“WhatsApp” as a learner support tool for distance education: implications for policy and practice at university of Zambia.

Item

Title
en “WhatsApp” as a learner support tool for distance education: implications for policy and practice at university of Zambia.
Creator
Ndhlovu, Daniel
Date
2021-03-11T07:55:58Z
Date Available
2021-03-11T07:55:58Z
Date Issued
2018-11-14
Abstract
en - One of the norms of distance education is that
learners are the drivers of their learning and teachers merely
facilitate the learning process. To this effect, learners are expected
to be fully engaged in their studies throughout for them to perform
well in their studies. However, the ‘distance’ factor inherent in
distance education has been identified as one of the major
challenges for learners studying in this mode. The geographical
isolation significantly detracts from the need for social interactions
that are usually afforded by face-to-face situations. Consequently,
the void leads to isolation, confusion, stress and ultimately
contributing to high failure rate and drop-outs from the academic
programmes. In this study, we document the use of “WhatsApp”
as a tool for learner support among postgraduate students on the
distance learning mode within the University of Zambia. The
study, through “WhatsApp”, follows students where they are
found and learns from them without disrupting their privacy and
culture to inform Open Distance Learning policy and practice. It
is now clear that the University should be proactive to encourage
the creation of self-generated social networks to mitigate vexing
emergent issues students face on the distance learning mode.
uri
http://dspace.unza.zm/handle/123456789/6977
Language
en en
Publisher
en Zambia ICT Journal
Relation
https://doi.org/10.33260/zictjournal.v2i2.55;
Subject
en WhatsApp.
Type
en Article
Item sets
The University of Zambia Collections