Digital Fluency of Faculty Members at an ODL Institution

Abstract

The commercialization of higher education compels higher education institutions to look at alternative and inclusive ways to accommodate the ever-growing diverse student population. One of the methods is the change to online teaching for distance education students. However, to successfully teach and study online, specific skills and competencies are required from both lecturers and students. The study reported on (phase 1 of a three-year project) in this article, sought to assess faculty members’ levels of digital fluency at a major open distance education and learning (ODL) institution. A quantitative, non-experimental descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted. The results indicate that faculty members are willing to use new teaching technology, but perceive their own skills to be inadequate. The result of this study might influence tuition policy and address continuous development strategies in the ODL institution.