Investigating Challenges Facing Virtual and Open Learning in Kenyan Universities: A Case of Kenyatta University, Kenya

Virtual and Open Education has recently become a recognized field of education across the globe as the mode of education which helps large number of students to access quality educational opportunities. The purpose of was study to establish the influence of virtual and open learning to private demand for education: The objectives of the project included the following; to determine the current status of enrollment of open and distance learning in Kenyatta University; extent to which Virtual and open learning influence enrollment; challenges facing Virtual and open learning in Kenyan universities. The study was guided by Industrial production model of Otto Peters (1994). The research utilized Descriptive survey method as the main study. The target subject under study consisted of 400 virtual and open students from Kenyatta University. Through random sampling technique and proportional two hundreds (200) open and distant learners from Kenyatta University were identified. The study used purposive sampling to choose three Digital School co-coordinators. The process of data collection involved administering questionnaires and scheduling interviews with the selected individuals. The study relied on both qualitative and quantitative data. When analyzing quantitative the research used descriptive statistics and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 17).Qualitative data was analyzed by establishing the categories and themes, relationships/patterns and conclusions in line with the study objectives. Results indicated that virtual and open learning influence enrollment at Kenya Universities, where about 6248 virtual and open students have enrolled to the program. Various challenges touching on inadequate funding, network problem, delayed feedback and low teaching staff levels were identified. The study also established that the institutions offering virtual and open learning in Kenya are governed by their own institutional policies .It is articulated that the findings of this study and the recommendations therefore suggested would aid the government and universities in Kenya to achieve their goal of providing quality virtual and open education at affordable cost. It would benefit in policy on guiding on financial provision for virtual and open learning programmes, creating national Open university as well as the articulation of nationwide policies for virtual and open education and efficient use of virtual and open learning resources in providing student support services.

Demand for higher education in Kenya has continued to rise over the years thereby outstripping the available supply in the conventional face-to-face programmes. This can be attributed to two major factors. First, are the reforms in the basic education sector, for example, the Free Primary Education and the Free Day Secondary Education which have enhanced enrolment and completion rates in these lower levels. Second, is the changing labour market trend which requires workers to be re-tooled during their working life. Universities therefore have to cope with demand for education from young secondary school graduates as well as older citizens who are already working. To meet this high demand for higher education as well as provide flexible education for the working class, universities in Kenya must leverage the potential of ICT in teaching and learning. Despite moves by most universities in Kenya more than a decade ago to embrace Open and distance learning (ODL) programmes that utilise modern ICT technologies in teaching and learning, enrolment in these programmes still remain low compared to the traditional face-to-face platform of delivery. For example, in 2016, Kenyatta University, which had a total student population of about 70,000 had only about 6,000 (8.5%) enrolled in the Digital School of Virtual and Open Learning. The objective of this study is to establish the obstacles that hinder the success of Open and Distance Learning programmes at Kenyatta University. The study employed a sequential mixed methods design that allowed collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. Data was collected from a sample of 207 students through a questionnaire while Key Informant Interviews were conducted with 5 members of staff directly involved either in the management of the ODeL programme or in on-line teaching. The study established that success of the ODeL programme was hampered by technical, instructional, institutional and personal challenges. Key technical challenges faced by both students and staff are insufficient exposure to computers and ICT technology, lack of finances to buy ICT gadgets and lack of internet connectivity. Key institutional challenges facing the programme are delayed delivery of study materials and inadequate learner support services. With regard to instructional challenges, inadequate academic support due to lecturers failing to facilitate units on-line and poorly designed course materials were the key ones. Lastly, learners in the programme faced individual challenges such as financial constraints, insufficient study time, conflict between study and family/work balance. The study recommends the strengthening of learner support mechanisms to address the institutional, instructional and individual challenges faced by learners in the ODeL programme.Keywords: Blended learning, distance learning, e-learning, higher education, ICT, ODel, open learning.

With the popularity of many massive online courses (MOOCs) and relevant platforms such as the Coursera, edX and Udemy, open learning and education will obviously become a very influential and significant sector in education all over the world, especially for developing countries like China and India with large population sizes and huge demands for tertiary education to develop the knowledge-based economy. Due to the potentially large class sizes for courses on an open learning platform, it can be difficult to monitor each individual or averaged performance in each open learning course, thus possibly leading to a relatively higher dropout rate at the end of the course. This is where computationally intelligent methods such as the machine learning or learning analytics techniques may help to effectively monitor each individual or group performance in an open learning course. In this work, we propose a cloud-based and personalized learning platform enhanced by a very efficient and intelligent facial analytics algorithm to capture learners' real-time responses when viewing any open educational resources such as the Ted Talks, YouTube or MERLOT on mobile devices. After analyzing learners' instant responses and attention spans, it may help to quickly identify those difficult and/or less interesting topics. Besides, interactive quizzes can be flexibly added by course instructors into different sections of an online educational resource to evaluate each individual learner's actual level of understanding while relevant video files or course material is being streamed onto the learner's mobile device from the Dropbox cloud storage. All the data about the learning progress will be securely uploaded onto a password-protected cloud computing platform for further analyzes. Furthermore, the cloud platform ensures the interoperability of various mobile devices in this newly enhanced learning analytic system with which some initial and positive students' feedback was collected. This work clearly provides many promising directions for future extensions of the next-generation open learning and education platform.

Guidelines for open and online learning assessment and recognition with reference to the National and European qualification framework: micro-credentials as a proposal for tuning and transparency

The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of career guidance and counseling services for VOL on the preservation of post-graduate students in Kenyatta University, Kenya. This study used a descriptive survey approach that included quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. The study’s population comprised two groups. The first group comprised all 8 director and assistant directors of student affairs in Kenyatta University VOL Centres. The second group comprised all the 2156 finalist students enrolled for the VOL programme who are the most familiar with the challenges experienced by VOL students and from whom it was possible to obtain the record of students who may have dropped out. The study used a census approach to sample all 8 director and assistant directors of student affairs, while the Fisher's method was used to calculate the size of the postgraduate finalist sample. Original data was used in the study. After editing the quantitative data, handling void responses, coding, and categorizing the data, the information was imported into SPSS version 22 for analysis. The study found that career counseling and guidance services for VOL improved postgraduate student retention. This was demonstrated by a significant correlation r coefficient of 0.758. Specifically, the study concluded that career guidance and counseling influenced the retention of post-graduate students in Kenya’s public universities. The study also concluded that student retention was influenced in the form of receiving encouragement to persist until they graduate, being encouraged to stay until completion of the academic degree, and receiving motivation to complete the course within the set period. According to the research's findings, the Ministry of Education’s state Department of Higher Education should institutionalize guidance and counseling as mandatory student support services in Virtual and Open Learning (VOL). The research also suggests that the Kenyan government form strategic alliances with social institutions that would allow public learning institutions to easily access career guidance and counseling services as a student support service.

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any form of content created and shared by users or consumers through various online platforms and social media channels, rather than by the brand or organisation itself. The advent of the internet and social media platforms has greatly facilitated the generation and dissemination of user-generated content. UGC has become a powerful tool for consumers to engage with brands, influence others, and shape brand perceptions which directly or indirectly impact the image of the organisations. Unlike conversations or interactions initiated by brands or organisations, UGC offers more spontaneous, authentic and truthful feedback compared to other forms of feedback mechanism. While not all feedback or interactions may be positive, paying attention to UGC will allow brands or organisations to monitor the situation on the ground, address issues immediately, and strategize effectively for improvements. Open and distance learning (ODL) institution is one of the organisations that can be affected by UGC related to their products or services. With stiff competition among higher education providers, both public and private universities, ODL institutions play a crucial role in providing accessible and flexible educational opportunities for distance learners. To be on par with other established universities, ODL institutions must ensure continuous improvement and effectiveness of their ODL programmes. Therefore, these institutions need to gather and analyse the information shared regarding the products and services offered to them. This research aims to investigate the application of UGC in collecting, analysing and utilising student feedback to enhance the quality of open and distance learning programmes. The research will explore the utilisation of UGC in collecting student feedback and evaluations in an ODL institution to understand student experiences, engagement levels, interaction patterns, and content creation practices through the analysis of UGC. It will identify strengths and weaknesses revealed or shared in the UGC related to open and distance learning programmes offered and recommend ways for continuous enhancement of open and distance learning experiences based on the analysis of UGC. The research will apply mixed-methods, combining qualitative and quantitative techniques to gather and analyse data. In the first phase of the study, qualitative method will be employed to identify the collection of related UGC using Octoparse software to extract data related to the ODL institution from any public website. The data will be analysed thematically to gain insight into students’ experiences, challenges and preferences. In the second phase, a survey will investigate key variables that emerge from the first phase. The survey will focus on verifying issues raised by the students, factors influencing the OUM students’ perceptions of OUM services and products, their satisfaction, and their suggestions for improvements. This research is expected to provide valuable insights to improve program quality, meet the specific needs of distance learners, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. The research outcomes will contribute to advancing open and distance learning practices and enhancing the quality of educational experiences.

<p>Distance teaching and learning in most developing countries have met with high dropout (Kamau, 2001), because of lack of support, limited interaction & engagement and collaborations amongst distance learners. Most distance learners are scattered in very remote and poor areas and accessing high tech learning intervention is a challenge to the majority. These researchers explored the use of Short Messaging System (SMS), for Bindura University of Science (BUSE)’s Virtual Open and Distance Learning (VODL), student teachers’ programme. Interview guides and questionnaires were used to collect data. SMS is ‘anytime and anywhere’, convenient, affordable and accessible. SMS is cheaper and accessible to almost all distance student teachers. It offers more affordances because the students own mobile phones and have the SMS facility. Distance student teachers raised concerns on the storage of spaces in messages received and sent. The distance student teachers applauded the SMS intervention.</p>

There is a link between the broader subject of records management (RM) in Kenyan universities and the records management labour market in Kenya. It is always assumed that employers’ input and review of an institution’s curriculum typically produce better skilled, more knowledgeable employees who have a greater potential to succeed once they leave universities. This research aimed to identify the relevance of the undergraduate RM curriculum to the labour market in Kenya and to make recommendations on the areas that can be improved on in the curriculum. Undergraduate studies are the education level that shapes most professionals’ career paths. The challenge of the high unemployment rate among Kenyans in general despite thousands of graduates coming out of universities each year also motivated this research. The contextual set-up of the study was Moi University, Kenyatta University, and five online job listing sites in Kenya. The study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods research design. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously using online questionnaires and key informant interviews. The research sample of 56 comprised two key informants from records management departments of Moi University and Kenyatta University and 54 alumni graduates of records management from the two universities who were selected using snowball sampling, as well as 20 records management job advertisements. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and Atlas.ti software and are presented in tables, diagrams, and graphs. The research revealed that there is a need for more collaboration between the various stakeholders and that there is a strong link between university education and the performance of students in the job market; it also found a mismatch between the records management curriculum offered and the market demands. The mismatch was attributed to the theoretical nature of studies and the impact of information and communications technology on records management. The research further revealed that there is minimal consultation during curriculum review and that records management is not popular in the Kenyan labour market.

In the transition to a post pandemic world, educational institutions are faced with the challenge of helping to build a more responsive and robust education system in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous present and future. This requires critical reflection on lessons learned during the pandemic, reimagining the future of higher education as well as institutional directions, and adopting new strategies for development. This session describes a program to build the capacity of Philippine colleges and universities in this important work. // The Sustainable Institution Building for Open Learning (SIBOL) initiative, as it is called, aims to provide participating higher education institutions with training and mentoring in planning, managing, and sustaining blended, online, and open learning (BOL) programs. Phase 1 of SIBOL consists of seven online training modules, delivered synchronously and asynchronously, on planning BOL programs; systems for BOL materials development, technology management, faculty development, and student support; quality assurance; and research and innovation for sustainability of BOL. Phase 2 is a mentoring program for participating institutions as they implement their BOL institutional strategy. This second phase also aims to strengthen institutional collaboration and networking towards building the open and distance learning ecosystem in the Philippines. // In this paper, early findings from the design, development, and pilot implementation of SIBOL are discussed. SIBOL was conceptualized as UPOU’s pilot project under the EU-funded Advancing Equity and Access to Higher Education through Open and Distance Learning (BUKA) project.

In the transition to a post pandemic world, educational institutions are faced with the challenge of helping to build a more responsive and robust education system in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous present and future. This requires critical reflection on lessons learned during the pandemic, reimagining the future of higher education as well as institutional directions, and adopting new strategies for development. This session describes a program to build the capacity of Philippine colleges and universities in this important work. // The Sustainable Institution Building for Open Learning (SIBOL) initiative, as it is called, aims to provide participating higher education institutions with training and mentoring in planning, managing, and sustaining blended, online, and open learning (BOL) programs. Phase 1 of SIBOL consists of seven online training modules, delivered synchronously and asynchronously, on planning BOL programs; systems for BOL materials development, technology management, faculty development, and student support; quality assurance; and research and innovation for sustainability of BOL. Phase 2 is a mentoring program for participating institutions as they implement their BOL institutional strategy. This second phase also aims to strengthen institutional collaboration and networking towards building the open and distance learning ecosystem in the Philippines. // In this paper, early findings from the design, development, and pilot implementation of SIBOL are discussed. SIBOL was conceptualized as UPOU’s pilot project under the EU-funded Advancing Equity and Access to Higher Education through Open and Distance Learning (BUKA) project.

In this chapter, we consider the concept of distance education in relation to open schooling, and then move on to define the concept of open learning. All too often, distance education and open learning are assumed to be synonymous, as evidenced in terms such as ‘open and distance learning’. The concepts of distance education and open learning are distinct and conflating the two has negative consequences for planning in education systems. However, if the meaning of each is properly understood, then it becomes possible to use all of the lessons learned from distance education and the use of ICT in education to create schooling systems that are more intrinsically open and thus better equipped to provide high quality education to learners. We consider how technology can be used to support open learning, with a particular focus on the role that open education resources (OERs) might play in improving quality and reach of education. The chapter ends with a brief example of an OER project supporting K-12 education in South Africa.

Research has shown in the recent past that many Universities globally are building state of the art libraries and at the same time stocking them with e-resources, in order to cater for the ever growing population of users who are pursuing their studies on or off campus. Postgraduate students pursuing their courses off campus are entitled to full use of all library services. In light of this, the study investigated the library e-resources acceptance by postgraduate students who pursue their studies off campus. The study was conducted at Kenyatta University Post Modern Library (PML) and it involved Postgraduate students of the Kenyatta University Digital School. The study used descriptive design and data were collected through questionnaires with both open and closed ended questions were used to collect data from postgraduate students and interview schedule was used to collect data from librarians. The questionnaires were administered electronically through electronic mails.

Purpose – This paper aims to analyse comparatively the existing partnerships between the University of Padua and the enterprises in Veneto region, Italy, on one hand and Kenyatta University and industries in Kenya on the other. Design/methodology/approach – This was a case study of the University of Padua in Veneto Region, Italy, and Kenyatta University in Kenya. Data were collected through interviews with university leaders, a questionnaire with both close and open-ended questions for Heads and Department and Deans of Faculty as well as a close and open ended questionnaire for industry representatives. Findings – In comparison, the University of Padua has more forums and platforms through which dialogue with the industry stakeholders is enhanced, with associations like confindustria, the PARIMUN project, the Master association in addition to the alumni association, regular students ' attachments and the distance learning programme. In Kenya on the other hand, Kenyatta University has partnerships through the provision of distance learning programmes, alumni associations, consultancies, incubation units and undergraduate course placements for select faculties. Practical implications – The main implication of the study is that there are many avenues through which university industry partnerships can be enhanced. These range from joint research projects between university and industry, industry input in university course implementations and feedback the supply and demand of graduates in the job market. Originality/value – The findings of this study are important to the government, university and industry stakeholders in Kenya in that they provide information on the possible forums for collaborations and the importance of these forums in provision of relevant higher education that can aid sustainable development.

This chapter presents a new paradigm for sustainable data-driven language learning systems design in higher education that draws on qualitative reflections spanning a decade (2012–2022) with stakeholders from an ongoing global research study with the FLAX (Flexible Language Acquisition) and F-Lingo projects at the University of Waikato in Aotearoa New Zealand (Fitzgerald (2019) A new paradigm for open data-driven language learning systems design in higher education; König et al. (2022) Smart CALL). Design considerations are presented for remixing domain-specific open access content into Open Educational Resources (OER) for academic English language provision across formal and non-formal higher education contexts. Primary stakeholders in the research collaboration include the following three groups: (1) Knowledge organisations that provide open access to academic content—libraries and archives, including the British Library and the Oxford Text Archive, universities in collaboration with MOOC providers and the CORE (COnnecting REpositories) open access aggregation service at the UK Open University; (2) Researchers who mine and remix academic content into corpora and open data-driven language learning systems—converging from the fields of open education, computer science and applied corpus linguistics; (3) Knowledge users who re-use and remix academic content into OER—English for Academic Purposes (EAP) practitioners from university language centres. Automated content analysis was carried out on a corpus of interview and focus discussion data with the three stakeholder groups in this research. We discuss themes arising from the research data that reflect the different stakeholders’ experiences of remixing open access research content that has been produced within the academy for re-use as open educational content for teaching and learning features of academic language within open data-driven language learning systems. These open learning systems have been specifically designed to scale with OER expansion and traction in mind for their sustainable uptake both within and beyond the brick and mortar of the traditional university. The new paradigm presented in this chapter challenges, as the OER movement must, established business models and deeply embedded cultural or institutional norms that present obstacles to OER expansion and traction and the sustainability of the movement. One persistent challenge concerns the lack of open education policy across the higher education sector for full open access (for use, modification, adaptation) via Creative Commons licensing to content produced within the academy. Thus, while this research has theoretical and practical implications in applied linguistics, computer science, language teaching and learning and open education, more generally, it also has significant cultural, business model and policy implications for higher education.KeywordsData-driven learningDesign-based researchEnglish for academic purposes (EAP)Higher educationMassive open online courses (MOOCs)Open accessOpen educational practicesOpen educational resources (OER)Systems design

İnternet, eğitim alanında giderek önem kazanan eğitim teknolojilerinin önünü açarak, öğrenme sorumluluğunu öğrenciye bırakmıştır. Bu sürecin devamında, Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamları, öğrencilerin çevrimiçi platformlarda kendi öğrenmelerini organize etmelerinde aktif rollerini desteklemek adına önem kazanmıştır. Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamları, öğrenmenin kişisel boyutta yapılandırıldığı, planlandığı, paylaşıldığı ve yaşam boyu arşivlendiği platformlardır. Web 2.0 araçlarıyla oluşturulan bu ortamlar bireyselleştirilmiş izlencelerin tasarımına izin veren ve çevrimiçi katılımlı, bireysel ve grup etkinliklerini teşvik eden yapısıyla Açık ve Uzaktan Öğrenmeyi desteklemektedir. Bu çalışmada, kampüs dışında eğitim gören uzaktan öğrenenlerin yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğrenmelerine yönelik oluşturdukları Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamları incelenmiştir. Bu bağlamda, bu çalışmanın temel amacı açık ve uzaktan öğrenme çerçevesinde Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamlarının İngilizce öğrenmede nasıl etkili, verimli ve çekici şekilde geliştirilebileceğine yönelik alan uzmanlarının ve uzaktan öğrenenlerin görüşlerini almaktır. Çalışma, tasarım tabanlı araştırmanın geliştirme döngüleri çerçevesinde yapılandırılmıştır. 2016-2017 Güz Döneminde (Mart-Eylül 2017) gerçekleştirilmiş olan araştırmanın katılımcılarını uzaktan öğrenenler ve alan uzmanları oluşturmaktadır. Tasarım tabanlı araştırma sürecinde nitel veriler toplanmış ve analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonunda, Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamlarına ilişkin bir tasarım çerçevesi önerisinde bulunulmuştur. Araştırma sorularına bağlı olarak ulaşılan verilere göre, Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamı, açık ve uzaktan öğrenme bağlamında kişisel öğrenme deneyimini destekleyen, tasarlanan ortamın benimsenmesini sağlayan ve İngilizce öğrenmeye yönelik genel beklentiyi karşılayan bir ortamdır. Ancak, öğrenmedeki bireysel farklılıklar nedeniyle her bir Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamı bireysel öğrenme gereksinime yönelik olarak oluşturulduğundan kişiye özgü olarak değerlendirilmelidir.