Impact of Digital Learning in African Schools

Question: Discuss about the Impact of Digital Learning in African Schools. Answer: Introduction Africa Rising was coined to reinforce the hope of a new resilient Africa. Among the frontiers of this narrative is the tremendous growth of the ICT industry. African governments in partnerships with developed nations and international agencies have rolled out ambitious projects aimed at boosting digital literacy in Africa. Besides, the world is becoming Digital, and Africa is no exception. Therefore, the government of Australia and other international agencies would like to gauge the impacts of such a project hence a robust monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems need to be embedded as the program is rolled out. The research will focus on one of the leading African Universities in the ICT sector. Kenyatta University will be selected as the research center since the university has a vision of becoming the preferred school of choice. It has a mission of enhancing the quality of higher education through a flexible mode of delivery and technology for individual and society development. The research, therefore, intends to investigate the impact of the Digital School to the academic performance of students pursuing masters in library and information science. It will seek to answer; has the Digital school improved the ranking of the University amongst others in Africa? Scope and Delimitation of the Study Given that the research seeks to explain how much impact the digital program has made in Kenya and the world in general, the study will be expounded further outside Kenya to her neighbors and neighboring Africa continents. Within Africa, and Kenya in particular, a public University which has shown the most positive progress in the use of the digital platform over the past five years will be selected for the scholarly work. Although it will mainly focus on the masters students, the findings shall be extrapolated to include the undergraduate. Later, a comparative study will be carried out to generate data for the purpose of analysis. Literature review Galy et al (2011) opined that the current trend in education indicated instructors shifting away from authoritarian and non-interactive courses. This paradigm shift has been catalysed by the rapid expansion in the ICT industry. Consequently, the platform offers a more personal engagement with the student, a process that Knowles (1975) described as, participating in self-directed inquiry. However the effectiveness of this mode of learning depends on some factors which Haigh (2007) investigated and found out such characteristics as gender, study habits, learning styles, learning environment, access to resources, experiences with distance learning, and technology proficiency affects the learning outcome . According to Zhang (2006), students in the e-learning environment that provided interactive video achieved significantly better learning performance and a higher level of learner satisfaction than those in other settings. However, according to Doyle (2009), there are no statistically s ignificant differences between online students and campus-based students regarding race, gender, age or ethnicity. Research questions and hypotheses The questions that will guide the study include: does interactive digital learning improve students comprehension on the subject matter? This mode of learning provides apt environment for learners ability to retain information. However, according to Zhang (2006), the said has limitations due to problems of network bandwidth and multi-media technology. Hypotheses 1: Students enrolled at the Digital School will perform better academically. 2: The test scores of students in Digital School will be better, provided same content is taught 3: Students using digital learning will be satisfied with the content compared with those under traditional mode Operational definitions and measurement Computer accessibility in this context will refer to the ratio of the students number to the number available. It shall mean that the internet connectivity is good enough to download reading content, access and submit online assignments. A rating of at least one indicates average accessibility and ratio below one will be regarded as poor. Additionally, a questionnaire to further interrogate the parameter shall be designed. It will contain a set of questions to probe the students attitudes as far as accessibility is concerned. Perceived ease of use: Where the program is user-friendly to any category of student as from undergraduate level. A scale of 0-10 shall apply and each unit assigned a quality parameter. Afterwards, a percentage ease of use shall be determined. Computer Phobia: This will refer to a situation where the student has an inherent fear towards the device. To measure such a parameter, three columns shall be created namely: Strong Phobia, Average Phobia and Zero Phobia. In each category, a set of questions, with each assigned weight, shall be developed. A total score point in each category will be useful in determining the phobia level. Research methodologies: Data collection and analysis Research Design will largely be descriptive based on the perception, attitude, and level of acceptability. The center will be in the department of library and information science. A total of 150 masters students under the program and another 150 in the traditional mode of learning will randomly be chosen. Additionally, ten teaching staff members from the same department will be selected. Questionnaires will be useful in obtaining the information on attitudes, perceptions, and the acceptability level among the three sets of the population. Additionally, keen observation shall be employed to monitor the digital systems performance vis--vis students academic progress. A digital camera will be useful in recording the scheduled class sessions for both students categories, that is, the digital program and the traditional students. Statistical tools for analysis and presentations, that is, mean, percentages, variance, standard deviation shall be used. Additionally, regression analysis shall be useful in determining the linear relationship between the students academic progress and the digital literacy program. Presentation of the data shall be done by using tables, pie charts and bar graphs. Generally, a linear pattern will be adopted whereby all logical stages are linked in a straight fashion. However, some tasks will occur simultaneously while others will be webbed such that iteration will be the norm. For instance, in administering the questionnaires, seeking permission will be prioritized. In other cases, lecturers interview may occur severally owing to the fact that it will be almost impossible to find all the ten ready for it at ago. Otherwise, the general procedure for the data collection will include: Seeking permission from relevant authorities in the University Random selection of population sample Distribution of questionnaires to selected students Lecturer interview after formal request Telephone interviews for busy lecturers Digital systems observation and perusal of the students academic progress Expected outcomes The research intends to uncover the impacts of digital learning on African schooling system. Hence the extent of the system improvement shall be anchored on the outputs. Therefore, the expected after research are complete will include: A comprehension of the digital literacy levels in the university, a clear correlation between digital learning and relevant concepts mastery and the degree of acceptability of the program in Africa. It will, therefore, serve to aptly inform the African governments and International agencies on its progress. Furthermore, it will be useful for further scholarly work. Conclusion The research proposal presented has discussed how the impact of digital learning in Africa will uncover. The digital literacy levels are expected to soar in Africa. Hence Africa provides a relevant area of study. Once the research is complete, some critical elements shall surface, for instance; the relevance of digital learning in the provision of better quality education. The research, therefore, will focus on the relevance and quality of the implementation of the digital literacy program at the University. Additionally, it shall seek to interrogate the degree of acceptability. Does it have a brighter future in Africa despite the challenges being faced? Hence it is expected that it will shift the discussions from whether the program is relevant to how much more will be invested to realize greater returns on the African economy. References Doyle, W. R. (2009). Playing the numbers, online education: the revolution that wasnt. The Magazine of Higher Learning. Dobbs, R., Waid, C., Del Carmen, A. (2009). Students perceptions of online courses: The effect of online course experience. Quarterly Review of Distance Education. Farrell, G. Isaacs, S. (2007). Survey of ICT and education in Africa: A summary report based on 53 country surveys. Washington, DC: World Bank. Galy, E (2011). The Effects of Using E-learning tools in online and Campus-based Classrooms on Student Performance. Brownsville-TX/Journal Galy, E. Johnson, J. (2013). The Use of E-learning Tools for Improving Hispanic Students Academic Performance. Brownsville-TX/Publication Vol.9 No.3 Haigh, M. (2007). Divided by a common degree program? Profiling online and face-to-face information science students. Education for Information. Knowles, M. S. (1975). Self-directed learning: A guide for learners and teachers. New York, NY: Association Press. Lou, Y., Bernard, R., Abrami, P. (2006). Media and pedagogy in undergraduate distance education: A theory-based meta-analysis of empirical literature. Educational Technology Research Development Zhang, D?Instructional Video in e-learning: Assessing the Impact of Interactive Video on learning effectiveness Information and Management, 200601/Publication.