guidance. With such diverse benefits of online

learning, universities are expected to adopt it widely

as the main mode of teaching and learning. Despite

the wide adoption of Information and

Communication technologies (ICT) in teaching and

learning, ICT integration in teaching is still ad hoc

(Mayende, Muyinda, Prinz, Isabwe, & Nampijja,

2015) and a lot more work has to be done to realise

the full potential of online learning (Kasse &

Balunywa, 2013).

Online learning should be learner-centered,

considering more of what learners do in terms of

learning activities than what the teachers do (Rienties,

Nguyen, Holmes, & Reedy, 2017). This makes

learners more active in the knowledge creation

process engagement with learning activities and

resources compared to the traditional face-to-face

mode of delivery where learners are passive

recipients of knowledge. Learning activities are

central to learning and the kind of activities that the

learners engage in, together with the outcomes of

these activities determine the effectiveness of the

learning process. Online learning designs must

therefore emphasise the activities to be undertaken by

the learners. Learning design establishes pedagogical

plans and sequences learning activities and resources

to achieve given learning outcomes. Learning design

consists of all the learning activities required, the

resources required and the support activities that

teachers provide to facilitate student learning

(Schmitz, van Limbeek, Greller, Sloep, & Drachsler,

2017).

This paper presents the results of a study carried

out to establish the challenges of online learning in

universities in Uganda. The rest of the paper is

organised as follows. Section 2 presents literature

review on online learning and learning designs,

Section 3 presents the methods used in this study,

Section 4 presents the study findings, Section 5

presents the discussion and the conclusion of the

paper is presented in Section 6.

484

Bwire, F., Bagarukayo, E. and Muyinda, P.

Online Learning Challenges in Academia: The Case of Uganda.

DOI: 10.5220/0009794504840489

In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2020) - Volume 2, pages 484-489

ISBN: 978-989-758-417-6

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Online Learning

Online learning is achieved by the use of Learning

Management Systems (LMS), which enable

management and tracking of the learning activities,

monitoring and handling the delivery of course

materials (Cavus, 2015). Online learning has been

criticised for presenting unengaging learning, with

limited interaction and participation, leading to high

failure and dropout rates (Dabbagh & Bannan-

Ritland, 2005). In most cases, content from traditional

classroom settings is posted online, with some of the

online learning platforms providing learning

experiences similar to the traditional classroom

settings (Mayes & de Freitas, 2007).

Learners in online environments feel little social

presence, normally earn lower course grades than

learners in traditional face to face classes and thus

they are likely to withdraw from studies (Capra,

2011). For online learning to be effective, it must be

grounded in epistemological theories, based on

different views of cognition and knowledge

(Dabbagh, 2005). Teachers need to design their

courses by considering theories that emphasise

collaboration among learners and active knowledge

creation. Teachers need to change and become

designers for learning so that learners are actively

engaged in the learning process (Mor, Craft, &

Maina, 2015).

2.2 Learning Design

Learning design is the creative and deliberate act of

devising new practices, plans of activity, resources

and tools aimed at achieving particular educational

aims in a given context (Mor et al., 2015). Learning

design uses the constructivist theory, where learning

involves the active knowledge construction by

learners and thus goes beyond knowledge transfer

(Sims, 2006). Constructivism believes more in

providing learners with activities that stimulate

thinking and enforce collaboration. Therefore,

teachers should be more of facilitators for students to

create knowledge basing on the existing knowledge,

new knowledge, their interactions and processes for

this construction of knowledge (Tam, 2000). This is

possible if learning activities are well designed.

A learning activity is the interaction among

learners working towards set goals using specific

tools and resources (Beetham, 2007). Learning

activities are central to learning and the kind of

activities that the learners engage in, together with the

outcomes of these activities determine the

effectiveness of the learning process. Learners use

their current knowledge, applying it to new problem

situations and in so doing, they acquire new

knowledge and expand their understanding. Learners

develop from a level where they need guidance to a

level where they are more responsible for their

learning and other peoples’ learning. Thus, learning

activities create a sense of community and support

problem-solving, collaboration, reflection,

exploration and exposure to multiple perspectives.

3 METHODS

This research used a questionnaire with both open-

ended and closed-ended questions. Open-ended

questions were used because they give the respondent

the opportunity to answer in their own words

(Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2007), giving their

opinions (Johannesson & Perjons, 2014). Closed-

ended questions have a predefined set of answers

from which respondents choose, and were also used

to collect basic information from the respondents. A

number of questions were thus presented to

respondents, who answered both the open-ended and

closed-ended questions. Data was collected from five

public universities in Uganda, where questionnaires

were purposively issued by the researcher to teachers

(lecturers) who indicated that they had good

knowledge in pedagogy. From time to time, the

respondents needed guidance on some questions,

which was promptly provided by the researcher.

The data collected were both quantitative (closed

questions) and qualitative (open questions). The

quantitative data were analysed using SPSS

(Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). Data

were first organised and checked for completeness

and accuracy. Data that did not make sense were

removed. Each questionnaire was then assigned a

unique identifier. The data were then entered into

SPSS for analysis to generate descriptive and

inferential statistics.

The qualitative data were analysed using thematic

analysis. Thematic analysis helps to identify patterns

and themes from qualitative data (Maguire &

Delahunt, 2017). The identified themes are used to

gain a deeper understanding of the research question

by helping to make sense of the data (Braun & Clarke,

2006). The answers from each question were first

written down on a separate sheet to enable reading of

the responses so as to get familiar with the data. The

data were then coded, generating initial codes.

Similar codes were combined to give the themes, and

Online Learning Challenges in Academia: The Case of Uganda

485

these themes were compared with the actual data to

ensure that they represent the responses of the data

collection process.

4 RESULTS

4.1 Study Participants

The participants of the study were lecturers from

public universities in Uganda, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Study participants.

4.2 Online Learning Adoption

The results of the study show that majority of the

teachers had never designed an online course, as

shown in Figure 2. This shows that online learning

had not been widely adopted by teachers and most

teachers still favored the traditional face-to-face

lecture methods.

Figure 2: Respondents who had ever designed an online

course.

The results mean that teachers in universities were

employing methods that were void of any

instructional or learning design. Such methods

include transmission methods which involve the

teacher taking the lead as learners passively listen.

Modern pedagogy demands for the active

participation of learners in the learning process since

they have a wealth of experience that they can share.

4.3 Online Learning Challenges

4.3.1 Lack of Knowledge of Online Content

Development

Respondents indicated that it was difficult to develop

online content that was well aligned with the learning

outcomes of the course. Content has to be well

aligned to the intended learning outcomes for learning

to occur. It was difficult for some teachers to design

learning activities that would enable learners to

achieve the learning outcomes. Other respondents

stated that they lacked the necessary skills required to

develop the online courses. Without the skills, it was

not possible for teachers to develop proper online

courses. Teachers needed both skills for course

design and skills required to use the learning

management systems to be able to design proper

online courses with appropriate learning outcomes to

support the learners.

Respondents actually stated that it was not easy to

make content suitable for the different learners,

bearing in mind that learners have different

capabilities, needs and interests. Teachers found it

hard to design content that would satisfy learners with

such diverse characteristics. All teachers were

subjected to the same kind of content and learning

activities, regardless of how suitable it was.

Respondents further stated that content development

is a very time-consuming process that also needs very

high creativity. The content development process

required the teachers to invest a lot time in it, yet the

it was not possible to account for the time invested.

The time that was valued and easy to account for was

the time spent in class in face-to-face interaction with

the learners. Lack of management support made it

hard to carry out activities relating with online

learning.

4.3.2 Difficulty in Determining Learner

Profiles

The study shows that learner profile is an important

issue in the design of online courses. Respondents

CSEDU 2020 - 12th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

486

stated that one of the problems was the difficulty for

teachers to understand learners in online

environments since there was minimal physical

contact between learners and teachers. This made it

hard to align the content and activities with the

learning capabilities of individual learners. Teachers

did not have adequate means of formatively assessing

the weaknesses and strengths of their learners so as to

provide appropriate support.

4.3.3 Inadequate Infrastructure and

Instructional Materials

Inadequate infrastructure and instructional materials

were a hinderance to design of online courses. These

included inadequate computers, low server capacity

and poor internet services. Other infrastructural issues

that were prevalent in universities that are found in

rural areas include unstable power and unreliable

internet. These factors made it hard for the teachers to

concentrate and design courses that were suitable for

the different learners.

4.3.4 Lack of Technical Support

Technical support was mainly needed on how to use

learning management systems to design courses.

Respondents indicated that some learning

management systems were not usable, some were

complex to use, making it hard for teachers to use the

platforms to design their online courses. Since the

online course design must include the support that the

teacher offers to the learners, usability of the online

learning platform becomes a very important factor. If

the learning management system is not easy to use,

then teacher will not offer the needed support and

feedback that learners need to progress well with their

learning activities.

4.3.5 Teacher Related Factors

The study shows that the learning design challenges

related to teachers included lack of skills, difficulty in

determining the appropriate learning design, lack of

training in online learning design, difficulty in

knowing the learner characteristics, busy schedules,

lack of motivation, negative perception about online

learning and fear to expose poor quality content.

Respondents stated that in many cases teachers lacked

the necessary skills to use learning management

systems, in addition to having no training in the

design of online courses. This made it difficult for

such teachers to design or even conduct online

courses.

Respondents stated that they found it difficult to

determine the learning design that was appropriate for

a given set of learners. This was a major concern

because the design of the course should meet the

needs of the learners. As some of the respondents

stated, it was difficult to study the online learners and

know their characteristics since there was minimal

face-to-face interactions between teachers and

learners. Some of the respondents stated that there

was no motivation for designing online courses, they

had busy schedules and this made it hard for them to

concentrate and design online courses. On the same

note, some of the respondents stated that in some

cases, teachers did not design online courses for fear

of exposing poorly designed content. Once a content

was developed and uploaded online, it would be

accessed by a big number of people, some of whom

could assess the quality of the content. So, teachers

who were not confident about their content

development skills could not freely develop and

upload their content.

Figure 3 summarises the online learning challenges

faced.

Figure 3: Online Learning Challenges.

5 DISCUSSION

The results show that one of the major challenges of

online learning is the lack of skills by teachers to

design online courses. Much as other factors such as

infrastructure and instructional materials are key in

rural areas, the knowledge of designing online

courses is most important. A university can have all

the needed infrastructure but still fail to adopt online

learning if teachers lack the knowledge of online

course development. The capabilities afforded by the

available technologies and Internet make information

readily available to both teachers and their learners,

Online Learning Challenges in Academia: The Case of Uganda

487

thereby making it possible for learners to take

personal responsibility of their learning. Teachers are

not mere providers of content, but have to think as

learning designers who devise appropriate

mechanisms through which learners can co-create

knowledge (Mor et al., 2015). Teachers need to come

up with learning activities that will facilitate the

knowledge creation process among their learners.

Many teachers who claimed to have taught courses

online had simply uploaded PowerPoint slides and

other documents for students to access. There was no

aspect of design in their courses and constructivist

principles that require learners to be active in the

learning process were still lacking. This means

universities needed to invest in training their teachers

in online course designs, so that the true essence of

online learning is captured in online courses.

Teachers need to know how to design a variety of

learning activities for online courses that can be

proposed to facilitate the learning process.

Management in the institutions of higher learning

needs to put in place policies that recognise teachers

who teach their courses online. The practice has been

that teachers are evaluated on the physical time they

spend in class or by using attendance lists of students.

Teachers who teach online are thus sometimes

victimised for not spending enough time in class. If a

policy and mechanism for recognising the online

presence of the teachers are put in place, then more

teachers are likely to adopt and appropriately teach

online. The online logs can be used a basis for

assessing the online presence of teachers.

Online logs can also be used to generate learning

analytics through which teachers can easily profile

their learners (Rienties et al., 2017). Teachers can

then make timely interventions to their learning

designs to help their learners. Learning analytics is

not yet utilised in Ugandan universities, but its

adoption will help in the growth and proper use of

online learning in the teaching and learning

processes. Learning management systems should

provide the analytics dashboards to support the

teachers.

To effectively design online courses, technical

support should be readily provided when needed.

Technical support helps with ensuring that the

learning management system is working well and all

the required facilities and infrastructure provide the

required level of service. The learning management

systems should run on mobile devices such as smart

phones, tablets and I-pads. The umber of individuals

acquiring these devices is increasing and internet

service providers offer fairly affordable data bundles.

With such devices, the online learning activities can

be integrated into the daily lives of both teachers and

learners.

6 CONCLUSIONS

The study shows that there are still challenges with

the adoption of online learning in universities. The

main hinderance to wide adoption of online learning

is that teachers lack necessary skills for development

of online courses. Universities in rural areas also have

problems of unstable power supply and unreliable

internet connectivity. Therefore, much as there are

greater initiatives to improve infrastructure in

universities, there is need for adequate training of

faculty and enforcement of policies and mechanisms

that ensure that faculty use pedagogically designed

online courses for conducting their classes. A reward

mechanism that motivates teachers to have courses

online also needs to be put in place if online learning

is to be widely adopted in universities. As this paper

is being written, the Government of Uganda has

closed all academic institutions because of the

outbreak of COVID-19, making online learning the

way to go. Future studies will consider two aspects.

First, a study will be carried out to establish the

learners’ attitude and perceptions towards online

learning as compared with the traditional face-to-face

teaching. The second study will seek to establish how

the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy in cases

of constrained infrastructure can improve online

learning adoption.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was funded in part by the Swedish

International Development Cooperation Agency

(Sida) and Makerere University.

REFERENCES

Beetham, H. (2007). An approach to learning activity

design. Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age:

Designing and delivering e-learning, 26-40.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in

psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2),

77-101.

Capra, T. (2011). Online education: Promise and problems.

Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 7(2), 288.

Cavus, N. (2015). Distance Learning And Learning

Management Systems. Procedia-Social and Behavioral

Sciences, 191, 872-877.

CSEDU 2020 - 12th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

488

Dabbagh, N. (2005). Pedagogical models for E-Learning:

A theory-based design framework. International

Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 1(1),

25-44.

Dabbagh, N., & Bannan-Ritland, B. (2005). Online

learning: Concepts, strategies, and application:

Prentice Hall.

Hwang, G.-J. (2014). Definition, framework and research

issues of smart learning environments-a context-aware

ubiquitous learning perspective. Smart Learning

Environments, 1(1), 1.

Johannesson, P., & Perjons, E. (2014). An introduction to

design science: Springer.

Kasse, J. P., & Balunywa, W. (2013). An assessment of e-

learning utilization by a section of Ugandan

universities: Challenges, success factors and way

forward. Paper presented at the International

conference on ICT for Africa.

Maguire, M., & Delahunt, B. (2017). Doing a thematic

analysis: A practical, step-by-step guide for learning

and teaching scholars. AISHE-J: The All Ireland

Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher

Education, 9(3).

Mayende, G., Muyinda, P. B., Prinz, A., Isabwe, G. M. N.,

& Nampijja, D. (2015). Online learning needs

assessment in Uganda. Digital Media in Teaching and

its Added Value, 208.

Mayes, T., & de Freitas, S. (2007). Learning and e-learning.

Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age, 13-25.

Moore, J. L., Dickson-Deane, C., & Galyen, K. (2011). e-

Learning, online learning, and distance learning

environments: Are they the same? The Internet and

Higher Education, 14(2), 129-135.

Mor, Y., Craft, B., & Maina, M. (2015). Introduction:

Learning design: Definitions, current issues and grand

challenges. The art and science of learning design.

Rienties, B., Nguyen, Q., Holmes, W., & Reedy, K. (2017).

A review of ten years of implementation and research

in aligning learning design with learning analytics at the

Open University UK. Interaction Design and

Architecture (s), 33, 134-154.

Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007). Research

Methods for Business Students: Financial

Times/Prentice Hall.

Schmitz, M., van Limbeek, E., Greller, W., Sloep, P., &

Drachsler, H. (2017). Opportunities and Challenges in

Using Learning Analytics in Learning Design. In É.

Lavoué, H. Drachsler, K. Verbert, J. Broisin, & M.

Pérez-Sanagustín (Eds.), Data Driven Approaches in

Digital Education: 12th European Conference on

Technology Enhanced Learning, EC-TEL 2017,

Tallinn, Estonia, September 12–15, 2017, Proceedings

(pp. 209-223). Cham: Springer International

Publishing.

Sims, R. (2006). Beyond instructional design: Making

learning design a reality. Journal of Learning Design,

1(2), 1-9.

Tam, M. (2000). Constructivism, instructional design, and

technology: Implications for transforming distance

learning. Educational Technology & Society, 3(2), 50-

60.

Online Learning Challenges in Academia: The Case of Uganda

489