An analysis of student portal’s experiences at the Zimbabwe Open University Manicaland Regional Campus
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
In line with the international fraternity, the Zimbabwe Open University has adopted open and distance e-learning (ODeL) technology that uniquely empowers its teaching and learning approach. After creating the first version of My Vista that was fully functional in 2017, the Information Technology department in its efforts to continuously improve and empower students, created a new version of the My Vista student portal in 2022, which was made available to students and lecturers in January 2023. The old My Vista had its own challenges, hence the new version was created. This study is informed by the following objectives, to establish the accessibility of the new student portal to the students in conducting e-learning at the Zimbabwe Open University Manicaland Campus. To identify the e-learning challenges faced by students whilst using the My Vista student portal. To ascertain the e-learning reasons for students’ dropouts at the Zimbabwe Open University. This study is based on the critical realism paradigm that considers reality based on social, political and economic contexts, a recent qualitative study complemented by digital ethnography as a research strategy to collect data from online platforms, attempts to analyze the e-learning portal experiences of students at ZOU Manicaland regional campus. The results showed that students face challenges in accessing the new student portal due to technical issues, lack of timely induction by the university, and issues related to the digital divide. It is recommended that the institution is asked to continuously update its system and increase the Wifi band coverage.
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
References
Alatawi, S. S. T., Miskon, S., Abdullah, N. S., Ghabban, F., Saeed, F., Alfadli, I., & Ameerbakhsh, O. (2021). A new model for enhancing student portal usage in Saudi Arabia universities. Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, 11(3), 7158–7171. https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.4132.
Belfrage, C., & Hauf, F. (2017). The gentle art of retroduction: Critical realism, cultural political economy and critical grounded theory. Organization Studies, 38(2), 251–271. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840616663239
Bishop, D. V. M., Snowling, M. J., Thompson, P. A., Greenhalgh, T., Consortium, C., Adams, C., Archibald, L., Baird, G., Bauer, A., & Bellair, J. (2017). Phase 2 of CATALISE: A multinational and multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study of problems with language development: Terminology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58(10), 1068–1080. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12721
Bower, M. (2019). Technology‐mediated learning theory. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(3), 1035–1048. https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjet.12771
Care, E., Kim, H., Vista, A., & Anderson, K. (2018). Education System Alignment for 21st Century Skills: Focus on Assessment. Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED592779
Chinamasa, E., & Ncube, M. (2023). Factors influencing e-learning acceptance in teacher education institutions: students’and lecturers’views. Technology, 6(01), 80–93. https://ijehss.com/link5.php?id=474
Chirume, S., & Thondhlana, S. (2019). The Use of Zimbabwe Open University’s MyVista Platform in E-Communication, Accessing and Uploading Learning Materials, and Assessing Students’ Work. African Educational Research Journal, 7(1), 1–13. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1208344
Chu, T.-H., & Chen, Y.-Y. (2016). With good we become good: Understanding e-learning adoption by theory of planned behavior and group influences. Computers & Education, 92, 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.09.013
Dube, S., & Scott, E. (2017). A Survey of the University Students’ Perspectives about Using Digital Technologies in Education: Zimbabwean Case. IAFOR Journal of Education, 5(1), 123–139. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1141681
El-Sabagh, H. A. (2021). Adaptive e-learning environment based on learning styles and its impact on development students’ engagement. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 18(1), 53. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41239-021-00289-4
Encarnacion, R. F. E., Galang, A. A. D., & Hallar, B. J. A. (2021). The impact and effectiveness of e-learning on teaching and learning. Online Submission, 5(1), 383–397. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED613533
Gourlay, L., & Oliver, M. (2016). It’s not all about the learner: reframing students’ digital literacy as sociomaterial practice. In Research, boundaries, and policy in networked learning (pp. 77–92). Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-31130-2_5
Guo, P. J. (2017). Older adults learning computer programming: Motivations, frustrations, and design opportunities. Proceedings of the 2017 Chi Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 7070–7083. https://doi.org/10.1145/3025453.3025945
Kombe, C. L. M., & Mtonga, D. E. (2021). Challenges and interventions of eLearning for under resourced students amid covid-19 lockdown: a case of a Zambian public university. Journal of Student Affairs in Africa, 9(1), 23–39. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jssa/article/view/217176
List, A. (2019). Defining digital literacy development: An examination of pre-service teachers’ beliefs. Computers & Education, 138, 146–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.03.009
Mohammadyari, S., & Singh, H. (2015). Understanding the effect of e-learning on individual performance: The role of digital literacy. Computers & Education, 82, 11–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.10.025
Munamati, J., Mushonga, R., & Munamati, S. (2024). Blended teaching and learning in Higher education institutions: Experiences of selected Universities in Zimbabwe. The Dyke, 17(2), 1–20. https://journals.co.za/doi/full/10.10520/ejc-dyke_v17_n2_a4
Munyanyi, R. (2021). A critical analysis of the implementation of e-learning platforms at selected public universities in Zimbabwe. https://openscholar.dut.ac.za/items/a588e112-a979-4a28-bb6a-9fe8dc5a0704
Nasir, S., & Guvendik, O. (2021). Effect of brand credibility and innovation on customer based brand equity and overall brand equity in Turkey: An investigation of GSM operators. University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing, 5(2021), 52. http://digitalcommons.usf.edu/m3publishing/vol5/iss2021/52/
Ninsiana, W., Gabidullina, F. I., Widodo, M., Patra, I., Pallathadka, H., Alkhateeb, D. A. A. M., Zainal, A. G., & Gheisari, A. (2022). High School Students’ Attitudes towards E‐Learning and Impacts of Online Instruction on Their General English Learning: Challenges and Issues. Education Research International, 2022(1), 9103862. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/9103862
Nyamudzodza, J., Mthombeni, A., Shingirai, S., Sifile, O., & Manuere, F. (2021). The effectiveness of online learning strategies adopted by secondary schools in Nyanga North, Zimbabwe. https://ir.cut.ac.zw/xmlui/handle/123456789/74
Osei, H. V., Kwateng, K. O., & Boateng, K. A. (2022). Integration of personality trait, motivation and UTAUT 2 to understand e-learning adoption in the era of COVID-19 pandemic. Education and Information Technologies, 27(8), 10705–10730. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10639-022-11047-y
Pang, N., & Woo, Y. T. (2020). What about WhatsApp? A systematic review of WhatsApp and its role in civic and political engagement. First Monday. https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v25i12.10417
Pires, C., & Sousa, M. J. (2022). E-learning Methodologies Involving Healthcare Students During COVID-2019 Pandemic: A Systematic Review. Proceedings of International Conference on Information Technology and Applications: ICITA 2021, 675–686. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-7618-5_57
Ruuskanen, M., Marchena, J. M., & Curcher, M. (2019). E-Learning in Peru: Habits and Attitudes Towards Online Distance Learning. EdMedia+ Innovate Learning, 470–474. https://www.learntechlib.org/noaccess/210041/
Shao, P., & Wang, Y. (2017). How does social media change Chinese political culture? The formation of fragmentized public sphere. Telematics and Informatics, 34(3), 694–704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.05.018
Shulz, S. (2025). Moving from coproduction to commonization of digital public goods and services. Public Administration Review, 85(1), 60–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13795
Siegel, J. E., Erb, D. C., & Sarma, S. E. (2017). A survey of the connected vehicle landscape—Architectures, enabling technologies, applications, and development areas. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 19(8), 2391–2406. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8058008/
Singh, M., Adebayo, S. O., Saini, M., & Singh, J. (2021). Indian government E-learning initiatives in response to COVID-19 crisis: A case study on online learning in Indian higher education system. Education and Information Technologies, 26(6), 7569–7607. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10639-021-10585-1
Tarhini, A., Masa’deh, R., Al-Busaidi, K. A., Mohammed, A. B., & Maqableh, M. (2017). Factors influencing students’ adoption of e-learning: a structural equation modeling approach. Journal of International Education in Business, 10(2), 164–182. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIEB-09-2016-0032
Trelease, R. B. (2016). From chalkboard, slides, and paper to e‐learning: How computing technologies have transformed anatomical sciences education. Anatomical Sciences Education, 9(6), 583–602. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.1620
Uddin, N. (2024). ‘Ethnic Conflict’and ‘Buddhist–Muslim Divide’: A Discourse Analysis of the Rohingya Crisis. In Refugees and the media: Local and global perspectives (pp. 171–189). Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-46514-7_10
van Hees, S., Horstman, K., Jansen, M., & Ruwaard, D. (2017). Photovoicing the neighbourhood: Understanding the situated meaning of intangible places for ageing-in-place. Health & Place, 48, 11–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.08.007
Visser, M. (2019). Pragmatism, critical theory and business ethics: Converging lines. Journal of Business Ethics, 156, 45–57. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-017-3564-9
Weng, C., Tsai, C.-C., & Weng, A. (2015). Social support as a neglected e-learning motivator affecting trainee’s decisions of continuous intentions of usage. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 31(2). https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.1311
Zhao, L., Cao, C., Li, Y., & Li, Y. (2022). Determinants of the digital outcome divide in E-learning between rural and urban students: Empirical evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic based on capital theory. Computers in Human Behavior, 130, 107177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107177
Zuboff, S. (2023). The age of surveillance capitalism. In Social theory re-wired (pp. 203–213). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003320609-27/age-surveillance-capitalism-shoshana-zuboff