Strategies used to teach online in an EdTech low-resource environment during COVID-19: a qualitative case study of the university of Zambia.
Date
2022
Authors
Mambwe, Elastus
Mwila, Kennedy
Lufungulo, Enala Sharon
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
The traditional form of teaching in Zambian universities often involves on-site
lectures being given to students, accompanied by physical tutorials. However,
during the unprecedented outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities
have had to urgently transition toward online instruction in an EdTech lowresource environment. Two years into the transition, it is vital to highlight
challenges and examine strategies lecturers use when teaching online lessons in
an EdTech low-resource environment.
The study is anchored on the interpretivist worldview. The researchers adopted
a qualitative approach and specifically evoked a case study design. They
purposefully sampled 21 participants from three faculties of the University of
Zambia: the School of Education, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences,
and the School of Health Science. The study attempted to answer four questions:
(a) What online instructional devices and resources are available for lecturers?
(b) How do lecturers describe the level of usage of online instructional
resources across the curriculum? (c) What are lecturers’ perceptions and
experiences of online instructional resources? (d) How do lecturers describe
strategies used to mitigate the challenges of online instructional resources? Data
were collected using an interview schedule, via face-to-face interviews, phone
interviews, and WhatsApp. Results are presented in tables and figures as well as
verbatim statements of the respondents. The researchers used Braun and
Clarke’s (2006) six-step recursive thematic analysis to generate codes and the
themes presented in the study.
The findings of the study, though focused on Zambia, do rather easily reflect
the situation and experience of other countries with similar characteristics. The
study has established that lecturers in an EdTech low-resource environment are
fully aware of the possible challenges online instruction offers. The results also
demonstrate that lecturers have devised coping strategies that enable them to
teach amidst the struggles of online teaching. These strategies are lectureroriented, lesson-oriented, resource-oriented, and student-oriented. Further,
findings are that for online instruction to be successful in an EdTech lowresource environment, the following should be considered: lecturers’ desire to
learn, availability of basic ICT devices, use of open educational resources
(OER), the potential of the use of devices, and availability of internet
connectivity. The study recommends that higher learning institutions must
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4293326
152 International Conference on Open and Innovative Education (ICOIE 2022)
equitably provide the necessary EdTech devices, software and other tools to
lecturers in order to enhance the online teaching experience. Where possible,
external support—such as import duty exemptions or corporate sponsorships
and donations—should be sought, to enable universities and colleges to
facilitate learning. For further research, the study recommends an examination
of lecturers’ awareness and use of various open educational resources for
effective teaching, learning, and planning.
This study provides important insights and mitigation measures for higher
education institutions engaged in online instruction in EdTech low-resource
environments, thereby helping to create a better online teaching and learning
environment. The study further contributes to ongoing scholarship on strategies
that can be used to improve the online teaching and learning experiences of
higher education, providing the much-needed insight from Zambia and the
Global South at large.
Keywords: Strategies, EdTech low-resource environment, teaching,
Universities, COVID-19
Description
Article
Keywords
Information technology and Teaching , Online teaching--universities